Settlement talks between the Puana family and attorneys for the city have collapsed, leaving the victims of the Kealoha corruption scandal preparing for trial.
“We want to know what the mayor’s role was in getting the Police Commission to settle with Chief Kealoha at a time when we think they knew more than enough to resist doing that.”
Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and two of his officers - Derek Hahn and Bobby Nguyen - now won’t have to report to federal prisons until June 1.
All nine members of the 2017 Honolulu City Council have now testified before a federal grand jury investigating the payoff for disgraced ex-HPD Chief Louis Kealoha.
New Councilman Calvin Say described Roy Amemiya’s position as a legislative liaison and said it’s a temporary position, lasting between six months and a year.
Masunaga is co-conspirator number 4 in the 2019 federal indictment that charged former deputy city prosecutor Katherine Kealoha and her brother, Dr. Rudolph Puana, with drug crimes.
More officials currently or previously tied to Honolulu Hale are being called to testify in connection with a federal probe stemming from the Kealoha scandal.
A federal judge sentenced Katherine Kealoha to 13 years last month, but the Bureau of Prisons has since set her release date at July 24, 2030, less than a decade from now.
“There’s no question to me that the city is liable for a lot of that. We’re not going to get restitution from the Kealohas, they don’t have anything left,” said Puana’s attorney. “The city is on the hook.”
Katherine Kealoha, a former high-ranking deputy city prosecutor, orchestrated the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from people who trusted her, as well as financial institutions.
In the five-page letter, Kealoha says she has been locked in her cell for 23 hours a day since April because of the pandemic and calls her time behind bars “my cross to bear.”
Gary Singh Singh told Chief Judge J. Michael Seabright that Kealoha refused to meet with him on Nov. 3 and again on Nov. 6 at the Federal Detention Center, where she is being held
Katherine Kealoha, who is in jail while awaiting sentencing for a conspiracy conviction wants to participate in hearings for a lawsuit her uncle filed against her by telephone because of the pandemic.
Almost two years after he received a subject letter from the US Department of Justice and went on leave, deputy city Prosecutor Chasid Sapolu is back at work.
Sentencing hearings for the couple had been originally scheduled for March. The judge postponed because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
Another sentencing date could finally be set for Honolulu’s former police chief, Louis Kealoha, his wife Katherine, a former deputy prosecutor, and two police officers who were found guilty on June 27, 2019 of obstruction and conspiracy.
Lian Abernathy, chief deputy clerk, said in a statement that the decision was made “in the interest of the safety and health of the public and of court employees."
Kealoha’s attorney made the argument in a court document that his since been sealsed, citing Kealoha’s “long and distinguished record of service and contribution to the community.
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