The former vice chair of the state House Committee on Finance who pleaded guilty to taking bribes from a wastewater executive is asking a judge to sentence him to 15 months in federal prison, citing his yearlong “substantial assistance” with the U.S. Department of Justice’s public-corruption investigation.

The U.S. Probation Office calculated that Ty J.K. Cullen, 42, should spend between 37 and 46 months behind bars, with a recommendation on the low end of 37 months, according to a sentencing memorandum filed in federal court Wednesday by his attorney, Birney B. Bervar.

Federal prosecutors filed a motion for “downward departure” based on “Cullen’s substantial assistance to the government” and recommends a sentence of 24 to 30 months of incarceration, according to the memo.

“Cullen submits that his substantial assistance merits a further downward departure,” wrote Bervar in asking Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway to sentence Cullen to 15 months in federal prison Thursday.

Without disclosing details of how Cullen cooperated with federal agents and prosecutors, Bervar wrote that it was “immediate, valuable and lasted for over one year.” Federal prosecutors declined comment on Cullen’s request.

Cullen’s attorney also noted the ex-lawmaker’s “traumatic childhood” as the son of man sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 after he was convicted of attempted murder in the first degree in connection with a shooting at the Kukui Plaza parking garage.

Cullen, one of six children, was 13 at the time his father was arrested after the shooting, which left a woman dead and a man seriously injured, according to Bervar’s memo.

By the time his father was sent to prison, Cullen was 15. After years of regular visits, Cullen’s father died of leukemia in prison when Cullen was 18.

Cullen is a graduate of Damien Memorial High School and earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and sociology and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, according to court records.

“Ty Cullen has spent his life in service to the community,” wrote Bervar, noting Cullen’s pre-legislative career between 2005 and 2010 with Hale Kipa Inc., a nonprofit focused on helping at-risk youth and families. Bervar attached Cullen’s resume to his memo, saying it lists the “many legislative accomplishments of Mr. Cullen while he was in the state legislature.”

Bervar also noted the more than 30 letters of support written on Cullen’s behalf to the court detailing a dedicated and loving father, partner, son, brother, public servant and friend.

Kauai Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami wrote that he met Cullen in April 2011 when Kawakami was appointed to the state House to replace former Rep. Mina Morita. Kawakami lauded Cullen for always being there for him and his family, and remembered how Cullen checked on him every day following the deaths of Kawakami’s mother, father and older brother.

“To say that my relationship with Mr. Cullen is a personal friendship would be an understatement. He is like family to me,” wrote Kawakami in an April 9, 2022, letter to Mollway. “Regardless of the love I have for Ty, I am absolutely heartbroken, disappointed and confused about his lack of judgment. At his core, I still believe he is a good man, with a loving and compassionate heart. … The consequences that he will face will be one that will follow him the rest of his life. He knows this. His family knows this, I know this. But I know that he is the type of person that is willing to spend the rest of his life making amends, rebuilding trust and making things whole again.”

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James R. Sage, a F-22 instructor and combat veteran, told Mollway that he met Cullen during a school cleanup in 2011 and was immediately impressed by his desire to do the “actual work” with a positive attitude.

“I realize that Ty made a mistake but I respectfully ask the court to take a look at the whole person and see all the great things Ty has done. … As a combat veteran I would trust Ty Cullen with my life and that’s the best compliment I can give anyone,” wrote Sage on March 30, 2022.

On Feb. 15, 2022, Cullen entered a plea of guilty before Mollway to one felony count of honest-services wire fraud for failing to report the bribes he took to provide inside information and kill legislation to benefit a Honolulu wastewater business in his electronic legislative gift disclosure report. He agreed to pay $23,000 in a money judgment based off the bribes.

Cullen will also pay a $100 special assessment.

From September 2014 to Oct. 8, 2021, Cullen “secretly used his official position to enrich himself by accepting bribes from Person A in exchange for Cullen’s promise of providing, in his official capacity as a member of the State House, legislative support that would be beneficial to Person A’s company,” according to the federal charges.

Person A is Milton J. Choy, owner of H2O Process Systems and Fluid Technologies.

Choy will be sentenced in a separate bribery case involving Maui wastewater contracts at 9 a.m. May 17.

Cullen signed his plea agreement Feb. 10, 2022, and will be sentenced Thursday. He is free on an unsecured $50,000 bond.

On July 5 former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English, 55, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and fined $100,000 after pleading guilty to honest-­services wire fraud.

English and Cullen accepted cash, casino chips, Las Vegas hotel rooms and dinners for friends in exchange for supporting and killing bills and providing insider information to benefit Choy’s businesses between 2014 and 2021.