Buying Options

Digital List Price:	$24.99
Print List Price:	$19.99
Kindle Price:	$9.99 Save $15.00 (75%)

Enter a promotion code or Gift Card

Share <Embed>

Sunny Skies, Shady Characters: Cops, Killers, and Corruption in the Aloha State (A Latitude 20 Book) by [James Dooley]

Follow the Author

Mr. James A. Dooley

Sunny Skies, Shady Characters: Cops, Killers, and Corruption in the Aloha State (A Latitude 20 Book) Kindle Edition

by James Dooley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

146 ratings

Part of: Latitude 20 Book (13 Books)

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.99

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$19.99

$19.51

For thirty years starting in the mid-1970s, the byline of Jim Dooley appeared on riveting investigative stories of organized crime and political corruption that headlined the front page of Honolulu’s morning daily. In Sunny Skies, Shady Characters, James Dooley revisits highlights of his career as a hard-hitting investigative reporter for the Honolulu Advertiser and, in later years, for KITV television and the online Hawaii Reporter. His lively backstories on how he chased these high-profile scandals make fascinating reading, while providing an insider’s look at the business of journalism and the craft of investigative reporting.

Dooley’s first assignment as an investigative journalist involved the city housing project of Kukui Plaza, which introduced him to the “pay to play” method of awarding government contracts to obliging consultants. In later stories, he scrutinized bloody struggles over illicit gambling revenue, the murder of a city prosecutor’s son, local syndicate ties to the Teamsters Union, and the dealings of Bishop Estate. His groundbreaking coverage of the forays by yakuza into Hawaii and the continental United States were the first of its kind in American journalism.

As Dooley pursued stories from the underside of island society, names of respected public figures and those of violent criminals filled his notebook: entertainer Don Ho, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Governors George Ariyoshi and Ben Cayetano, Mayor Frank Fasi, and notorious felons Henry Huihui, Nappy Pulawa, and Ronnie Ching. Woven throughout is the name of Big Island rancher Larry Mehau—was he the “godfather of organized crime” in Hawaii as alleged by the FBI, or simply an ex-cop who befriended power brokers in the course of doing business for his security guard firm? The book includes a timeline of Mehau’s activities to allow readers to judge for themselves.

Print length

246 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Latitude 20
Publication date

August 31, 2015
File size

18440 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Jason Ryan
47
Kindle Edition
$16.99
Samuel P. King
111
Kindle Edition
$0.00
Liliuokalani
494
Kindle Edition
$0.99
Joanne Takasato
35
Kindle Edition
$8.35
David E. Stannard
81
Kindle Edition
$13.99
Robert T. Kiyosaki
364
Kindle Edition
$13.70

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Jason Ryan
47
Kindle Edition
$16.99
Samuel P. King
111
Kindle Edition
$0.00

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login nowAmazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dooley's a born storyteller. Many reporters are, but the requirements of daily journalism usually leave out the back-story that tells, or amuses, or frightens. The memoir of a career sets the writer free. And Dooley uses that freedom here. [He] also provides every journalism teacher in the state with a first-rate textbook that teaches the hard slog required to do investigative reporting. -- Dan Boylan ― MidWeek

[Dooley’s] greatest hits were darned impressive, and it’ll likely be enough for Sunny Skies, Shady Characters to join the short list of books considered must-reads for those seeking to understand Hawaii. -- David Shapiro ― Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Sunny Skies, Shady Characters by James Dooley―Hawaii's bravest investigative reporter―recounts the secret history of Hawaii that all of us have been waiting for: a book of shocking revelations, featuring a cast of thieves, heavies, enforcers, and yakuza thugs and sneaks who have so intimidated the islands that the truth of their villainy has been suppressed―until now. At last, we know where the bodies are buried, and who buried them. -- Paul Theroux

The stories recounted here were once front-page news and they lose none of their timeliness in the translation into a book. For those who lived through those times, the book is an opportunity to recall the scandals and scoundrels that infested Hawai'i, and for those too young to remember, it is a reminder of why a vigilant press is an essential ingredient to an informed public. -- Gerald Kato, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Raised in San Francisco and the Bay Area, James Dooley worked as a United Press International reporter in Honolulu in 1973 and a year later joined the staff of the Honolulu Advertiser, where he was an investigative reporter for nearly two decades. After five years at Honolulu's KITV News, Dooley returned to the Advertiser in 2002 and moved to online reporting at Hawaii Reporter in 2010. He retired in 2012. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN : B013VRJI0G
Publisher : Latitude 20 (August 31, 2015)
Publication date : August 31, 2015
Language : English
File size : 18440 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 246 pages
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #314,440 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #147 in Corruption & Misconduct in Politics
- #202 in Biographies of Journalists
- #213 in History of Western U.S.

