Two crews. One parking lot. And in broad daylight at a city golf course, a handshake turned into gunfire.
On January 7, 2004, Lepo Utu Taliese, his brother Tino Sao, and Romelius “Junior” Corpuz Jr. met with rivals Ethan “Malu” Motta, Rodney Joseph Jr., and Kevin “Pancho” Gonsalves outside the Pali Municipal Golf Course. Within minutes, golfers dove for cover as 13 to 18 shots echoed across the fairway. Taliese and Corpuz Jr. lay dead. Sao survived a bullet to the face. And Taliese, collapsing on the grass, used his dying breath to name his killers.
What followed was more than a murder case. It became one of Hawaiʻi’s biggest organized crime trials — a federal RICO prosecution that put defendants away for life and reshaped the city’s gambling underworld.
This is a story of families shattered, turf wars over illegal gambling rooms, and the violence that spilled into a public space where no one expected it.
—
Sources for this episode include:The Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Hawaii News Now archives, federal court filings, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
—
Follow Beneath the Palms on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
For visuals and updates, join us on Instagram and YouTube.
And if you’d like to walk further with us, you can find bonus episodes and support on Patreon at Beneath the Palms Podcast.
—
#BeneathThePalms #HawaiiTrueCrime #PaliGolfCourse #HawaiiPodcast #HawaiiHistory #TrueCrimePodcasts #HawaiiTrueCrimePodcast #OrganizedCrime #TrueCrimeCommunity #HawaiiCrime
