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Ex-county worker accused of taking $40,000 in bribes

He is latest to be charged in lucrative scheme involving businessman Milton Choy

Former Maui County employee Wilfred Tamayo Savella is scheduled to appear at the federal courthouse in Honolulu on Monday after being charged with accepting bribes valuing more than $40,000 from Honolulu businessman Milton Choy. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

Another former Maui County employee is charged with accepting bribes in a long-running scheme involving the awarding of contracts to a Honolulu-based wastewater services business.

Wilfred Tamayo Savella, 71, allegedly accepted bribes valued at more than $40,000 from Milton Choy, owner of H2O Process Systems, from about 2013 to 2017 when Savella was maintenance mechanic supervisor for the county Department of Environmental Management, according to an information charging document unsealed Thursday in federal court. The bribes were for Savella’s role in “initiating, awarding and/or acting” as the department’s primary contact person for sole source contracts issued by the county to H2O, according to the information.

Savella, who retired from the county in November 2020, is scheduled to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu.

The bribes were made with cash, bank deposits, at least one gambling trip to Las Vegas, casino chips, and other financial benefits, totaling over $40,000, in exchange for Savella assisting in awarding lucrative sole source contracts and purchase orders to Choy’s company, according to allegations in the information.

The bribes included a first-class airline ticket to Las Vegas in March 2013 and four checks from Choy totaling $34,770 that were deposited in Savella’s bank account between June 2015 and August 2017, the information said. Another $5,000 was directly deposited into Savella’s bank account in September 2017, according to the information.

It says that between July 2014 and December 2017, when the county department awarded H2O at least 52 sole source contracts totaling more than $19 million, Savella was listed as the primary point of contact on 35 of the contracts.

The court document alleges two times when Savella provided his banking account information to Choy, who made deposits into the account shortly before sole source contracts were issued to H2O.

Choy pleaded guilty in September to bribing Stewart Stant, who was then director of the county Department of Environmental Management. Stant also pleaded guilty in September and admitted to taking $2 million in bribes from Choy to help secure more than $19 million in county contracts for H2O.

Choy and Stant are awaiting sentencing.

“Corruption by public officials degrades the integrity of our government institutions and tarnishes the important work done every day by honest public servants,” said Hawaii District U.S. Attorney Clare Connors. “Our office continues to investigate and prosecute corruption at all levels of Hawaii government.”

If convicted, Savella faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

“Mr. Savella was in a position of public trust, and our investigation shows he violated that trust by accepting thousands of dollars in bribes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “These charges should send a very clear message that the FBI will vigorously pursue allegations of corruption at every level.”

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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