Louis Kealoha ordered to repay $250K settlement, though city unlikely to ever see it

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - A circuit court judge has ordered former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha to repay the $250,000 the Honolulu Police Commission gave him to retire in 2017, before he was indicted on federal corruption charges.

But legal experts say the chances the city ever gets any of that money back are slim.

The ruling comes just weeks after Kealoha and his estranged wife, Katherine ―a former high-ranking deputy prosecutor in Honolulu ― were sentenced in federal court following their convictions on conspiracy, obstruction of justice and bank fraud charges.

The federal judge sentenced Louis to seven years in prison and ordered the Kealohas to pay combined restitution totaling $455,000.

Some of that restitution will originate from his pension. Once the monthly deposit of about $9,700 is made into a bank account, about $7,000 of it will be used to repay individual victims while he is in prison.

After the victims are repaid, the city can get in line to try and recoup its share.

“The city filed a complaint seeking repayment of the $250,000 that was paid over to Kealoha with the condition that should he be found guilty, he would have to pay the money back,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “This is a paper judgment, it’s only as good as the paper it was printed on. But this paper can now be reported in the Bureau of Conveyances. It could also garnish any wages, should he seek re-employment once he comes out of prison.”

Kealoha is scheduled to report to federal prison in April. Katherine Kealoha is already in federal custody serving her sentence.

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