HONOLULU (KHON2) β€” On March 9, 2026, the federal government announced it moved for leave to amend its civil forfeiture complaint regarding Michael J. Miske, a crime boss convicted in July 2024.

According to a plaintiff filing in federal court, Miske allegedly committed suicide to stop the more than $20 million forfeiture of his criminal proceeds.

In December 2024, Miske died from a drug overdose in prison. A federal jury convicted him on July 18, 2024 of murder, racketeering conspiracy and 11 other felony charges.

β€œOur criminal prosecution of Michael Miske demonstrated that he was a thug who used robbery, felony assaults, drug trafficking, fraud, chemical weapons attacks on his competitors, murder, and criminal obstruction to terrorize and intimidate Hawaii for many years,” said United States Attorney Ken Sorenson.

On July 24, 2024, a jury in a related criminal forfeiture proceeding found 27 assets seized from Miske to be forfeitable.

β€œWhen he was found guilty by a brave Hawaii jury, Miske then resorted to a plan to frustrate the lawful forfeiture of his criminally derived property by scheming to kill himself while in federal custody awaiting sentencing,” Sorenson said.

The federal government alleged Miske conspired with others to smuggle fentanyl into the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu because his death would terminate those proceedings.

The complaint alleged Miske arranged a car for a recently released inmate, and that person brought him the fentanyl.

Miske used small amounts of fentanyl ahead of the suicide to make it look like an accidental overdose, the court documents alleged.

KHON2 reached out to attorneys representing Miske’s trust in the forfeiture case for comment.

The criminal investigation is still ongoing.

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