Editorial: Kealohas’ trial tests public trust

There’s much that will become clearer as the case that has roiled Honolulu’s law-and-order scene for several years finally comes to trial.

But there is much that has been learned already: Beyond the seemingly endless series of scandalous tidbits unveiled over recent years, the unfolding chronicle of Louis and Katherine Kealoha has enlightened the public about the weaknesses in government oversight and protocols.

He was the chief of police, now retired. She was a supervisor and deputy prosecutor for the city. According to the indictments now being heard in U.S. District Court, they are charged with conspiracy and obstruction for an alleged attempt to frame her uncle for the theft of the mailbox at their Kahala residence.

It is the first of two trials stemming from a series of events that, according to court documents, go back more than a decade. This one involves the Kealoha couple, as well as three former and current police officers who allegedly were drafted to participate in the scheme.

The mailbox was a key part of it because the conspiracy was to tag the uncle, Gerard Puana, for stealing it along with documents it allegedly contained. The theft of the box constituted a federal crime and gave the FBI a way in to conduct its investigation, starting in 2015.

The second trial, concerning bank fraud charges, involves only the Kealohas and is set for October. In addition, Katherine Kealoha and her brother Rudolph Puana are scheduled to return to court in January for a drug conspiracy indictment.

But it’s the mailbox saga — bizarre on its face — that caught the public’s imagination. At the center of this is a dispute over family money that took on an odd, Keystone-Cops aura when the alleged framing plan enlisted the help of top-level Honolulu Police Department subordinates.

It was the subject of jokes that were hard to resist — until one remembers that, if proven in court, the facts of the case depict a terrible abuse of power, in two agencies the public needs to trust. The police department reputation dropped several notches as the stories circulated — stories that the Kealohas have denied.

For a time there seemed little indication that an accountability hammer would ever come down. In the midst of everything, the chief got a favorable review from the Honolulu Police Commission; he was allowed to retire comfortably. Katherine Kealoha continued for a time in the Prosecutor’s Office before ultimately being put on administrative leave, then leaving.

The distressing developments did not end there. FBI target letters arrived for Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and for Corporation Counsel Donna Leong. Although their part is not yet clear, these are the city’s top criminal and civil attorneys. Leong did take administrative leave fairly quickly, but Kaneshiro waited far too long to do so. He finally stepped aside, but only after state Attorney General Clare Connors forced the issue, petitioning the state Supreme Court for Kaneshiro’s suspension.

Such an unconscionable lapse on Kaneshiro’s part further eroded public trust in the integrity of Oahu’s criminal justice agencies, already hit hard by the Kealoha scandals.

Still, the entire mess already has yielded incremental improvements. An overhaul of leadership at the police commission has sharpened oversight, serving to remind the agency that it works for the public, not HPD.

If nothing else, the Kealoha cases demonstrate, in stark terms, what can go wrong when transparency and accountability are allowed to slide. Pursuing justice now is the necessary first step in setting things right.