On December 1, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that Michael J. Miske was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead. The United States Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to the incident. An autopsy conducted by the Chief Medical Examiner of Honolulu is ongoing, with no current findings of foul play or suicide.
Miske was convicted on July 18, 2024, after a seven-month trial on 13 counts including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping resulting in death, chemical weapons offenses, and obstruction of justice. A jury determined he must forfeit assets exceeding $20 million. His sentencing was postponed from November 26, 2024, to January 30, 2025. He faced a mandatory life sentence.
United States Attorney Clare E. Connors stated: “Michael Miske’s death was unexpected and may terminate some of the ongoing criminal proceedings. The United States spent years investigating Miske’s large-scale criminal enterprise and then years preparing for one of the most grueling trials in this office’s history. Justice was served in the process but aspects of the case remain unfinished. In particular, we are committed to pursuing recovery of the assets found forfeitable by a federal criminal jury and will file pleadings in court as necessary and appropriate.”
The prosecution team included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Inciong, Michael Nammar, KeAupuni Akina, Aislinn Affinito who handled both the criminal case and subsequent forfeiture proceedings with assistance from Craig Nolan and Sydney Spector.