Mail Box Case: The Court Case Of Gerard Puana

This case all began when one man was accused of stealing a mailbox. It all started on June 29, 2013 when Gerard Puana was arrested and charged with a felony for allegedly stealing Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife Katherine Kealoha. Katherine is deputy prosecutor. Katherine is Puana’s niece. On June 22, 2014 at 1:30 P.M. Katherine reported that their mailbox been stolen, and they had security system with cameras in the area but at the time she had not gone over the video feed. In the report she says was waiting for a relative to retrieve it for her to review. (Kawano, 2017) The officer also wrote that Katherine called Hawaii Police Department and “submit the DVD”. (Kawano, 2017) But that information is not in the report. The report says that

It all started in 2007 when a trust for Puana was set up with Katherine as the trustee which gave her power of attorney and control over most of his personal assets. Puana said Katherine created a fraudulent trust document with out his approval and with his signature forged. So, Katherine and her attorney, Myles Breiner, went to Honolulu’s federal courthouse to provide handwriting samples for an expert to look at. Another name stood out on the trust document and it was the name Alison Lee Wong. Wong was the one who notarized the trust document, but prosecutors say Wong does not exist. Another attorney of Katherine, Kevin Sumida, attempted to find Wong for court proceedings. In 2014, Sumida asked the state Attorney General’s office for help to find Wong. According to the federal indictment, Alison Lee Wong was Katherine’s alias, which she used to create notarized documents. (Kawano, 2017) “They swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks, credit unions, and some of the most vulnerable members of the community,” said acting U.S. Attorney Alana Robinson after the Kealohas were arrested (Kawano, 2017) The federal prosecutors say the Kealohas had at least 30 bank accounts, including a joint account with Puana and his elderly mother Florence. Katherines reason for taking the money was because she said that it

After Silvert broke down all the evidence to the FBI they stared examining the evidence he had, including the mailboxes. Two years after that meeting the FBI agreed that Puana was framed. A prosecutor from California was assigned to the case. In December of 2016 Niall Silva – now no longer with the HPD- admitted he lied on the stand. (Kawano, 2017) He said he never went to the Kealoha home to get the surveillance video and even admitted the theft was “part of a conspiracy to frame and discredit” Puana and to “conceal and alter evidence.” (Kawano,