Part One: The Nuts And Bolts Of Conspiracy

Part Two: What Kind Of Sentences Could The Defendants Face?

Closing arguments in the federal corruption trial involving former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine Kealoha, a former deputy city prosecutor, are expected to begin Tuesday.

Civil Beat reporters Nick Grube and Yoohyun Jung sat down with federal public defenders Peter Wolff and Alexander Silvert Friday — the sixth anniversary of the alleged mailbox theft at the Kealoha’s Kahala home — to talk about proving conspiracy in court, how jurors’ emotions and world views could sway the verdict and what goes into deciding the sentence in a case like this.

Silvert represented Katherine Kealoha’s uncle Gerard Puana, who she allegedly tried to frame for stealing her mailbox after he and his mother sued her for financial fraud and elder abuse. Silvert was responsible for bringing in the U.S. Justice Department and triggering the corruption investigation against Kealoha.