Former Aloha Stadium security chief Herbert Naone Jr. yesterday was sentenced to 16 months in prison and fined $10,000 in an extortion case.

Naone, who at one time was described by the FBI as holding a "prominent position in Hawai'i's organized crime and narcotics trafficking underworld," pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to extort two nightclubs in 2004 and 2005.

He admitted receiving cash from the nightclubs in exchange for providing information about Honolulu Liquor Commission inspections and allowing them to operate in violation of liquor laws.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra said Naone engaged in serious misconduct that caused "a disruption in public confidence" in government.

Ezra, who has presided over previous criminal trials that involved corruption in the Honolulu Liquor Commission, said problems in the agency need to be stopped once and for all.

"The system is so rife with potential problems that we keep seeing these cases," Ezra said.

"Somebody needs to look into this. This problem needs to be avoided in the future."

Naone's lawyer, Christopher Evans, said Naone has lived his life "providing assistance to various individuals in law enforcement" and agreed to cooperate with the FBI before he was formally charged in the Liquor Commission case.

"This is not something new," Evans said of Naone's cooperation. "This is something he's been doing his entire adult life."

Naone was fired as a Honolulu police officer in the mid-1970s after he and two other officers were charged with a shotgun robbery of a Kaua'i gambling game. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of theft and was fined $5,000, but was given a chance to have the charge dropped if he stayed out of trouble for five years. The charge was later erased.

He worked as security head of the state-owned Aloha Stadium facility for 18 years before retiring in September 2006 after he was indicted in the federal criminal case.

"I've learned some hard lessons," Naone told Ezra in court yesterday.

"I accept responsibility for this. I know the difference between right and wrong, and what I did was wrong," he said.

Naone and James Rodenhurst, a supervisory Liquor Commission inspector, were charged with conspiracy to extort the owner of two nightclubs, collecting cash in exchange for information about Liquor Commission inspections, and allowing the clubs to operate in violation of liquor laws.

Rodenhurst was earlier sentenced to 17 months in federal prison and has completed that sentence.

Naone's sentencing date was repeatedly delayed so that he would be available to testify against Rodenhurst and as a prosecution witness in other criminal cases.

Evans claimed that Naone provided information to the FBI in the murder and racketeering trial of Rodney Joseph Jr., Ethan Motta and Kevin Gonsalves,

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni told Ezra that Naone's assistance in that case was minimal.

Ezra allowed Naone to stay free until early next year because he is scheduled for surgical treatment of skin cancer.