Judge in Kealoha case finds no conflict with new attorney

The new court-appointed attorney for Katherine Kealoha briefly represented a woman who appeared before a secret grand jury in the broad federal investigation into public corruption — the same probe that resulted in Kealoha’s conviction — but a federal judge decided Friday that no potential conflict exists.

The unidentified woman is not expected to be on the prosecution’s witness list for Kealoha’s January trial on bank fraud and identify theft. But U.S. Assistant Attorney Colin McDonald told U.S. District Magistrate Judge Wes Porter that he was less certain of that for Kealoha’s May trial.

Kealoha and her brother, Dr. Rudolph Puana of Hawaii island, face drug-related charges in May.

Kealoha and her husband, retired Police Chief Louis Kealoha, are scheduled to go on trial in January in the bank fraud case.

McDonald said by phone during Friday’s court hearing that the woman who appeared before the grand jury unlikely will be called as a prosecution witness in the May trial, but he was not confident going beyond that statement.

Gary Singh, Kealoha’s attorney, told the court he represented the woman in 2018 when she appeared before the grand jury for a half-day but has not represented her since.

Singh also said he spoke to Kealoha and his former client, and both waived concerns about a potential conflict. He likewise told the court he doesn’t see any conflict.

The prosecution also has not raised any objections.

“At this time the court finds no conflict of interest,” Porter said.

But if circumstances change, the judge asked the parties to inform the court.

The two upcoming trials and a recently completed one against the Kealohas and three co-defendants stemmed from an ongoing and wide-ranging corruption investigation.

Singh, who appeared in court Friday without his client, said he was surprised that Kealoha didn’t show up. He talked to her Thursday about the hearing.

Porter said he understood that Kealoha refused to make the trip to court from the Federal Detention Center, where she is confined.

Porter scheduled Friday’s hearing after Hawaii News Now reported earlier in the week about Singh’s potential conflict.

The Kealohas and two police officers, Lt. Derek Wayne Hahn and Minh-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen, were found guilty in June of conspiring to frame Katherine Kealoha’s uncle for an alleged 2013 mailbox theft and attempting to obstruct a federal investigation. They are scheduled to be sentenced in October. A fifth defendant was acquitted.

Of the four who were convicted, Kealoha is the only one being detained.