The Hawaiian underworld of the 1960s and 1970s was particularly brutal, seeing the creation of The Company, a Pan-Asian and Polynesian crime syndicate that controlled state’s gambling, prostitution, loansharking and narcotics trades during the era. The Company left many bodies in its wake, but pretty much died out by the beginning of the 1980s. Their presence wasn’t missed. Below is a timeline of dozens of mob hits in Hawaii tied to The Company and other local gangland factions fighting for control of the Island rackets. The Hawaiian 5-0 Hit List (1962-1980) August 21, 1962 – Honolulu hoodlums Joseph (Fat Joe) Hong and Joe (Little Yobo) Hong are found shot to death in backseat of a car. The Hongs – unrelated – were a collection team in the gambling world and the first gangland hits on the books for the state of Hawaii. March 18, 1965 – Hawaiian mob enforcer Irino (Reno the Boxer) Abellira, Sr., father of the famous pro surfer, Reno Abellira, is shot to death in a Pauahi pool hall. July 25, 1965 – Banker Jack Wadsworth is beaten and strangled to death, his body dumped into Honolulu Harbor. July 6, 1966 – Hawaiian gambler Hain Darcramento shot to death at Steve’s Pool Room. July 14, 1967 – Hawaiian crime lord, George (Big Yobo) Chung, is killed inside a Mauna Kea Street. gambling hall. It was Chung’s death that led to the rise of Wilford (Nappy) Pulawa and the founding of The Company. September 17, 1967 – Female informant Clara Takashima, the wife of a drug dealer connected to The Company is killed inside her kitchen in Kaimuki after agreeing to testify against The Company. November 18, 1967 – Hawaiian bookie and gambler Gasoluima (Gussie High Beams) Uperesa is shot to death in Max’s Pool Hall. January 5, 1968 – Honolulu gangster Moses Huihui is shot to death and dumped on Nuuanu Pali Drive. January 31, 1968 – Honolulu gangster Henry (Hank the Bank) Kamiyana is shot and dumped on Stainback Highway. March 21, 1968 – Honolulu civic worker Maxwell Judd is shot to death for refusing to pay back a gambling debt to The Company. May 9, 1968 – Honolulu wiseguy Joseph (Irish Joe) Gahan is shot to death and left at taxicab stand. July 9, 1968 – Honolulu drug dealer John (J.J.) Johnson is killed and dumped on Makua Ranch property. April 28, 1969 – Hawaiian mob figures Bobby Adams and Johnny Flores, who in tandem ran a Waianae gambling network, are shot to death inside their social club. June 23, 1969 – Hawaiian gangster, Richard (Dickie Dungarees) Johnson, a pimp and drug pusher, is killed and his body disposed of in an incinerator in Kapalama. June 29, 1969 – Hawaiian mob enforcer Andrew (Big Ali Pang) Miranda mob enforcer is killed in Kakaako. September 8, 1969 – Hawaiian wiseguy Ronnie Kukuda is found shotgunned to death in a Kunia sugarcane field. November 4, 1969 – Honolulu gambler Mataua Tua is found shot to death in an alley. February 13, 1970 – Bookie and travel junketeer Hiroshi (Harry Flowers) Otake is found strangled to death in the trunk of his car. He ran his business out of Kalihi’s Orchid Nursery. February 24, 1970 – Hawaiian wiseguys Lamont Nery and Dennis Iha are shot to death and buried in Mokuleia. May 11, 1970 – Waikiki hotel owner Ross Fitzjohn is shot dead behind the desk in his hotel office during robbery orchestrated by The Company. October 12, 1970 – O’ahu gambler Jerry Batausa is beaten and shot to death in a wooded area near the Wilson Tunnel. October 21, 1970 – Honolulu mob figure Francis (Chinatown Frank) Burke is shot dead in the middle of the street in Chinatown. He operated his rackets out of a coin and stamp collectors store. October 23, 1970 – State senator Larry Kuriyama is shot to death in the garage of his Aiea Heights home after attending a political rally for the governor. November 2, 1970 – Hawaiian gambler Herman Marfil is shot to death and dumped on Waianae Valley Rd. November 8, 1970 – Hawaiian wiseguy Charles (Charlie A) Akana is found shot to death in Ewa. December 2, 1970 – Eyewitness Mitzi Klotzbach, the girlfriend of a member of The Company and present at the Charlie Akana murder, is found shot to death and buried near Waianae Bay. May 7, 1971 – Hawaiian gambler Pablo Ulanco is found shot to death in a vacant lot in Moanalua. February 1, 1972 – Pre-teen Doris (Pinky) McCoy is pickaxed to death in Kahuku for the belief that she knew too much about Company affairs and was too mouthy to keep it to herself. March 1, 1972 – Mob gun moll and drug dealer Donna Davis is shot to death and buried in Kaena. April 4, 1972 – Hawaiian bookie Freddy Souza is shot to death in Likelike. April 9, 1972 – Hawaiian bookie Joseph (Joe Chocolate) Kang shot to death in Halawa. April 16, 1972 – Hawaiian wiseguy Wilford (Waianae Willie) Wong is shot to death and buried on Waianae Beach. He was also known as “Wongie.” May 3, 1972 – Hawaiian crime boss Harold (Biggie) Chan is shot to death and dumped on Kahaluu Road in Kaneohe. June 9, 1972 – Hawaiian underworld figure