Steve Alm looks to restore trust as Honolulu’s top prosecutor

Retired U.S. Attorney and Circuit Court Judge Steve Alm was sworn in as Honolulu prosecuting attorney on Saturday, along with dozens of deputy prosecutors who were already working in the city’s Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.

“I realize there’s a lot of talent already in the office,” Alm said during a short ceremony at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. “In fact, most of the people I have appointed to positions of leadership … are already in the office.”

Also taking the oath of office Saturday was Thomas Brady, a career prosecutor whom Alm tapped as his first deputy prosecuting attorney.

Alm, 67, ran on a platform of restoring trust to an office marred by the corruption scandal involving former Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha and her husband, former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, who were both sentenced in November to federal prison terms.

His predecessor was Keith Kaneshiro, who’s been on paid leave since March 2019 after being named a target in the Kealoha investigation. To date no charges have been filed against him.

When asked why he decided to bring back so much of the staff who worked under the former leadership, Alm said he believes most have done nothing wrong.

“The deputies themselves, they’ve been living under a cloud for the last couple of years. It’s been unfair to them,” he said after the ceremony. “They go to work every day, they do their jobs. I’m convinced the vast majority of them have nothing to do with whatever improprieties were going on.”

Alm also said he was excited about having Brady as his first deputy prosecuting attorney. Brady will be in charge of a management audit that will investigate “every case (Katherine Kealoha) touched,” he said.

Alm also will have to deal with internal rules and policies that the Honolulu city auditor in December found were inadequate in monitoring for misconduct and handling staff complaints. The audit was ordered in response to the Kealoha investigation, and Alm said he would discuss it during a press conference in the coming week.

He said a successful first year as prosecuting attorney would include better public perception of the office, more training for deputies and the launching of community-oriented projects.

Regarding imprisonment, Alm said, “I’m a strong believer that truly violent, the dangerous and the ones that won’t stop stealing should go to prison.” But he said “the majority can and should be placed on probation or be given a deferral to keep their record clean,” adding he is a “big believer in rehabilitation.”

While restoring trust in the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney is Alm’s top priority, the Honolulu native said he will also institute ethics and trials skill training for deputy prosecutors, look into restructuring the office to best serve the needs of the criminal justice system and crime victims, and create specialized teams of deputy prosecutors he hopes will be more effective in court.

Alm was appointed as a state Circuit Court judge in 2001 and retired in 2016. In 1994, President Bill Clinton chose him to be Hawaii’s U.S. attorney.

Alm won the election for the city’s prosecuting attorney in November over former Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor Megan Kau. His term is for four years, although he will be able to seek a second term if desired.

Kaneshiro served 4-1/2 nonconsecutive terms as Honolulu’s top prosecutor, which had no term limit until a charter amendment passed in November’s election set two four-year terms as the maximum.