6 linked to sweepstakes machines re-indicted, with more cases likely

An Oahu grand jury has re-indicted six of nine people connected with sweepstakes machines on gambling and other charges.

The indictment Thursday charges Alexander Alejandro, Quinton Canencia, Gary Danley, Desiree Haina, Michael Madali Jr. and Clayton Simeona with racketeering and promoting gambling. They were employees of arcades where Honolulu police had seized some of the machines.

Circuit Judge Richard Perkins issued bench warrants and set bail at $10,000 for each defendant.

Deputy Prosecutor Max Levins told Perkins that the defendants and operators of the arcades, which he called game rooms, continued what the state believes is gambling activity even after being given numerous opportunities to stop.

Levins later told reporters that the investigation is ongoing and to expect more cases.

“These kind of illegal gaming operations are a scourge on the community. They lead to all kinds of other crimes. This is something that we feel very strongly about and that we will be pursuing very aggressively,” he said.

The other three people who had been previously charged but were not indicted Thursday are the distributor of the machines and owners or operators of the arcades.

Another grand jury returned a 414-count indictment against the nine in 2014, charging them with racketeering, for owning or operating an illegal business, gambling promotion and money laundering. The indictment came one day after a federal judge ruled that the machines are gambling devices that are illegal under state law.

The two city prosecutors handling the case at that time later told a state judge that they had unknowingly presented false information to the grand jurors and asked the judge to dismiss the case with the opportunity to re- indict. They also said the state was looking to charge more defendants. Levins was not one of the two prosecutors.

Some of the gambling charges were misdemeanors with a statute of limitations that has since expired.

After the judge agreed to dismiss the previous indictment, the distributor of the machines and lead defendant in the case, Tracy Yoshimura, sued the city, Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, the two deputy prosecutors and the investigator on the case for malicious prosecution. Another state judge dismissed the lawsuit because there was still the opportunity for re-indictment.