Nearing end of sentences, ex-cops in Kealoha scandal moved to halfway house

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Two former Honolulu police officers convicted in the Kealoha public corruption scandal are nearing the end of their sentences.

Derek Hahn and Ming-Hung ‘Bobby’ Nguyen have been moved to Sacramento to serve out the remainder of their time in a halfway house.

A federal jury found them guilty of conspiracy in June 2019 in what’s known as the “mailbox trial.”

Hahn was sentenced to 3 1/2 years and was sent to Sheridan, Oregon to serve his time. He will be freed later this month. Nguyen got 4 1/2 years at a prison in South Dakota; his release date is April 19.

There are no federal halfway houses in Hawaii so both men were moved to California.

“The reason you go to a halfway house is to reintegrate yourself into the community,” said Alexander Silvert, a retired federal public defender who was a witness in the trial.

Silvert said those in a halfway house can have jobs and reconnect with family and friends.

“There are no cells but there are curfews. There are restrictions,” Silvert said, adding an inmate who misbehaves in a halfway house can be sent back to prison.

Hahn and Nguyen worked under ex-HPD chief Louis Kealoha, who was also convicted in the case.

Kealoha is still in prison in Oregon, and won’t be out until 2026.

He was sentenced to seven years for his role in the conspiracy to set up a man for a crime he didn’t commit — the theft of the Kealoha mailbox.

His wife, Katherine Kealoha, was the ring leader of the conspiracy while she was a high-ranking deputy city prosecutor. She was sentenced to the most time — 13 years.

The victim of the fake crime she organized, was her uncle.

Kealoha is in a California prison with a release date of 2030.

The Kealohas will also be eligible to move to a halfway house in the last year of their sentence.

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