HONOLULU – A crime boss in Hawaii who was convicted in a revenge murder plot against his son’s friend was found dead inside his prison cell over the weekend, according to officials.
Michael “Mike” Miske, 50, was discovered unresponsive inside his cell at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu on Sunday, the Bureau of Prisons announced.
Miske was pronounced dead just after 10 a.m. His cause of death remains unclear, BOP said in its Monday press release.
Investigators are reportedly probing the inmate’s death as a suicide, although it’s unclear if Miske was on suicide watch, KGMB reported.
Miske was convicted in July by a jury on 13 counts, including racketeering conspiracy, murder in the aid of racketeering, and kidnapping resulting in death.
The criminal indictment referred to his organization as the “Miske Enterprise,” which ran from the late 1990s until his arrest in July 2020, when he was taken into custody on kidnapping and murder charges in connection to the disappearance of 21-year-old Jonathan Fraser.
Miske’s late son, Caleb Miske, was Fraser’s best friend. The duo was involved in a traffic collision together in November 2015, resulting in the Caleb’s death.
Despite the official police report listing Caleb as the driver, Miske reportedly blamed Fraser, saying he was responsible for the death of his only son, the New York Post reported.
In July 2016, Fraser disappeared without a trace and his body was never recovered.
Jonathan Fraser (FBI)
Miske was eventually arrested in July 2020 and charged with Fraser’s disappearance and presumed death. The federal trial began in January 2024 and lasted about six months.
“During the trial, evidence was produced that from about March 2016 and continuing to about July 30, 2016, Miske conspired with others to kidnap and murder 21-year-old Jonathan Fraser in the belief that Fraser was responsible for Miske’s son’s death as a result of an automobile crash,” according to the US Attorney’s Office.
“In March 2016, Miske instructed a co-conspirator to develop a plan for kidnapping and murdering Fraser and told that co-conspirator that he/she could name the price for carrying out the murder. On or about July 30, 2016, Fraser was kidnapped and killed.”
“On that same day, another of Miske’s co-conspirators took Fraser’s significant other on a ‘spa day,’ thereby ensuring that Fraser and his significant other would be separated from each other when Fraser was kidnapped.”
The extent of Miske’s criminal network was also revealed during the trial and several of his criminal associates were implicated on various charges, according to the New York Post.
During his trial, Miske, who owned several businesses including a glitzy nightclub, was also accused of orchestrating crimes that included murder-for-hire, robbery, the kidnapping of a 72-year-old accountant who owed a debt, and the release of a toxic chemical into a rival’s nightclub.
“In or about March 2017, Miske and others conspired to release a chemical weapon, namely, chloropicrin, into nightclubs in Honolulu, Hawaii. As part of this conspiracy, chloropicrin was released into two different nightclubs,” according to the US Attorney’s Office.
As a result of the conviction, the government seized $28 million of Miske’s assets.
Prior to his death this week, Miske was scheduled to be sentenced in January. He was facing up to life in prison.