Customer Reviews:
146 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		16%
3 star		7%
2 star		1%
1 star		3%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Oceangirl

I liked reading about a lot of the local characters in ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

I grew up in Hawaii during the same era. I liked reading about a lot of the local characters in the book. Most very familiar to us. I think the writer was very courageous to write about a couple of the well known characters and entertainers. I know some of their family members were not happy about it, and I could understand why. One actually wrote into the local magazine and it was printed in the editorial section of that magazine. I do know Don Ho's family went through enough suffering already, especially his kids. I do feel for them. We all like to have a public persona especially living on an island. He definitely exposed some characters and I do believe he was honest about them due to what we heard through the grapevine and local newspapers. These days a lot is kept out of our news due to possible lawsuits. It takes guts to write about local politics and crime figures especially in Hawaii where you can not easily hide on an island. Good job James Dooley.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Steven Burke

His book pretty well covers all the "high lights" and "low lights" ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

I'm a retired HPD officer, serving from the 60's thru the early 90's, I met Dooley on several occasions.His book pretty well covers all the "high lights" and "low lights" crimewise of that time period. I was a member of the infamous Metro Squad that pretty much took care of business streetwise, we "took no prisoners". I knew all of the "cast of characters" in his book, the "good, the bad & the ugly", I would say there was a sort of "mutual respect" among the guys, some of us went to school together, played football with or against each other. pounded the weights. & even socialized at times, but that "line" in the sand was always their. A lotta guys mentioned in Jim's book have since either died or they are old and ailing. This book brought back some big time flashbacks !!!

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

8083BCT10Mn

Outstanding Book on the Culture of Corruption in Hawaii Politics

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is an excellent book that recounts the soft and dirty corruption that pervades Hawaii. Big business, unions, media and government cooperate together as a well tuned machine in the islands with organized crime as the oil that makes these gears work. Jim Dooley is a rare reporter willing to buck the 'local' system and expose the ugly underbelly of Hawaii's idyllic public image. The crooked culture most any other community would never tolerate, Hawaii seems willfully ignorant and willing to accept as just the normal island way of doing things. This is an essential book for anyone who wants to understand how Hawaii really works.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Gayle Nakama

Shady Skies, Shady Characters

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

I purchased this book because I had previously worked for an attorney who surprisingly was NOT mentioned in this book. I don't know how he kept his name out of the media but he is now a part time per diem Judge for the First Circuit in the State of Hawaii. I concur with James Dooley on this fascinating story, many of the facts mentioned, I know are true, personally. I have met many of the characters many of whom have totally changed their lives around for the better. A lot of them have since passed away and many of their secrets would die with them. However, some of the way that their cases were handled by their attorneys gives much to be desired, sloppy way of representing their clients to the best of the clients' interest. A lot of the old ways of handling things are replaced by other means now, but this book tells it all in a fascinating sort of way for the curious and the not to curious. I'm sad that Dooley retired, I wish I had a chance to share some of my experiences with him which of course, would be the way to a second follow up book. However, I am bound by the clients' interest and confidentiality agreement which some of the attorneys don't seem to take to heart. These are the types of attorneys to avoid. I was a legal assistant, office manager for one of the attorneys who really should have been mentioned in the book. He has, however, placed his two cents into the review elsewhere.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Lucies

Off to a great start, but deteriorated into lists of names

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2017

Verified Purchase

The first half (or more) of this book is great - when the author is in storytelling mode. I particularly enjoyed the insights into his activities as an investigative journalist, and his skirmishes with editors. Towards the end, however, the storytelling is largely gone, replaced by long lists of names that were hard for me to keep straight. The story of the movie truck drivers felt like it could almost be the plot of its own movie - but it was hard to follow because of all the names involved.

To me the book felt rushed at the end, which is a shame.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Oy, Hawaii, ya gotta read dis.

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

Great read, very well written. Answers a bunch of questions and suspicions I've had for the last 26 years. Should be required reading in every Hawaii high school, but that ain't gonna happen. This is the corrupt State of Hawaii after all. Mahlo Nui Loa to the author Jim Dooley and the University of Hawaii publishers.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Stephany L. Sofos

Interesting, but fractured...

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

At first I was so excited to read this book because it had so many stories I had read about it, but unfortunately as I got into the book the stories became fractured and disconnected. It was hard to understand what player was in what year and what role. If Mr. Dooley had just started at the beginning when he first came into investigative reporting in 1973 and then just work through the years, year by year, it would've been a lot easier to understand. Linear writing is easier for the average person.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ian Y. Lind

A good read by a top notch reporter

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

Jim Dooley was one of Hawaii's great investigative reporters for several decades, and he's pulled together his tales of tracking organized crime through the maze of Hawaii courts and politics.

If you are a Hawaii resident, this is really a must read. And if you're a visitor, you'll still learn a lot about how Hawaii works by reading these tales.

And Dooley is a pretty good story teller, so it's a good ride.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

David E. Stannard
81
Kindle Edition
$13.99
Liliuokalani
494
Kindle Edition
$0.99

Buying Options

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

Sunny Skies, Shady Characters: Cops, Killers, and Corruption in the Aloha State (A Latitude 20 Book) Kindle Edition

Customers who bought this item also bought

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?