Terri Ann Otani was ordered to have no contact with the family members whose names she allegedly used.

A prominent Honolulu engineering firm’s former secretary pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges she illegally funneled money to a political candidate through her relatives.

Prosecutors say Terri Ann Otani, 70, donated $2,000 to former Honolulu mayoral candidate Colleen Hanabusa in 2020 in the names of her sister and niece. Judge Ronald Johnson on Monday ordered Otani not to contact her sister or her niece.

Otani’s attorney, Doris Lum, declined to comment on the charges. Hanabusa is not accused of wrongdoing.

Campaign finance violations are almost never prosecuted in Hawaiʻi , but revelations in a federal trial last year laid the groundwork for state charges.

In that separate feder

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