Fearing that organized crime may be resurfacing, federal and state law enforcement agencies want to put out the word that Hawai'i will not be a haven for criminals expanding their enterprises, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said yesterday.

"From here on in, they must look over their shoulders because we are coming," Kubo said.

Kubo said a new indictment this week alleges that Chinatown restaurateur Kai Ming Wang, also known as "A Fook," operates a criminal enterprise that used extortion, robbery and the 2004 double murder at the Pali Golf Course to operate and protect his gambling establishments.

Kubo said his office has not had to address organized crime here since the 1992 conviction of the late organized crime figure Charles Stevens.

"This case makes one thing clear," Kubo said. "We cannot sit on our laurels and allow organized crime to grow like a virus in this state."

Wang's lawyer, William Harrison, disputed the allegations in the new indictment returned by the federal grand jury on Wednesday.

"There is no truth to (Wang) being the head of any organization, in any kind of criminal enterprise," Harrison said.

Wang, 42, manager of a Chinatown restaurant, was arrested last month and is being held without bail at the Federal Detention Center.

The indictment also is against the three men who face pending murder charges in state court for the Windward golf course shooting on Jan. 7, 2004. Rodney Joseph Jr., Ethan Motta and Kevin Gonsalves also are accused in the federal indictment of murder and working for Wang.

They are charged with murdering Lepo Utu Taliese and Romilius Corpuz and trying to murder Tinoimalu Sao, who was shot in the face but survived.

If convicted in federal court, the three defendants face a maximum sentence of either life behind bars or the death penalty. Kubo said his office will make a recommendation to the U.S. attorney general, who will decide whether to authorize a death penalty prosecution.

Gonsalves' lawyer, Clifford Hunt, accused the prosecution of "forum shopping."

"They can't get their way in state courts so they're now running home to momma in federal court," he said.

Motta pleaded not guilty to the federal charges yesterday. Motta's lawyer, Todd Eddins, and Joseph's lawyer, Reginald Minn, declined to comment.

The city prosecution's case against Joseph, Motta and Gonsalves stalled in state court after a statement by Joseph to police was ruled inadmissible. The case was suspended while city prosecutors appealed the ruling. In February, the Hawai'i Supreme Court affirmed the ruling, throwing out the statement and whatever evidence was gathered based on Joseph's remarks.

Kubo said the problems in the state court prosecution were not a factor in bringing the federal indictment, but he indicated federal court rulings might permit the use of the statement in the federal prosecution. He also noted that the federal indictment carries the potential of capital punishment, which is not permitted under state law.

Kubo said Wang operated gambling establishments, including one on Young Street that was the scene of a 2003 brawl between two groups. Sao, who was at the Pali Golf Course, was beaten during the fight.

Wang had hired the victims in the Pali shootings for protection in 1999, but later hired his co-defendants also for protection as well as extorting and robbing a rival gambling operation on Moanalua Road in Pearl City, Kubo said.

By the end of 2003, a dispute evolved between Wang's two groups — one including the victims and the other his co-defendants — that resulted in the Pali Golf Course shooting, Kubo said.

It will be decided later whether the state or federal prosecution will proceed first.

Also charged as being part of Wang's alleged racketeering organization was Siaosi Alapati. He and his lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.