The last member of a drug-trafficking ring convicted for his role in the importation of 400 pounds of methamphetamine is going to prison for 4-1/2 years.
A federal judge sentenced Amako Malepeai to 55 months in prison Thursday for conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to the charge in a deal with the government in November 2013.
U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi is giving Malepeai until Oct. 13 to turn himself in at his as-yet-undesignated federal prison facility to begin serving the sentence. Malepeai is asking for placement in a facility in Southern California, where he has family.
He is the last of 13 defendants who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty in trial to be sentenced. Kobayashi sentenced the others to jail terms and prison sentences of between nine months and 27-1/2 years.
Because of the amount of methamphetamine involved, Malepeai was facing a mandatory minimum 20-year prison sentence. He also has a previous federal drug conviction for which he, his wife, two brothers, a Maui police officer and others went to prison for their roles in an international drug-trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and cocaine in California, Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, Australia and New Zealand.
Kobayashi was able to sentence Malepeai to a shorter prison term after granting the government’s request for a sentencing break for Malepeai’s cooperation and substantial assistance in prosecuting his co-defendants.
Other defendants cooperated and testified for the government at trial, including the ring leader, a convicted killer and a former state prison guard who used her credentials from her part-time job as an airline employee to bypass security at Honolulu Airport to transport drug proceeds to California.
Defense lawyer Rustam Barbee said Malepeai’s cooperation was crucial in helping the government bring charges against the other defendants and securing their convictions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Muehleck agreed. He said Malepeai met almost daily with federal investigators for more than a year and recorded many conversations with co-conspirators. Malepeai also testified at trial.
After pleading guilty Malepeai remained free on bail, during which time he continued to coach football in a youth league and at Mililani High School. Kobayashi also allowed him to travel to the mainland last year to accompany his son on college recruiting visits and football camps in California and Oregon, and to watch his son play in a football game in Nevada. She allowed him to travel to Texas in January to watch his son play in an all-star game and to California in June and August to help his son enroll in school and to attend a football program at the college.
