Tough Aloha

As Hawaii’s top federal prosecutor, Ed Kubo engages in some tough talk. Recall the “medical marijuana is dead” quote recently? When it comes to things like drugs or terrorism, Kubo is all business. But under that suit and tie is the relaxed aloha of a local boy

Wednesday - July 28, 2005
By Alice Keesing
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Ed and Tammy Kubo

“Last year the United States, in conjunction with an investigation with Thai officials, took down an organization and seized 1 million tablets,” Kubo says. “It was destined for the United States and it was coming here first.”

Another new arrival from the East Coast is Special K.

“It’s not a cereal,” Kubo says dryly. “It’s the name for ketamine, and in essence what this is is a tranquilizer that vets use to put horses down to operate on them. And, my God, who in their right mind would be the first person to say, ‘You know, I’d like to try this’? I don’t know who out there, and whether or not this person is still living or not, but these are drugs which are working their way toward our youth.”

The other big challenge for the U.S. Attorney’s office is the war on terror. President Bush appointed Kubo to the position just seven days before the 9/11 attacks. Through his job, he has been to Ground Zero and talked to people who were there that day. The experiences moved him deeply and strengthened his commitment to his job.

When it comes to terrorist attacks, Hawaii is safe, but not immune, Kubo says.

“We are the United States,” he says. “We do have a large military. We have everything here which is appealing to the terrorists who attacked Bali, we have nightclubs, we’re a resort town, we are dependent on tourism. So Hawaii is never going to be immune.”

It’s because of this that Kubo is a staunch supporter of the Patriot Act. The law gives law enforcement agencies greater freedoms in gathering information, but has been criticized for violating constitutional rights.

“I am privy to success stories,” he says, instances where the Patriot Act has kept the country safe.

The nation’s U.S. attorneys are in the frontlines of the war against terror, and Kubo gets to know things that the rest of us can just guess at. Throughout his career as a deputy city prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney, Kubo always has been reminded of the underbelly of society.

“In my line of work where you see so much pain out there, you need to keep yourself in check,” he says.

He does that with the help of his colleagues and his wife, Tammy, and the five children they have from previous marriages.

Their match was the result of a blind date that eventually led to a proposal in the Rose Garden. Right, that Rose Garden.

During a visit to the White House,Kubo arranged permission to use the famous spot, where he dropped on one knee to pop the question. The scenic proposal obviously worked, as the couple married in February last year at the Halekulani.

The kid in Kubo also gets away with the help of a stack of Three Stooges videos that sits next to his television at home.

“The originals, the ones with Curly — I just love them,” he says.

Oh, and about Jasmine Trias. When she was soaring to American Idol fame, she could count the U.S. Attorney as one of her fans.

Kubo was there with his dialing finger when Progressive Communications threw a voting party for Trias.

“I always treasure when a local boy or girl makes good,” he says. “And Jasmine was making Hawaii so proud of her, and I wanted to be part of that support and so I jumped in there to help out.”

Now, that’s not tough talk.

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