Senate President Ron Kouchi was for years among Milton Choy’s close allies, giving the recently convicted businessman access to the inner circle of Hawaii’s politicians where Choy could try to influence legislation, a Civil Beat investigation into Choy’s political dealings uncovered.

Kouchi was a guest at Choy’s Las Vegas suite, although no evidence has emerged that Kouchi benefited financially from his association with Choy. Later, the two engaged in numerous meetings, and Kouchi even hired Choy’s son for one legislative session in 2015.

Since 2020, Civil Beat has been reporting on Choy’s business interests. Numerous individuals in close proximity to Choy and Kouchi have described a cozy relationship, one that Choy leaned on to penetrate political circles. Most would only describe their relationship and knowledge of the two men’s dealings on a condition of anonymity because they feared compromising their own relationship with Kouchi.

Kouchi didn’t return repeated calls seeking comment for this story.

Choy’s proximity to one of Hawaii’s highest ranking politicians put him in contact with legislators who were susceptible to political manipulation.

Kouchi introduced Choy to lawmakers like J. Kalani English, people close to both of them said. English pleaded guilty in 2022 to taking more than $18,000 in bribes from Choy in exchange for insider information on state cesspool projects.

In 2014, Choy provided former Rep. Ty Cullen with more than $20,000 worth of gambling chips on a trip to New Orleans. Cullen has since pleaded guilty to similar charges as well.

Choy enhanced his influence with public officials by taking them on trips to Las Vegas and paying for other gambling-related expenses. Former Maui County employees Stewart Stant and Wilfredo Savella also admitted to taking bribes from Choy for expenses related to Las Vegas. Both have been convicted and sentenced to prison as part of the federal investigation involving Choy.

That investigation began in 2019 when Choy became the target of a federal probe into public corruption. He began cooperating with the government and agreed to give prosecutors information on elected and appointed officials in Hawaii who were helping him win tens of millions of dollars in contracts. That arrangement continued until indictments were made public in 2022.

Choy often brought Hawaii officials to villas at the Mirage, an iconic Las Vegas Strip hotel with a volcano show, and to a suite at Caesars Palace, according to John Leslie, one of Choy’s former business partners.

Leslie said Kouchi attended at least one party around 2015 at one of the lavish Mirage villas, where Choy would arrange stacks of gambling chips for his guests and have a chef cook lobster and steaks. Leslie added that he did not see Kouchi ever accept financial gifts from Choy.

Kouchi’s ties to Choy went beyond encounters in casual settings. They met in the senator’s office on multiple occasions.

During the 2015 session, Kouchi hired Choy’s son, Jarrett, to work in his office. That was the same year that Cullen introduced a bill that would eventually result in Choy’s company winning a lucrative wastewater contract from the state Department of Transportation. Kouchi introduced the Senate companion to that bill, increasing its chances of becoming law that session.

Later that summer, photos that Kouchi posted on social media show Choy accompanying Kouchi and former Sen. English to meetings with Hawaii’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.

Choy supported Kouchi’s reelection efforts, too. He and his associates donated $14,000 to the senator’s campaign between 2014 and 2020. 

Choy continued to maneuver through political circles in Kouchi’s orbit, sometimes wearing a wire at the behest of federal investigators, since at least June 2019. Choy recorded meetings that included Kouchi and other lawmakers throughout 2020, according to a source close to the investigation.

Choy donated $1,000 to Kouchi’s campaign in March 2020, around the time of a fundraiser Kouchi had at the Pagoda Hotel, state records show. 

Kouchi’s campaign returned all of the Choy-connected contributions to the state Campaign Spending Commission in 2022 after Choy’s involvement in the bribery cases became publicly known, according to the commission.

He told The Garden Island newspaper in 2022 that he and other senators returned the donations because the bribery charges against Cullen and English dealt with legislation the Senate may have voted on.

It’s not clear if Kouchi is a person of interest in the government’s ongoing public corruption probe. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hawaii did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Green, Choy’s lawyer, said he didn’t see anything in the evidence that pointed to criminal conduct from Kouchi.