i L i n d . n e t

Oh, I do hate being beaten on a story, especially one like the tangled tale that’s been exercising my investigative instincts this week. So when I got a call last night with news that the Advertiser’s Rick Daysog would be breaking the story in today’s paper, it was a bit depressing. I was banking on this one escaping notice long enough for me to get the story into Honolulu Weekly before the dailies took over, and I was pacing myself with this in mind. This time around, my bet on the dailies being too slow was a loser. Darn that Daysog. In any case, here’s a link to his version of the story.

And now that the story’s out, here’s a rough edit of my version of the tale…

An Indian software professional from Japan and a top state official are at the center of an international criminal case involving allegations of sex and blackmail.

Rajdatta Patkar is being held in the federal detention center in Honolulu on charges that he threatened to injure the reputation of a Hawaii resident identified by the initials “R.A.”, according to an indictment issued by a federal grand jury in Honolulu in April 2006.

However, a report appearing on a number of Indian web sites identified the Hawaii official as Robert “Bob” Awana, chief of staff to Gov. Linda Lingle and manager of her successful 2002 gubernatorial campaign. The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Awana confirmed his identity as the “R.A.” cited in the case.

According to the Indian publications, Patkar contacted Awana and demanded cash after reading his girlfriend’s e-mail and discovering she was allegedly the victim of “sexual exploition” involving the governor’s top aide. The federal indictment makes no mention of this sex allegation and no evidence has been made public that would support the charge.

Patkar has pleaded not guilty to five counts of using interstate communications to threaten a person and is being held without bail pending a trial scheduled to begin August 21. Assistant Federal Public Defender Pamela Byrne has been appointed to represent Patkar. Byrne declined to discuss the case at this time.

According to the indictment, which was issued on April 27, 2006 and remained sealed until recently, Patkar sent an e-mail on September 5, 2005 that “contained a threat to injure the property and reputation of R.A.”.

Four additional e-mails followed between September 11 and September 26, 2005, which made similar threats and demanded payment of $35,000, according to the indictment. The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Awana made a $4,000 payment to Patkar using a debit card provided by the FBI.

The previously published accounts identify Patkar’s girlfriend only as Jullie Mae, a Philippine national. Awana made at least one trip to the Philippines prior to the alleged blackmail messages as part of a 34-person “Aloha Week Goodwill Mission to Ilocos Norte” in January 2005.

According to a report on the trip:

“Among the topics discussed in the workshop participated in by the Hawaiian delegates which consisted of businessmen, other Hawaiian government officials and residents, and several Ilocos Norte town mayors and provincial government department heads include economic development, tourism, agriculture, health and education.”

Patkar was born and raised in Bombay, India, now known as Mumbai, a graduate of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, and is a computer software professional interested in search engine optimization. At the time of his arrest, he had been living in Japan for at least a decade and was employed by Best Trading Company, a Japanese trader and exporter of used cars.

Patkar has been an active contributor to several online groups of software specialists. He has described his personal interests as including travel, reading, and photography, and in one online forum described his goal in life: “Live a meaningful life that is useful to the society.”

Kenji Yoshimoto, Best Trading president, described Patkar as a friend as well as an employee. Yoshimoto was reluctant to discuss the case for fear of damaging Patkar’s legal position.

Patkar’s mother, Snehalata Patkar, filed a habeas corpus motion with the Supreme Court of India in an attempt to force his return to that country. The motion was withdrawn following a hearing on May 28 in New Delhi.