How a mailbox and 99-year-old woman ended Honolulu's biggest police scandal ever

AARP's The Perfect Scam podcast

Florence Puana was a remarkable woman. She moved to Hawaii right before the Pearl Harbor attacks, raised nine children there, and lived to see her 100th birthday. And at age 99, her honesty and strength ended a law enforcement corruption scandal that haunted the island paradise for years.

I didn’t get to meet Florence — I wish I had — but I interviewed her son recently, for The Perfect Scam podcast. Gerard Puana lived with and cared for his mom after his father died. Because of that, Gerard almost ended up in prison, framed by Honolulu’s police chief and a top prosecutor — it was their desperate effort to cover up a cruel theft of Florence’s money, and other crimes.

Today begins a two-part series on Florence’s amazing life, and her courage, right to the end. Yes, you can fight city hall. I’ll hope you’ll give this episode a listen. Click this link, or click the play button image. A partial transcript is below.

[00:02:25] Bob: Then one day, four years after that lovely celebration luncheon, there's a strange theft in Kahala. A mailbox theft. The Police Chief's home is targeted. Security video shows someone driving up to the Chief's home late at night, hopping out, and lifting the Police Chief's mailbox right off the post and driving away. This doesn't seem to be much of a disturbance though, more of an open and shut case. There's video. The suspect is apprehended quickly. He can't afford an attorney, so a public defender is assigned to him. To the surprise of many, the suspect refuses to plead guilty, so the curious case of the Police Chief Mailbox Theft goes to trial. Reporter Lynn Kawano was assigned to cover the trial, and she's pretty annoyed.

[00:03:12] Lynn Kawano: When my boss told me to go cover a stolen mailbox, I think I cussed at him. 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. I can't believe I'm here on a stolen mailbox, even if it is the Police Chief's. You know, I, I'm sure the Police Chief has had things stolen before, and had his house vandalized, and we never covered these trials the way we were covering this.

[00:03:50] Bob: But on the very first day of the trial, things so sideways fast. Chief Kealoha, the second witness says the defendant has a prior arrest; a rookie mistake that even a first year detective wouldn't make in court. 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. Kawano is stunned.

[00:04:17] Lynn Kawano: The fact that a police chief, who had likely testified dozens of times before in his long career as a police chief, someone how had a PhD, someone who was well-versed in law enforcement to do that, and to say what he said, it just didn't seem right for me. And, and that was the moment for me where I realized, you know, maybe something's wrong with this case.

[00:04:44] Bob: In the chaotic scene afterwards, the defendant chases down Lynn Kawano.

[00:04:49] Lynn Kawano: And as I was walking out of the courtroom, that day after Louie Kealoha threw the trial, Gerard Puana came up to me and very politely said, "I did not steal that mailbox." And I told him, I said, "You, you need to talk to your lawyer before you talk to me, but I'm happy to talk to you later." 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.

[00:05:21] Bob: For much of Hawaii, this is their first meeting with Gerard Puana too. A mistrial is declared soon after this dramatic courtroom moment. As the prosecution looks at whether or not to ask for a retrial, Kawano and the rest of Hawaii start to look closer at the curious case of the Police Chief's mailbox theft, and something quickly becomes apparent. 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. Florence Puana, a woman in her 90s has accused her granddaughter, Katherine, the city's high-ranking prosecutor of essentially stealing the equity in her home through a reverse mortgage. It seems there might be very large secrets hiding inside this small mailbox, much more to this story, and much more to the alleged criminal, Gerard Puana, and his mom, Florence. Reporter Lynn Kawano sets out to learn the rest of the story, and now, so will we.

[00:06:29] Gerard Puana: She was my pastor, my doctor, my teacher, you know, she was my best friend.

[00:06:36] Bob: Gerard Puana 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.

[00:06:46] 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.

[00:06:58] Bob: Gerard's father was a plumber, and to help make room for all those kids, he built the family a home in the 1950s. The couple lived there until Gerard's father died about 20 years ago.

[00:07:08] Gerard Puana: I promised my father on his deathbed to stay with mom. We had lived in that house for, since 1956, that was our home, and uh I promised him that I would take care of her. Back in 2002, he passed away, and um, I told him I would stay with Mom. So we were a team.

[00:07:28] Bob: So Gerard lives with his mom for several years, takes care of odd tasks and keeps up with the rest of the family including his niece, Katherine Kealoha, a shining star of the city. In addition to her high powered job in the prosecutor's office, she takes care of finances for many people in her orbit, too. She was put in charge of trust funds for a 10 and 12-year-old child whose father had died. So, when Katherine gets wind that Florence wants to help Gerard buy a condo nearby so he has his own place, it's not a surprise that Katherine has an idea about how to handle the finances in a way she says would benefit everyone.

[00:08:04] Gerard Puana: We put her on this pedestal because she was uh, the only one in the family that actually was a professional, like an attorney. She was very educated. So Katherine approached us, 'cause I was looking for an apartment to get. As I was staying with Mom, I saved quite a bit of money, so I was looking to get an apartment and just rent it out, let it pay for itself, and continue living with Mom.

[00:08:31] Bob: Katherine suggests Florence take out a reverse mortgage on her home, use some of the cash to buy the condo and share the rest with her so she and the Chief can pay off some bills. It's 2009, right about the time that big party takes place for the new police chief, that big expensive party. The tab was almost $24,000.

[00:08:51] Gerard Puana: "The deal is, we can do this without any of the family knowing and um, and I'll have it paid off within 6 months. I can pay off the reverse mortgage, Uncle Gerry will have his apartment, he could rent it out, stay with you, take care of you like he's doing, you would be helping Louis and I, too, because you know, at the same time." She was very convincing, and we really, really respected her and, and believed in her and trusted her wholeheartedly.

[00:09:22] Bob: Florence Puana, speaking before she died, remembers her granddaughter encouraging this kind of trust.

[00:09:28] Florence Puana: She gave me this paper, and I said, "Now, Kathy, what am I signing this paper for?" And she said, "Grandma, I told you to trust me." She said, "This is for the reverse mortgage." So I signed it.