A Honolulu police officer and retired major were arrested by the FBI on Sunday in relation to an ongoing federal corruption investigation into Hawaii law enforcement.

Special Agent Arnold Laanui said Ofc. Minh-Hung 鈥淏obby鈥 Nguyen and former HPD Maj. Gordon Shiraishi were apprehended Sunday, although he wouldn鈥檛 share details about the arrests.

Court documents outlining the charges against Nguyen and Shiraishi are expected to be unsealed Monday when they are scheduled to be arraigned in the U.S. District Court of Hawaii.

HPD Honolulu Police Department Building1. 5 may 2016.
The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating the Honolulu Police Department for nearly two years. Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2016

Nguyen and Shiraishi are key figures in an ongoing grand jury investigation that stems from allegations that former Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, deputy city prosecutor Katherine, framed her uncle, Gerard Puana, for the theft of their mailbox in 2013.

Puana鈥檚 defense attorney, Alexander Silvert, has contended that the Kealohas wanted to frame his client so that they could gain the upper hand in a legal dispute over money.

Former HPD officer, Niall Silva, has already pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges and admitted taking part in the frame job. Silva worked with Nguyen and Shiraishi in HPD鈥檚 secretive Criminal Intelligence Unit, which conducts surveillance.

Both Nguyen and Shiraishi received target letters from the U.S. Justice Department indicating they were suspects last year, many months after Silva鈥檚 plea deal.

Louis Kealoha also received a DOJ target letter, which ultimately led to his retirement from HPD. In addition to his retirement package, the Honolulu Police Commission approved a $250,000 severance payment that Kealoha is required to pay back if he is convicted of a felony within six years.

Criminal defense attorney Myles Breiner, who represents both Louis and Katherine Kealoha, said the FBI told him that no warrants have been issued for his clients. Breiner said that another alleged suspect, HPD officer Daniel Sellers, also did not receive an arrest warrant.

鈥淭he arrests are just another scare tactic to put pressure on various parties involved in the case,鈥 Breiner said.

At this point it鈥檚 unclear what Nguyen and Shiraishi鈥檚 arrests mean for the ongoing grand jury investigation, which has spanned nearly two years. The current grand jury is slated to expire this month, which has some believing that a wide-ranging criminal indictment is on the way.

Silvert told Civil Beat that he believes the recent arrests should be a signal that the Justice Department is ready to move ahead with indictments, including charges against the Kealohas.

鈥淢r. Puana is grateful that we鈥檝e now entered a new stage of the proceedings where charges are now being brought against the most culpable people involved,鈥 Silvert said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have to see how this plays out in the next week or two.鈥

Nguyen and Shiraishi鈥檚 attorneys, Randall Hironaka and Lars Isaacson, could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Wheat, who is spearheading the investigation, declined to comment on the arrests of Nguyen and Shiraishi. He also did not want to discuss the ongoing grand jury proceedings.

What鈥檚 clear is that Wheat鈥檚 grand jury investigation goes well beyond the mailbox case.

Questions have been raised about Katherine Kealoha’s involvement in an alleged ticket fixing situation聽and what Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro’s role in that case may be. He has been an outspoken defender of her.

The grand jury also recently investigated the Honolulu Prosecutor鈥檚 Safe House, which is an apartment complex for victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and other forms of abuse.

Kaneshiro鈥檚 office bought the property with the approval of other city officials from one of his top political donors for $5.5 million shortly after the donor had purchased it for $4.5 million.

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