A federal legal doctrine requires all actions be vacated if a defendant dies before being sentenced or if any appeals remain.

It turns out the convicted crime boss had a history of medical issues. But further testing is being done to figure out the cause of his death.

Miske was found guilty of 13 federal counts in July, two of which carried mandatory minimum life sentences.

Jake Smith emerged as a key witness against the convicted Honolulu crime boss after agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors.

The ex-Honolulu businessman was convicted of murder in connection with the 2016 killing of Johnathan Fraser, among other charges. His sentencing is set for late November.

A motion filed last week says there's no place safe in the Federal Detention Center for Jake Smith, but a judge denied releasing him on house arrest until sentencing.

Federal prosecutors say the community is safer because of Michael Miske's racketeering conviction, but other groups are still at work in Hawaii's criminal underworld.

The forfeiture trial was the last phase in the nearly seven-month federal trial of Michael Miske, who was convicted last week of 13 counts related to the operation of a racketeering organization.

Prosecutors failed to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Miske had paid for the murder of Johnathan Fraser, even though the jury convicted him of other crimes related to Fraser's death.

Prosecutors allege that Mike Miske wrongly blamed Jonathan Fraser for the death of his son, Caleb, and had him killed in retaliation.