Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Shawnee County accident leads to Topeka Man's hospitalization

Charles Harvey, age 68, of Topeka Kansas was taken to Stormont Vail hospital following an accident with a semi-truck.  According to the Kansas Highway Patrol on January 24, 2013 a little after noon, a 2003 International Truck was traveling East on Interstate 70.  A 1992 Chevy
Venture van was also traveling east on Interstate 70, this vehicle was driven by Charles Harvey.  At some point the International truck, driven by Aaron Cowdin, lost control and struck the rear of Mr. Harvey's chevy van.  The resulting impact caused serious injury to Mr. harvey and he was taken to the hospital for treatment.

It is unknown at this time why the 2003 International struck Mr. Harvey's vehicle and the cause is still under investigation.

Copy of Police Report

When seriously injured in an accident like this you need to obtain an experienced personal injury lawyer to investigate the facts and determine whom is at fault.   If you or a loved one find themselves in need of an experienced personal injury lawyer please contact the attorneys of Copley Roth and Wilson LLC.  Our firm has extensive experience handling personal injury and wrongful death claims and is here to compassionately assist you in your time of need. Do not hesitate to contact Copley Roth and Wilson, LLC (913-451-9500) to address any questions or concerns you may have.  The initial consultation(s) telephone and in person, are always free. 

Accident involving semi truck leaves young women seriously injured

Kaitlyn Crathorne, a young women living in Gorham, KS was seriously injured in an accident in Ellsworth County.  The accident occurred on Interstate 70 just about a half mile outside of Wilson Kansas.  Per the Kansas Highway patrol's investigating officer, Kaitlyn Crathorne was driving her 1994 Chevy Corsica westbound on I70 when a 2012 Freightliner semi-truck pulling two trailers and driven by Douglas Humphrey rear ended the Ms. Crathorne.  The resulting impact pushed the 1994 Corsica into the ditch on the north side of the road.



At this time it is unknown why Douglas Humphrey struck Ms. Crathorne.  After the accident Kaitlyn Crathorne was transported to the Wesley Medical Center.  The vehicles were taken to Ellsworth Service Center.

Police Report on this accident

When seriously injured in an accident like this you need to obtain an experienced personal injury lawyer to investigate the facts and determine whom is at fault.   If you or a loved one find themselves in need of an experienced personal injury lawyer please contact the attorneys of Copley Roth and Wilson LLC.  Our firm has extensive experience handling personal injury and wrongful death claims and is here to compassionately assist you in your time of need. Do not hesitate to contact Copley Roth and Wilson, LLC (913-451-9500) to address any questions or concerns you may have.  The initial consultation(s) telephone and in person, are always free. 

Monday, February 4, 2013

Defense Lawyer busted in Money Laundering scheme

Maybe this guy was watching a little too much Breaking Bad.

Local Defense lawyer is facing 5 years for his part in a money laundering scheme.


By: Mark Morris of the Kansas City Star

A prominent Kansas City criminal defense lawyer pleaded guilty Wednesday in Kansas federal court to laundering money that he thought came from illegal drug sales.  In reality, the money came from an undercover federal agent involved in a sting operation.  Ronald E. Partee, 66, admitted that he and the operators of a Northland credit counseling service, Forbes and Newhard Credit Solutions, agreed to help hide the source of the money.  Partee discussed the storage of marijuana, according to federal court records. He also advised the undercover agent on the risk of using drug couriers and how money should be transported to pay drug suppliers, court records said.

Workers at the credit counseling agency are charged with conspiracy, money laundering and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.  Mendy Read-Forbes, 37, and Laura Shoop, 46, both of Platte City, initially were charged in June. They faced additional charges last week.  Partee has practiced criminal law for 37 years and has been a regular and genial figure at courthouses in Kansas and Missouri. Through his attorney, Gary W. Hart, he declined to comment after the hearing.  In a written statement, Hart said that Partee has been a respected member of the Missouri Bar and served his clients and the courts with distinction.

