An alleged victim in the case against former Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha and his deputy prosecutor wife, Katherine, is now a suspect.
According to his attorney, Ransen Taito was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, and will plead guilty to that charge on Friday.
The federal case against the Kealohas claims Katherine Kealoha was in charge of more than $167,000 set aside for Taito and his sister as part of a medical malpractice settlement involving their father.
U.S. attorneys allege Katherine Kealoha misused that money to pay for personal expenses.
According to Michael Green, the charge against Taito came as no surprise and, in fact, they were expecting it.
A conspiracy to obstruct justice charge means there was an agreement between at least two people to lie before the grand jury, he explains.
In this case, Green says Taito agreed with Katherine Kealoha to testify that he received his portion of settlement money.
“What she had explained to them was, ‘You know what, your mother got your money, and if you say you didn’t get your money, I’m going to be in trouble, but your mother’s probably going to go to jail.’ They absolutely believed her,” Green said. “He’s taking responsibility for what happened. He will admit what he did, and he’s going to tell the judge exactly what he did and will be pleading guilty.”
Green says he does not expect Taito’s sister to be charged.
We reached out to the Kealohas’ attorneys but have not heard back.
