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STAR-ADVERTISER / APRIL 2015
Brian Ahakuelo, business manager for IBEW Local 1260
Brian Ahakuelo, the embattled leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260, said today he has retired from his position.
Ahakuelo, 55, was the business manager and financial secretary for Local 1260, representing more than 3,200 electrical workers. He was placed on administrative leave Friday, pending an investigation into the union’s finances.
“What’s going on right now is not a negative thing. It’s actually a positive thing because there’s no improprieties. There’s no illegal or improper activities. There was no criminal intent of any sort,” Ahakuelo said. “There’s nothing that I have done wrong or as far as I know my staff has done wrong in local union office. All we’ve done is raise the standard for our membership to have the abilities today to live a middle-class lifestyle in the state of Hawaii.”
Ahakuelo earned $201,712 in 2015, while his wife Marilyn, director of community services, was paid $105,119, according to the union’s most recent annual financial report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Ahakuelo’s son, Brandon, the union’s chief of staff, was paid $143,274. Executive assistant Neiani Ahakuelo, Brian’s daughter-in-law, received $77,656, the filing shows.
The International Office of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said it placed Local 1260 in trusteeship “in order to investigate and correct financial issues that have arisen in the local.”
“This is an ongoing investigation by the International Office and we are unable to comment on the process until it is fully completed,” said Mark Brueggenjohann, director of media of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Washington, D.C. “Our priority is always to protect our members’ rights and to guarantee that their dues are used in an appropriate and transparent manner. We will continue our trusteeship until there is full clarity on all financial issues and corrective measures have been implemented.”
Say it isn’t so! Local union corruption, just like politics it happens over and over. Wonder how much they gave to the rail?
What’s this got to do with rail? Give it a break loser.
Rail is about Dems payback to Unions for votes. That’s what it has to do with Rail.
lot of family in the business.
Baloney, this is about nepotism.
It has a S * * T TON to do with rail
Really, it more like rail was and is about development. The unions are afterthoughts.
You got some kind of obsession about rail. Alright… Fire Ernie. He’s delaying rail.
It’s the other way around.
Talk about “all in the family”!
Please check on their brother local 1186. I hear there a lot of questions over there.
Amazing how bloody OBVIOUS they made it! Over $100k to the WIFE for “community services” (doling out city official bribes)?????
how bad was that union dues increase they’re talking about? the members pay more than twice the amount their brothers at local 1186 pay!
He said ‘there is no improprieties’. Nepotism is not a problem? Good grief!
You gotta give son Brandon some credit. In 2007, he was a meter reader. By 2012, he was Chief of Staff of IBEW earning six figures. Now THAT’S what I call upward mobility.
This guy and his family are obviously taking the union for a ride. It may not have been illegal or criminal but wrong nonetheless. He shouldn’t be allowed to retire with union benefits after committing such unethical hiring decisions, it’s clear cut nepotism on the union’s dime. Dig deeper, I’m sure they’ll find out the family has done even worse that what is now known.
Over $500K to his family! Awesome!
I guess this is standard practice in the Unions!
Seems to be. Remember Gary Rodriguez and how he, his girlfriend, and his daughter ripped off the United Public Workers? And then his lawyers Eric Seitz and State politician Della Belatti tried to get the United Public Workers to pay Rodriguez’s legal fees and almost a million dollars of his penalties? Where else can you find this type of antics, except Hawaii. And possibly Chicago.
Get rid of all of them and start fresh with a lower starting pay. Union members would like that.
Such a talented family!!
Obviously proud of the “gangsta life”
Retired from IBEW, next stop, HART Board of Directors.
Or HEI’s board.
Gotta wonder how much this guy took from NextEra to sell out his union.
Don’t think he can command $10 MILLION like Connie.
True, but a nice cool half million is probably enough to get him to betray all of those he’s supposed to look out for.
Don’t forget Police Commission
Or state board of ethics.
So how much exactly does each union member pay in dues? Using the 3200 member figure from the article, just to pay all the salaries of the folks mentioned comes out to $165 dollars per member per year. Spread out over 12 months that comes to $13.75 each month. A couple of plate lunches a month. Keep the amount small and no one will notice.
$165 not even close. and no one would have complained over a $13.75 increase each month. the members pay what can be considered a car payment. the 1st increase was more than double what they were originally paying with more stepped increased each year.
Crook! Keeping it all in he family..how much were they paying “Scruffy” their pit bull?
Funny how only now someone noticed it was “all in da Ohana.”
They knew. Members just can’t say anything.
They can, they just don’t.
from the very beginning nepotism set in and the lavish spending was on. members started filing numerous complaints into the international office almost immediately but they fell on deaf ears. the squeaky wheel got even squeakier as the years went by. only after the feds started asking questions did the international office step in.
Oh yeah, nepotism in Hawaii is a respected tradition. You reward your friends and family.
Sounds like State and City Government.
More like unions.
That is absolutely disgusting. What a family deal. They should ALL resign. Why have the members put up with it?
One of the pitiful by products of unionism. While historically unions have served a vital purpose in labor, too often we’ve witnessed the unbridled corruption that occurs when unchecked power is granted.
You can run, but you can’t hide brah. Feds will start sniffing around soon.
Finally all you overpriced electricians know where your membership dues go! Bumby you learn….no need unions.
Pretty incestuous office. Seems like an obvious conflict with hiring only family members
I mean who can you trust? The famiglia.
Director of community services? Chief of Staff? How many made up positions can you come up with at over 100K a year? No wonder the cost of construction is double in this state! This is what happens when you keep voting in the same Democrats year in and year out. We ALL pay because this drives up the cost of living. How many hundreds of thousands are spent on those ridiculous radio adds
for electrical contractors? That just gets tacked onto the bill of these massive state jobs they get from their buddies in the Democratic party.