“But his errors of judgment in a small-scale money laundering case, in which he did not receive even a dime in illegal money, have now cost him his career and his freedom for up to five years,” Hart said.
According to state records, Partee served for a period on the board of the nonprofit credit counseling agency, which provided financial advice for those who were filing for bankruptcy in federal court.
In March, a member of a Secret Service task force approached Read-Forbes, telling her that he was in the “shrubbery” business and had cash that he needed to conceal, according to allegations in federal court records. The undercover agent later said the cash came from drug sales.

A month later, Partee approved two wire transfers, believing that the money had come from unlawful activity, according to the facts of the case recounted in his plea agreement.  Audio and video recorders captured a May 25 meeting with Partee in his office in which he discussed with the undercover agent and another person the storage of the agent’s marijuana, the risk of using drug couriers and transportation of the money.  U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. O’Hara accepted Partee’s guilty pleas to two money laundering counts at a 50-minute hearing Wednesday morning. O’Hara ordered a pre-sentence investigation and ordered Partee released pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

As a lawyer, Partee had ringside seats for some of the area’s most intriguing cases over the last quarter century.  He represented Kansas City Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver on mortgage fraud charges in 2007. She was convicted and sentenced to two months of confinement and four months of home detention.  In the late 1990s, Partee represented political consultant Cathryn M. Simmons in the public corruption trials of former Missouri House speaker Bob Griffin.

But Partee has told friends that his proudest day in the law came on Sept. 28, 1994, when an all-white Linn County, Kan., jury voted to acquit his African-American client, Evan Townsend, of first-degree murder in a white man’s death more than a decade earlier.  Last week, Partee began asking judges to allow him to withdraw from representing clients in several Missouri criminal cases in federal court, telling them in written motions that he could not continue. His wording was identical in each case.
“Personal circumstances have arisen for counsel such that his mental condition materially impairs his ability to represent the defendant,” Partee wrote.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/30/4039401/kc-defense-lawyer-admits-money.html#storylink=cpy

Hit and Run accident in Johnson County leaves man and daughter seriously injured





When seriously injured in an accident like this you need to obtain an experienced personal injury lawyer to investigate the facts and determine whom is at fault.   If you or a loved one find themselves in need of an experienced personal injury lawyer please contact the attorneys of Copley Roth and Wilson LLC.  Our firm has extensive experience handling personal injury and wrongful death claims and is here to compassionately assist you in your time of need. If you, a loved one, or a family member has suffered the devastating , and oftentimes tragic consequences of a car accident, please do not hesitate to contact Copley Roth and Wilson, LLC (913-451-9500) to address any questions or concerns you may have.  The initial consultation(s) telephone and in person, are always free.

Elderly man killed and young women seriously injured in Leavenworth Counthy wreck

A family morns the loss of Thomas Holland of Basehor Kansas after a January 30, 2013 accident.  Additionally, a young women, Caitlyn Coon, fights for her life at KU Med from that same terrible accident.  The accident occurred on January 30, 2013 at approximately 4:15 p.m. in Leavenworth County on U24-40 just north of the Douglas County Line.



As reported by the Kansas Highway Patrol, Thomas Holland, age 86, was driving his 2002 Ford Ranger westbound on U24-40 when he went left of center and struck a 2002 Dodge Caravan operated by Caitlyn Coon.  The 2002 Ranger struck the driver's side front end of the Dodge, and then overturned into the west ditch. It is unknown at this time why Thomas Holland went left of center.

The collision caused serious injury to Caitlyn Coon and she was transported to KU Med by EMS. The investigating officer for the Kansas Highway Patrol was not named in the report.

Police Report

When seriously injured in an accident like this you need to obtain an experienced personal injury lawyer to investigate the facts and determine whom is at fault.   If you or a loved one find themselves in need of an experienced personal injury lawyer please contact the attorneys of Copley Roth and Wilson LLC.  Our firm has extensive experience handling personal injury and wrongful death claims and is here to compassionately assist you in your time of need. If you, a loved one, or a family member has suffered the devastating , and oftentimes tragic consequences of a car accident, please do not hesitate to contact Copley Roth and Wilson, LLC (913-451-9500) to address any questions or concerns you may have.  The initial consultation(s) telephone and in person, are always free.