The Mailbox Conspiracy The Inside Story of the Greatest Corruption Case in Hawaii History

Author Alexander Silvert, a federal public defender, took on Kealoha family member Gerard Puana's felony theft case mostly out of curiosity: Why would someone steal a mailbox, especially one belonging to prominent law enforcement figures like the chief of police and a city prosecutor? And why was the United States Attorney's Office involved in such a low-level neighborhood theft case? Puana, his client, claimed not just innocence, but that he had been framed. As Silvert and his team began to peel away layer after layer of Puana's story, it became clear that the allegations and the evidence didn't line up. Infamous for each new stranger-than-fiction revelation, the so-called "Kealoha mailbox trial" unearthed a chain of bumbling coverups, multiple instances of financial fraud stretching back a decade, and an alleged family drug trafficking enterprise-all served up with a generous helping of arrogance on the part of Louis and Katherine Kealoha.
A tenacious defense attorney with decades of experience, Silvert led the team of investigators who painstakingly unearthed evidence to prove Gerard Puana's innocence. Their seven-year effort turned the tables on the Kealohas, resulting in the couple's federal prosecution, and the ramifications-and legal wrangling-of the case continue today.