Corruption, financial mismanagement, and a law enforcement scandal expose the deep-seated vulnerabilities that allowed Hawaii’s police force to veer off track.
At a Glance
● Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, a former prosecutor, were convicted in one of the largest public corruption cases in Hawaii’s history.
● Top city officials secretly gave Kealoha a $250,000 retirement payout to avoid negative publicity, concealing it from the City Council.
● The investigation revealed a broad conspiracy, leading to guilty pleas from other high-ranking city and police commission officials.
● Despite his conviction, Kealoha gets to keep his pension due to a legal loophole, sparking public outrage.
Hawaii’s Largest Public Corruption Scandal
The dramatic fall of former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, former city prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, remains one of the most shocking and extensive public corruption scandals in Hawaii’s history. The power couple used their positions to orchestrate a series of elaborate crimes, including framing a relative for the theft of their own mailbox, all in an attempt to win a family financial dispute.
In 2020, Louis Kealoha was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, and his wife received a 13-year sentence for their crimes, which a U.S. Department of Justice official described as “a shocking betrayal of public trust.”
A Secret $250,000 Payout
The scandal deepened when a federal investigation revealed that top city officials had conspired to give Chief Kealoha a secret $250,000 retirement payout after he agreed to step down in 2017 amidst the growing scandal. According to the unsealed indictment, the payout was deliberately concealed from the City Council and the public to avoid further scrutiny.
The cover-up extended far beyond the police department. The subsequent investigation led to guilty pleas from other high-ranking officials, including former city managing director Donna Leong and former police commission chair Max Sword admitted to their roles in the conspiracy.
A Failure of Accountability
The repercussions of the scandal continue to cost taxpayers. As reported by RealClearInvestigations, the city has spent a fortune on legal fees related to the case. In a particularly galling twist, a new state law designed to strip the pensions of corrupt public officials cannot be applied retroactively to Kealoha, meaning the disgraced former police chief will continue to collect his pension while sitting in a federal prison cell.
Now, in a new book titled “Louis Looks Back,” Kealoha has broken his silence from prison. “I’ve decided to talk now because this is my opportunity to have a voice,” he said. The book, based on a series of interviews, is being seen by critics as a self-serving attempt to rewrite the history of a scandal that has deeply damaged public trust in Hawaii’s institutions.