Federal prosecutors detail case against Kealohas

Bank records show that from 2009 to 2012, former deputy prosecutor Katherine Kealoha and her retired Honolulu police chief husband, Louis Kealoha, were spending more than they earned and made up the difference with money they took from Katherine Kealoha’s grandmother, uncle and others, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors ahead of the Kealohas’ trial.

The Kealohas and three former members of the Honolulu Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit are scheduled to stand trial this month on charges that they staged the theft of the Kealohas’ mailbox, framed Katherine Kealoha’s uncle for it and lied about it to investigators. Jury selection starts Monday.

The former CIU members are Lt. Derek Wayne Hahn, officer Minh-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen and and retired Maj. Gordon Shiraishi, who was commander of the CIU.

Government lawyers said in a trial brief filed last week that the Kealohas wanted to frame Katherine Kealoha’s uncle to discredit him and her grandmother in retaliation for suing Katherine Kealoha for money they claimed she took from them. The trial brief details what the government intends to prove.

The government also filed a list Monday of all the witnesses both the prosecution and defense intend to present in the trial. The joint list does not indicate if the person listed is a witness for the government or for the defense.

The list includes current and former police officers, including a current and a former deputy chief; a state sheriff deputy; Mrs. Kealoha’s uncle, grandmother and physician; lawyers, including other former deputy prosecutors; current and former federal prosecutors; and FBI agents.

One name conspicuously absent from the list is Alison Lee Wong. The name appears on emails associated with what the government claimed are schemes Katherine Kealoha concocted to steal money from the trust accounts of two minors. The name also appeared as a notary on legal documents associated with the trust accounts and the alleged theft of money from Kealoha’s uncle and grandmother.

Kealoha had referred to Wong as her assistant in some of the emails. The government also said after she was indicted, Kealoha tried to convince a grand jury witness that Wong is a real person that many people had met.

Government lawyers said Alison Lee Wong is an alias Kealoha created. They said in the trial brief that Kealoha’s own lawyer discovered there was no Alison Lee Wong registered as a notary in Hawaii. They also said it was Kealoha who ordered a Hawaii notary seal embosser with the name Alison Lee Wong.

The government said the Kealohas, Hahn and Nguyen previously tried to frame Katherine Kealoha’s uncle for burglarizing the Kealohas’ home and defrauding her grandmother. Neither resulted in charges against the uncle. The government said Katherine Kealoha immediately withdrew the fraud complaint when an HPD officer told her he would need to request her grandmother’s bank account records to investigate the case.

Lawyers for the Kealohas, Hahn, Nguyen and Shiraishi either did not respond to requests for comment or declined.

Combined witness list for K… by on Scribd