Navy Criminal Investigation files related to Project Kai e’e / UH Applied Research Laboratory now posted online

The DMZ-Hawai’i / Aloha ‘Aina website has posted documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS). The documents are from the NCIS investigation of alleged fraud, abuse and mismanagement of government grants and contracts and involving the University of Hawai’i  / Research Corporation of the University of Hawai’i (RCUH) and the Office of Naval Resarch.

Earmarked funds appropriated by Senator Inouye went to Navy research and development programs in Hawai’i.  Some of these funds went to University of Hawai’i research faculty for programs related to missile defense and network centric warfare programs based at the Pacific Missile Range Facility.   However, the program manager for the Office of Naval Research (the branch that awards grants and contracts related to the research and development projects in Hawai’i) was having an affair with a Navy admiral. They apparently planned to establish a multifaceted research facility administratively housed at the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai’i as a vehicle for federal funds to bypass the competitive contracting system. There were conflicts of interest.   Funds were improperly moved between accounts.   The plans were eventually aborted after investigators closed in.   But the earmarked funding was redirected to other UH research projects funded by the Navy.  And some of the energy and funding was redirected into the Navy University Affiliated Research Center (UARC)/ Applied Research Laboratory as well as the Hawaii Technology Development Venture, a publicly funded venture capital program awarded by earmarked funding to the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR), another front for funneling military dollars to companies in Hawai’i.

The criminal investigation files from the Navy have been posted online. However many have redactions.   The report “The Dirty Secret About UARC” can help to orient the reader. However, the report has not yet been updated to include new information brought to light by the NCIS documents.