Well, the story of Katherine and Louis Kealoha must be heard to be believed.
Florence and Gerard dont have much but they live on a very valuable piece of property.
Sometimes, people who seem powerless, find their strength in the truth.
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[00:01:26] Bob: Welcome back to The Perfect Scam.
I’m your host Bob Sullivan.
By his side is his wife, Katherine Kealoha, a high-ranking prosecutor in the city.
They are Honolulu’s power couple.
Chief Kealoha even gets along with journalists.
Reporter Lynn Kawano got to know the Chief pretty well through the year.
And we catch up with her in her busy newsroom.
He was almost a politician as much as a police chief.
This was a couple highly revered in the community.
[00:02:54] Bob: But the couple seems to be riding their popularity to prosperity.
There’s even a Maserati and a Mercedes in the driveway.
[00:03:17] Lynn Kawano: This is a very exclusive neighborhood.
The Police Chief’s home is targeted.
This doesn’t seem to be much of a disturbance though, more of an open and shut case.
The suspect is apprehended quickly.
He can’t afford an attorney, so a public defender is assigned to him.
Reporter Lynn Kawano was assigned to cover the trial, and she’s pretty annoyed.
I think I said, that was absolutely ridiculous.
I’m 20 years into the business by now, and you want me to cover a stolen mailbox?
That wasn’t something that I thought was newsworthy.
I really did have a bad attitude going into that courtroom thinking this is ridiculous.
[00:04:57] Bob: But on the very first day of the trial, things so sideways fast.
Prior allegations aren’t admissible evidence unless that is arranged with the judge ahead of time.
The defense attorney slams his fist on the desk and demands a mistrial.
The judge calls for a break.
[00:05:51] Bob: In the chaotic scene afterwards, the defendant chases down Lynn Kawano.
I knew in his voice that he was desperate, he was telling me he didn’t do it.
That was my first meeting with Gerard Puana.
[00:06:28] Bob: For much of Hawaii, this is their first meeting with Gerard Puana too.
A mistrial is declared soon after this dramatic courtroom moment.
Gerard Puana is no ordinary defendant.
Gerard Puana is related to the Police Chief.
Katherine Kealoha, the Chief’s wife, is Gerard’s niece, and there’s more.
Gerard’s mom, who is Katherine’s grandmother, is involved in a civil dispute with Katherine.
Reporter Lynn Kawano sets out to learn the rest of the story, and now, so will we.
[00:07:44] Bob: Gerard is amazed at his mom’s life.
She lived to be 100 years old.
When I spoke to him, it was the one-year anniversary of her death.
[00:07:54] Gerard Puana: She was an angel of God.
Just didn’t have any hate in her heart.
It was just love.
And she meant good, really a strong Catholic.
She had nine children.
I’m the youngest of nine.
The couple lived there until Gerard’s father died about 20 years ago.
[00:08:16] Gerard Puana: I promised my father on his deathbed to stay with mom.
Back in 2002, he passed away, and um, I told him I would stay with Mom.
So we were a team.
She was put in charge of trust funds for a 10 and 12-year-old child whose father had died.
She was very educated.
So Katherine approached us, ‘cause I was looking for an apartment to get.
The tab was almost $24,000.
And she said, “Grandma, I told you to trust me.”
She said, “This is for the reverse mortgage.”
So I signed it.
Everything seems fine at first.
Gerard gets the condo and sends loans payments to his niece, Katherine.
When she gets the chance, Florence asks her granddaughter a more direct question.
We were there, and she came.
And she said, “Now, Katherine, did you pay off the reverse mortgage?”
But she got the mail going to her.
[00:12:26] Bob: The statements stopped.
Katherine has the mail redirected to her house, but one day, more trouble.
Where did the $500,000 go?
And where are Gerard’s mortgage payments going?
Florence doesn’t want to hear any more excuses.
She wants answers, but she just can’t get Katherine on the phone.
[00:12:56] Florence Puana: I couldn’t ever get a hold of her.
And she said, “Do not call here anymore, because Kathy is very busy.”
So that’s the response I got.
I called her and all I could hear is the strumming of an ukulele.
[00:13:53] Gerard Puana: Mother wrote her a letter just saying, “I trusted you.
You said that you would pay it off, and you said you did.
Um, and you didn’t.”
[00:14:12] Bob: Oh my God.
[00:14:13] Bob: Katherine’s response to that letter is swift.
Gerard says Florence has to do that because she needs the money.
She has almost nothing left and uses the small proceeds from the sale to pay for an attorney.
[00:14:53] Bob: That was your childhood home, ‘cause your mom had lived there forever.
I’m, I’m sorry, that must have been really painful to have to leave.
[00:15:00] Gerard Puana: Thank you, yeah.
Yeah, it’s really hard talking about that.
[00:15:17] Gerard Puana: Well, sickening actually.
Felt really sickening, just all different emotions.
Why would she do this?
Who’s paying for that Maserati and that fancy home in Kahala?
So they make the difficult decision to sue for elder financial abuse.
It feels like he’s always noticing police cars in his rearview mirror.
[00:16:40] Gerard Puana: Yeah, I was, I was parking the car.
[00:17:06] Bob: Gerard Puana is arrested and charged with stealing the Police Chief’s mailbox.
There’s video evidence, he’s told, he might as well plead guilty.
He’s assigned a public defender, Alexander Silvert.
Silvert is near retirement and he’s seen everything.
Their first meeting doesn’t go very well.
I don’t talk about the case itself.
Um, a lot of, you know, clients don’t trust a federal public defender.
He pretty quickly suggests that Gerard plead guilty, but Gerard won’t hear any of it.
And there is something strange about the case.
[00:19:14] Alexander Silvert: You know, we normally have much more serious cases.
It is a mailbox theft case, but this is no ordinary mailbox.
It had a pedestal that was very sturdy and strong.
Attached to the pedestal is this cast iron or aluminum mailbox that sits on top.
So what is remaining is the pedestal.
And what other secrets of the city of Honolulu might be hiding inside that mailbox?
So you have a HPD detective who’s going along with the lie.
[00:23:31] Bob: Other evidence doesn’t line up either.
That surveillance video, it just doesn’t look like Gerard in the images.
Everybody agreed that was not him.
We now had a video that we could show did not clearly show it was Gerard.
But why a $380 mailbox?
What was the point of that charade?
Silvert has a theory.
That’s a very serious offense.
you might’t do that with a misdemeanor.
[00:26:20] Bob: But theories are fine.
They still have to prove it in court.
Does Gerard even stand a chance?
Well, the jury hears about that right away.
And there is something else.
[00:29:10] Bob: Second witness, Chief Kealoha.
He’s asked a question about Gerard Puana’s appearance in the video.
His answer shocks the courtroom and leads immediately to chaos.
[00:30:23] Bob: The sound echoes and wakes up the sleepy courtroom.
And at that point, I was all ears.
I had been floored by what I saw in court.
Um, it just didn’t seem right.
It didn’t seem like it was an accident.
[00:31:19] Bob: For Gerard and for Silvert, the mistrial is a bit of a gamble.
It’s really just a pause.
[00:31:37] Alexander Silvert: Absolutely, it could have been very bad news.
Really, the whole law enforcement system in Hawaii’s capital city?
Well that’s next week on The Perfect Scam.
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For AARP’s The Perfect Scam, I’m Bob Sullivan.
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