Embattled IBEW leader again says he will retire

Brian Ahakuelo, the embattled leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260, announced his retirement for the second time, telling union officials Saturday that he and his wife would step down as the parent union investigates the local’s finances.

Ahakuelo, 55, former business manager and financial secretary for Local 1260, is under fire by IBEW’s international office for allegedly using union money for personal expenses and hiring immediate family members at significant salaries. He originally announced his retirement May 10, then two days later rescinded his statement and vowed to continue leading Local 1260 and to fight the allegations against him. His wife, Marilyn, was director of community services.

On May 6 the international union placed Local 1260 in emergency trusteeship over concerns of financial mismanagement. Ahakuelo and 18 staff members were placed on paid leave during its investigation.

The IBEW held a hearing Monday to determine how long to continue the trusteeship.

“As we have stated in the past, Brian retiring would not have any impact on whether or not the trusteeship would continue,” said Mark Brueggenjohann, spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Washington, D.C., who added that he did not have any information related to the hearing. The hearing was not open to the public.

Local 1260 represents more than 3,200 electrical workers, including Hawaiian Electric Co. and TV station employees. IBEW named Harold Dias, a former state AFL-CIO president, as trustee of the union during the investigation.

The IBEW’s claims against Ahakuelo include alleged spending violations from 2014 to 2016, ranging from paying for family trips to Las Vegas to covering the legal fees of his son Brandon in a criminal case involving unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle. Another involved Ahakuelo paying off a $24,000 bank loan for a truck initially owned by his wife.

Ahakuelo told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on May 12 that he secured legal counsel and was considering litigation against the international union, which he said has made false allegations against him. He also said that he was considering a run for vice president of the ninth district of the parent union.

“They turned it into falsehoods and allegations of misappropriation of moneys, of wrongdoing by myself, which is totally false,” Ahakuelo said at the time. “It was a witch hunt on me because there was a concern that I was getting too popular.”

Ahakuelo could not be reached for comment Monday.

In recent years Ahakuelo was criticized by subordinates for his spending of union dues, including the hiring of five immediate family members.

Ahakuelo earned $201,712 in 2015, while his wife was paid $105,119, according to the union’s most recent financial report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Their son, Brandon, the union’s chief of staff, received $143,274, while daughter-in-law Neiani, an executive assistant, earned $77,656. Ahakuelo’s sister-in-law, Jennifer Estencion, senior executive assistant, had a salary of $101,855, the filing shows. Ahakuelo hired a fifth relative, son-in-law Eric Falkner, in March as a training coordinator/organizer for $125,000 a year, though he lives in Las Vegas.

Officials from the Hawaii attorney general’s office visited the Local 1260 office last week as part of an investigation into the union, according to a source close to the investigation who asked not to be identified. The attorney general’s office has been in talks with the IBEW’s legal team in Washington, D.C., concerning the investigation, the source said.