The public defender whose suspicions over a mailbox theft investigation led to one of the biggest public corruption cases in Hawaii detailed Friday a litany of red flags his team came across as they defended the man accused of the crime.
Alexander Silvert, the first assistant federal public defender in Hawaii, recounted the numerous concerns he had about the mailbox case during the seventh day of the conspiracy trial of retired Police Chief Louis Kealoha; his wife, former Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha; and three current and former police officers.
Silvert in 2013 defended Gerard Puana, Katherine Kealoha’s uncle, who was arrested that summer for the theft of the Kealohas’ mailbox. His federal criminal trial ended in a mistrial in December 2014 after Louis Kealoha gave inappropriate testimony, and the case was dismissed.
The crime initially was investigated by the Honolulu Police Department. Silvert found so many inconsistencies and what he considered questionable actions by the department that he reported the information to federal authorities, who launched a corruption probe that led to the indictment of the five current defendants and guilty pleas by several others, including two police officers.
The city’s top prosecutor and civil attorney also have been identified as targets of the investigation but have not been charged.
The mailbox case is a key element of the federal prosecution.
Prosecutors say the Kealohas and the three other defendants, all former members of the secretive Criminal Intelligence Unit, schemed to frame Puana for the theft.
The Kealohas wanted to discredit Puana to gain the upper hand in a bitter financial dispute, and they used the power of their offices to target him and to protect their lavish lifestyle, prosecutors have argued.
Among the concerns Silvert had was the more than a one-week time lag between when surveillance video of the mailbox theft was collected by HPD and entered into evidence. Evidence is supposed to be processed quickly to protect its integrity.
“That opened a whole can of worms,” Silvert told jurors.
The surveillance video showed only 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after the theft — and Silvert could get no more even with subpoenas.
Given the technology available, it’s improbable that footage beyond that hour span was not accessible, according to Silvert.
Prosecutors say the evidence was tampered with.
The original hard drive containing the video evidence was permanently altered when someone attached a camera and filmed the intelligence unit’s office ceiling for nearly a week, according to the federal indictment.
Among other concerns Silvert mentioned Friday, citing police reports and other documents:
>> The person captured on the grainy surveillance video is seen removing the mailbox from its pedestal with little effort — something Silvert called suspicious.
>> The type of mailbox Katherine Kealoha reported stolen did not match the type from photos, including Google Maps images, taken of the area in 2013.
>> Katherine Kealoha told police the value of the stolen mailbox was about $380, a total that would have made the crime a felony under state law.
>> The 911 call that Kealoha made to report the theft came several hours after police retrieved the video footage from the house. “How do you seize and get evidence in police custody when you haven’t reported the crime?” Silvert said.
>> Puana was placed under surveillance by police days before he had been identified as a suspect by Kealoha. If he’s being followed before being named a suspect, “something’s going on,” Silvert said.
Defense attorneys noted that Silvert does not have a Hawaii law license. One is not needed to practice in federal court here.
Prosecutors said they have about 20 witnesses left to call and could be finished by Friday. The defense would then present its witnesses.