Vernon Hall is shot to death in Kaimuki. September 7, 1972 – Hawaiian underworld figure Robert Brown and his teenage girlfriend Marylinn Cummings are shot to death in a Honolulu hotel room. November 3, 1972 – Indebted gambler Buckley Everson is stabbed and beaten to death inside his Tantalus home. December 31, 1972 – Gangland girlfriend Janeece Ford is found strangled to death and buried in a Koolauloa sugarcane field. November 18, 1973 – Hawaiian mob enforcer Franklin (Mustang Frank) Melandre is shot to death inside an Oahu prison. March 12, 1974 – Burglar Sterling Thomas is shot to death behind the wheel of his car under indictment for string of robberies. March 26, 1974 – Gambler Phil Kim is beaten to death in a Waialae pool hall. April 5, 1974 – Realtor Rick Bechert is shot while jogging in Aala Park. April 18, 1974 – Burglar Frank Bates is shot to death in Kalihi while free on an appeal bond for robbery conviction. May 31, 1974 – Gambler Joe Tupa is shot to death in Lualualei and left at a Maili trash dump. July 7, 1974 – Drug dealer Allen (Al Waters) Wessell is shot to death in a telephone booth right outside the Big K Bar in Kalihi. July 20, 1974 – Convicted felon Melvin Silva is shot to death in a Kapalono Park restroom. July 30, 1974 – Hawaiian mob enforcer Alex (The Gorilla) Kong shot to death on Olomana golf course. August 15, 1974 – Burglar Melvin Titcomb, recently paroled from prison, shot to death and left on roadside in Waimanalo. September 6, 1974 – College bookie Allen Francisco is found shot to death and inside the trunk of his car at the Ala Moana Center mall. October 29, 1974 – Gas station manager Stan Horie, a former professional burglar and police informant, is shot to death as he pulled into his apartment complex parking lot in Kapahulu. December 9, 1974 – Gambler Eddie Chung is shot to death in his Date Street apartment in Honolulu. July 15, 1975 – Honolulu bookie Donnie Kealoha is shot to death and dumped in Salt Lake. April 17, 1975 – Waikiki nightclub doorman Charles (Chuckers) Marsland III is killed after leaving the Infinity Disco. Marsland’s father became the Honolulu top prosecutor and went after The Company and members of the mob he held responsible for his son’s murder. August 5, 1975 – Suspected Japanese Yakuza affiliate Stan Tamura is stabbed to death inside his Maui home. August 8, 1975 – Suspected Japanese Yakuza affiliate Sajiro Matsui is shot to death in Kahuku. September 15, 1975 – Suspected Japanese Yakuza affiliate Hiram Kauhane killed in parking lot of Honolulu apartment. September 18, 1975 – Honolulu wiseguy John Naeole is shot to death in Kaneohe. September 26, 1975 – Suspected Japanese Yakuza affiliate Aukuso Siligia is shot to death in Kipapa pineapple field. September 29, 1975 – Gambler Don Ryan is shot to death in Waimanalo. May 28, 1976 – Suspected Japanese Yakuza affiliate Jackson (Junket Jack) Inada and his girlfriend Junan Song shot to death in Moilili. Inada ran travel junkets from Tokyo to Honolulu and worked out of a travel agency in Chinatown. January 2, 1976 – Honolulu wiseguy Joe Miha is gunned down in Tommy’s Lounge in the city’s Chinatown district by the son of John Naeole, who he suspected of being involved in the hit on his father. November 17, 1976 – Hawaiian mob drug lieutenant Stan Ota is shot to death in Aliamnu Crater while under indictment in a federal narcotics case. November 19, 1976 – Ota’s girlfriend, Sandy Hall, is stabbed to death on Sandy Beach. November 21, 1976 – Young east coast wiseguy Joe (Joey New York) Carreiro is strangled to death and dumped on Honolulu highway near Hilo. He was suspected in a series of drug rip offs on the Big Island and went missing on November 9. May 6, 1977 – Labor boss Josiah Lii is shot to death leaving his Inland Boatmen’s Union office on Alaska Street in Honolulu. May 13, 1977 – The Molokai Massacre Shootout: Hawaiian underworld figures Charles Leleo, Gilbert Honda, William Kekahuna & Reggie Cosma are killed in a shootout. July 29, 1977 – Hawaiian wiseguy Bennie Madamba is beaten to death at Mendonca’s Hilo House hotel in Honolulu, his body dumped in Hilo. September 6, 1977 – Hawaiian mob enforcer David Riviera is shot to death behind the wheel of his car outside a Nuuanu gambling den. January 27, 1978 – Suspected Japanese Yakuza affiliate Tsuma (Tani) Matsuoka is shot to death and dumped in a sugarcane field. April 6, 1978 – Honolulu underworld figure Conrad Maesaka and his girlfriend Patty Stevens are shot to death inside their home. May 4, 1978 – Building contractor and Hawaiian mob associate Paul Warford and his business partner David Blue are gunned down in a triple murder contract that only scored two victims. Harriett Savage was wounded in the attack but survived. November 13, 1978 – Hawaiian wiseguy Arthur Baker is kidnapped from Sunday Lounge and buried alive in Maili. May 20, 1980 – Hawaiian mob chief Bobby Fukumoto is shotgunned inside The Brass Door Lounge.