Wrong union buddy. 1260 takes care of all the HECO workers, 1357 the Hawn Tel guys and 1186 the inside wireman.
This guy is going to end up like Gary Rodrigues who was doing the same thing and hiring his family for union jobs. The FBI should start looking into this union and this crook.
Probably chose to retire so he can secure his golden parachute and benefits otherwise if he ends up getting fired, he could lose everything. Hopefully he goes the way of
Gary Rodrigues.
The article also says, “He was placed on administrative leave.” Sounds like he was found out and basically fired, not retired.
Hotel and dockworkers employees no worry. Your guys would never do this kine stuffs…Right?
LOL
“What’s going on right now is not a negative thing. It’s actually a positive thing because there’s no improprieties. There’s no illegal or improper activities. There was no criminal intent of any sort,” Ahakuelo said.
This is a straight up lie…and the union members have had to put up with it? What could they do? The picture speaks a thousand words.
That picture shows where all those union dues went. You can grow that Jabba the Hutt chin over many years after eating prime steaks, lobster tails, poke and rinsing off your palate with a 12 pack of them green bottles. Cheeehooo!!
“What’s going on right now is not a negative thing. It’s actually a positive thing because there’s no improprieties. There’s no illegal or improper activities. There was no criminal intent of any sort,” Ahakuelo said.
Then next thing you know?……He Retire? Auwe……nothing wrong? The whole family is wrong! Send him and the ohana jail like Rodrigues.
he didn’t want to lose his pension in case he got fired.
I can see a problem here with the misuse of Union Funds. You paid your family members over $400,000 with jobs that you created and funded whether it was needed or not. It looks like stealing from the Union to me.
He took a page out of the Albert Hee playbook.
Wonder what happened to this lawsuit?
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/07/27/48757.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/civilbeat/union-complaint
What a stinking crock of nepotism. The whole front office, pilau to da max.
This guy is a crock of #2
all da bases are covered … remember da old saying, “if you no can say anything good, no say nothing”, right? oh, no , is dat right?? anyway, someting like dat…….!
Wow the family was paid a hefty salary. Bet none of them driving a Ford.
Maybe? brand new 2016 F150 Supercab Platinum Edition.. paid cash 60K… other car is the garage is the Mercedes.
union vehicle so it’s paid by the members, including insurance and maintenance. good deal, right?
Excuse my ignorance.. yes.. company vehicle paid directly by union fees, meals and extras paid by union charge card for business related(?) expenses.. Salary exclusively to my pocket for my hard earned work.
“All we’ve done is raise the standard for our membership to have the abilities today to live a middle-class lifestyle in the state of Hawaii.”
Wow! Figuring your son and daughter-in-law don’t live with you, just you and your wife made over $300K last year. If that’s “middle-class” lifestyle………..the majority of us are poverty.
its not a federal investigation so business as usual at this point
Wow, all in the family eh?
So, this little family was raking in a half mil for what I would guess was very little work.
Fired, I would say, not retired; what’s wrong with your headline?!
Are the rest of the clan resigning or being fired, too?
I didn’t know that IBEW was a cozy family business sort of like a certain charter school.
if he did nothing wrong, then why retire? his actions belies his words, actions are stronger than words.
All in the Family. Dues paying union member are nuts to allow this to have happened.
except they didn’t. the international office refused to listen to the complaints until they basically had no choice. but better late than never.
Unions in Hawaii is the tail that wags the dog.
What i am thinking it would be a good time for union members to take a look at what is going on in this
area. Most likely there are other organizations with similar problems mo better to make an early correction. This problem was pretty bold and out in the open. Members no let this happen speak up.
they did. they were brushed aside time and time again. it took the feds to start showing interest in the matter to wake up the international office and finally make them do something about it.
Former IBEW 1260 Business manager Norman Ahakuelo is rolling in his grave now. Norman was a well respected man and never ran Local 1260 like how his son Brian ran it.
haha wow that statement is THICK in sarcasm!
MR. Ahakuelo, since “improprieties” as well as “improper activities” are both plural (more than one in number) the proper written english grammar would be “there are no improprieties” and “there are no illegal or improper activities.” K-thanks! Happy Retirement!
Why you running, Brian? You done nothing wrong. Stay and defend your actions like a real man! Lets all hear the two sides of the story. Unreal… no mo shame.
Disgraceful. Should have been stopped a long time ago.
I smell a corrupt union head hiring his crony family members who know nothing about running Union finances other than embezzling the hard working union members. What a slap in the face. Put him to the guillotine ! Guillotine !! Stone them all ! 50 lashes with a wet noodle !! And the stench of these Union heads keeps permeating on and on and on …..
As Gomer Pyle would of said, surprise, surprise, surprise.
When your union dues go to pay corrupt leaders and their family, give that union a shaka!!
Damn.. after reading all these comments… can I retire at 55 with full pension and lifetime benefits cuz braddah can talk and made u think that I am protecting you and your family’s future? He all gave U the final salute and I don’t have to describe what gesture he invoked.
The amount of CORRUPTION, NEPOTISM and outright B$ is insane. This state has ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY and the fact this is a ONE PARTY state is ABSURD. Lucky you live Hawaii !
The salaries paid to the blood-related officials of the family-run criminal enterprise, aka International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260, are outrageous. I also believe there is much more to know about how Brian Ahakuelo and his family lived lives of luxury at the expense of dues-paying union members, which will be revealed by a detailed audit of their expense reports conducted by an independent auditor and not by someone being paid by the union’s International Office. I think we will find they always traveled first class, stayed at luxury hotels, ate at the finest restaurants and charged many things to the union that were really for personal use.