Attorney wants to serve Kealohas by publication

The attorney for a man suing former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine, claimed the two are avoiding being served papers on the complaint, and wants to be able to serve them through a general publication instead.

Eric Seitz, attorney for Gerard Puana, also stated in a U.S. District Court filing Wednesday that “I am informed and believe that a criminal indictment of most or all of the named defendants (in the civil suit) is likely to be presented to the grand jury within a matter of just weeks.”

The civil case brought by Puana, Katherine Kealoha’s estranged uncle, alleges that he was wrongfully arrested, incarcerated and maliciously prosecuted, and denied his constitutional rights as a result of actions taken improperly by the Kealohas and several police officers in order to diminish his reputation and discredit his standing in a long-running family dispute over money.

Among the allegations are that Puana was wrongfully prosecuted for the theft of the mailbox in front of the Kahala house where the Kealohas lived in June 2013, and that parties conspired to cover up the wrongdoing. The case against Puana was dismissed in December 2014 when Kealoha made an inadmissible statement during the trial.

The lawsuit appears to mirror federal grand jury proceedings that have taken place for more than a year and, to date, have led to one former police officer pleading guilty to federal conspiracy charges as well as wide speculation that an indictment against the Kealohas and others may be forthcoming in a case that involves racketeering and civil rights violations.

A woman answering the phone at Seitz’s office Wednesday afternoon said he was unavailable and would not be commenting on the filing.

Myles Breiner, one of the Kealohas’ attorneys, called Seitz’s assertion “ludicrous” and an attempt to undermine the Kealohas’ credibility.

Puana and the Kealohas have been entangled for a number of years in a financial dispute that also involves Florence Puana, who is Gerard’s mother and Katherine’s grandmother. Katherine Kealoha is a high-ranking deputy prosecutor in city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro’s office.

In this latest civil lawsuit against the Kealohas, filed in December, Puana alleges the couple and others used their positions to diminish his reputation in order to discredit his standing in the financial dispute.

Other defendants named in the lawsuit are current and former HPD officers Minh-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen, Daniel Sellers, Niall Silva, Walter Callistro and Dru Akagi.

Documents filed by Seitz on Wednesday show Silva, Nguyen, Akagi and Sellers were served on Tuesday, but that attempts to serve the Kealohas have been unsuccessful “despite several calls and emails to their attorneys and numerous attempts by my process server to locate them at residential addresses that have been provided for us.”

As a result, Seitz said in his motion for an extension with Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang, “I am informed and believe that the lawyers for Defendants Katherine Kealoha and Louis Kealoha will not accept service on their behalf, that the Kealoha defendants actively are avoiding service, and that it therefore may become necessary to serve them by publication.”

Seitz asked that he be given until May 15 to serve the Kealohas, and permission to serve them by publication if necessary.

Breiner, in an email responding to a request for comment on Wednesday’s filing, dismissed the assertion.

“The Kealohas are lifelong residents of the State of Hawaii,” Breiner said. “The assertion that they are collectively or individually avoiding service of process is ludicrous. That allegation is deliberately designed to undermine the Kealohas’ credibility and falsely bolster Puana’s claims.”

Wednesday’s filing said Seitz had held off serving the complaint “to allow the criminal investigation to be completed and in order to avoid complicating matters for the parties, their attorneys or … U.S. Special Prosecutor (Michael Wheat).”

Silva, on Dec. 16, pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to frame Puana for stealing the Kealohas’ mailbox, part of which included lying to U.S. Postal Inspection Service officers and while testifying in the trial against Puana.

Kealoha then placed himself on paid administrative leave effective Dec. 20 after receiving a letter from federal investigators identifying him as a target of a criminal investigation.

In January, Kealoha reached an agreement with the Honolulu Police Commission to retire effective March 1 and receive $250,000 (a net $160,000 after federal and state taxes) in severance.