Wife of convicted ex-union boss gets 70 months in federal prison

The wife of the former business manager of a Hawaii labor union convicted of fixing a vote to raise dues and using members’ money to pay for a lavish life was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison by Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor.

Following a four-week trial in Gillmor’s court, on Nov. 21 a federal jury found Brian Ahakuelo, 61, former elected business manager and financial secretary of the Inter­national Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 1260, and his wife, Marilyn Ahakuelo, 59, guilty of one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years, and 42 counts of wire fraud, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Brian Ahakuelo’s sentencing was rescheduled until June 21.

“I do not believe it is possible to take the position that she did not know what was going on,” said Gillmor, speaking before she sentenced Marilyn. “The amount of money that has gone through this family is a huge amount of money.”

When Marilyn Ahakuelo is done with her federal prison term, she will be on supervised release for three years. She must pay a $10,000 fine, a $4,600 special assessment and $7,967.90 in restitution.

The couple was also convicted of multiple counts of embezzlement of labor union assets, six counts for Brian Ahakuelo and three counts for Marilyn Ahakuelo. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

The U.S. Department of Justice asked Gillmor to sentence Ahakuelo to between 70 and 87 months. Ahakuelo asked for probation or no more than six months in prison.