Gerard Puana pursues civil lawsuit against ex-Honolulu police chief and his wife

Aug. 3—Two years after federal criminal conspiracy convictions of former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, the victim in the case is still pursuing damages from the city and several former law enforcement officers in civil court.

An initial lawsuit was filed in 2016 by Gerard Puana, an uncle of the chief's wife, former city Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, alleging that Puana was wrongfully arrested, incarcerated and maliciously prosecuted in a pair of criminal cases in 2011 and 2013 as a means to thwart efforts by Puana to recover money he believed Katherine Kealoha had swindled from him and his mother, Florence Puana.

This civil litigation in U.S. District Court was paused while the criminal trial played out, and then was allowed to proceed in December after all sentencing and judgments in the criminal case were handed down following the 2019 convictions of the Kealohas and a few co-conspirators.

Before proceedings in the civil case resumed, Puana filed an amended complaint in September that added numerous events uncovered during the criminal trial. Puana also added the estate of his mother, who died in February 2020, as a plaintiff represented by a trustee of her estate.

The trustee claims that Florence Puana, Katherine Kealoha's paternal grandmother, lost most of her estate, including her home, due to misdeeds linked to the criminal conspiracy.

Gerard Puana claims that he unjustly spent 72 days in jail after being arrested for stepping inside a neighbor's house during an argument over a parking spot, in part because Katherine Kealoha allegedly entered Puana's home unlawfully with the help of two police officers and removed $15, 000 in cash that he later sought to use for bail.

The lawsuit contends that a civil case Puana pursued in 2013 to recover proceeds from a reverse mortgage Kea ­loha obtained on his mother's home led his niece to frame him with the help of her husband and several police officers in an alleged theft of a mailbox at the Kealohas' home.

The theft case was dismissed in 2014 but led to criminal charges against the Kealohas and four police officers.

Puana and his mother's estate are seeking damages from the city and the Kea ­lohas. Six former police officers—Minh-Hung "Bobby " Nguyen, Daniel Sellers, Wayne Hahn, Niall Silva, Walter Calistro and Dru Akagi—also are defendants in the lawsuit.

In the criminal case the Kealohas and three police officers received federal prison sentences.

Louis Kealoha was given a seven-year term. Katherine Kealoha was sentenced to 13 years. Nguyen received a 4-1 /2-year term. Hahn received 3-1 /2 years. Sellers received a year of probation for sharing confidential information.

Calistro and Akagi participated in the investigation of Puana in the mailbox case, according to Puana's complaint, but were not charged in the conspiracy case.

Eric Seitz, an attorney representing Puana, said it's horrendous that victims of police conduct have not been compensated for the harm done to them.

"Merely sending some people to prison does not undo the harm that was done to our clients, " he said.

Court records show that the city has been in settlement discussions with attorneys representing Puana and the trustee for his mother's estate.

City attorneys in June succeeded in having the updated complaint largely dismissed over statute of limitations issues that bar claims if too much time has passed.

For example, the city argued that a Florence Puana estate claim was time-barred because it deals with a 2009 reverse mortgage. The city made similar successful claims tied to Gerard Puana's 2011 and 2013 troubles.

However, attorneys for Puana and his mother's estate were allowed to address these time limit issues with a second amended complaint that was filed Sunday.

Adam LeFebvre, a spokesman for the city, said city officials are reviewing the latest complaint and will respond at an appropriate time.