Is Social Media the new street corner? 15 busted for Prostitution in Johnson County

Ran across this article on the KCTV5 website.  It loos like facebook and twitter have taken on a new purpose,  promoting prostitution in Johnson county.  The Overland Park police arrested over a dozen for involvement in the illegal activity when a sting was performed using data from online social media sites.  Looks like these women were from out of state just traveling through.

Prostitution Sting in JoCo Nets 15 Arrests

By Chris Oberholtz, Multimedia Producer - email

By Jeanene Kiesling, Reporter - bio | email

OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) - A prostitution sting in Johnson County netted 15 arrests, and police say social media has become the new street corner.

Overland Park police arrested seven people for prostitution, seven people for patronizing prostitutes and one for promoting prostitution during a several day sting last week.

"It's a matter of us being in the right place at the right time to intercept the activity," said Capt. James Olney with the Overland Park Police Department. "It was a successful operation."  And social media is making one of the world's oldest professions that much more accessible.  "Anyone can post ads and pictures and anyone can access it, so your audience is quite expanded," said Olney.

In addition, more and more police are seeing prostitutes who are just passing through able to find their next job, not by standing on a street corner but just by logging onto the computer.  Police say Overland Park is attractive because of its easy highway access.  In this latest sting, two of the woman were from Oklahoma and one was from as far away as Pennsylvania.  "Prostitutes are going to have several jobs lined up. That is their job," said Olney.  But whether it is the online or the old fashioned way of hooking up, Overland Park police say these stings will continue, as will the arrests.

"I don't know what passes through their mind, but it is quite a shock when they see police there.  They are very surprised," said Olney.

City and Cop sued over false DUI arrests. Settlement reached for $450,000.

A former Chicago police officer who was once lauded for his aggressive DUI arrests by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers turned out to be a fraud.  He had falsified evidence and helped wrongly convict many people of DUI charges.  Now he is paying for it.  Not only costing him his job but now costing the city he works for nearly half a million dollars. It just goes to show you that some police are good and some are bad.  Some police use the power given to them to help and some use it to advance their own agenda and promote themselves.  The more arrests, the more convictions, the more recognition a police officer gets.  That's one way to look at it but it doesn't protect the public and makes good people distrustful of the police.

It looks like this jerk was giving out DUI charges so that he could get overtime going to court!

Here is the article.

Chicago to pay off $450,000 to 2 drivers over false DUI charges.
By: Annie Sweeney

Former Chicago police Officer Richard Fiorito was once honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his aggressive DUI arrests, but he was pulled off street duty three years ago amid allegations that he had falsified dozens of the charges.

After numerous lawsuits, the city has formally agreed to pay the last of the drivers who had alleged wrongdoing by Fiorito. In a judgment entered Monday in federal court, James Dean Jr. was awarded $100,000 in a lawsuit accusing Fiorito of false arrest and malicious prosecution. Four months earlier, the city settled with another motorist for $100,000. The city also agreed to pay lawyers for both drivers a combined $250,000 in legal fees.

The resolution came on the eve of a trial at which Dean's attorneys planned to allege that Fiorito arrested Dean for DUI outside the Town Hall Police District just four minutes after he was freed from the station on unrelated traffic charges. Yet no officers inside the district house believed Dean was drunk when he left, Dean's attorneys contend.  The award to Dean and the earlier settlement by motorist Steve Lopez mark the end to litigation over Fiorito, according to city Law Department spokesman Roderick Drew, who said the city never admitted wrongdoing on Fiorito's part. A separate lawsuit filed against Fiorito in 2009 resulted in an additional $25,000 settlement, Drew said.

In a telephone interview Tuesday evening, Fiorito, 63, stood by all his DUI arrests.  "I don't regret one day of it," he said of his 13 years on the force. He resigned in December.  He also denied allegations he directed racial and other slurs at some of the drivers he arrested for DUI.  "Anybody that says I did is a liar," he said.  Drivers started coming forward with similar stories about Fiorito in 2003, according to attorney Jon Erickson, who brought a number of the lawsuits.  "I remember being astounded by the brazenness of his dishonesty," Erickson said Tuesday.  In court filings, attorneys alleged that Fiorito was motivated to fabricate the arrests by the overtime that he received to attend traffic court.

Erickson said he won not-guilty verdicts for about five drivers arrested for DUI by Fiorito and then tracked down about 40 others who said they had been victimized too.  Several of the complaints came from members of Chicago's gay and lesbian community who felt they had been targeted by Fiorito. He was also accused of using hateful language and slurs against other minority groups, the attorneys said.

Amid a flurry of lawsuits, the Cook County state's attorney's office dropped charges against more than 130 drivers arrested by Fiorito for DUI, and Chicago police removed him from street duty. However, in 2010, county prosecutors refused to prosecute Fiorito, drawing criticism from lawyers for some of the alleged victims.  Some of the motorists had wanted to pursue damages against Fiorito but lost out because they had pleaded guilty to lesser traffic offenses in exchange for the DUI charge being dropped, the attorneys said.  Only Dean and Lopez held out, insisting that they did nothing wrong. "Both refused to take any deal and saw it all the way through to the end," said attorney Torreya Hamilton, who worked with Erickson on the federal lawsuit. "And lucky for them."  Lopez, a truck driver, said it wasn't a hard choice.

Fiorito stopped him five years ago as he was driving home early one morning from a family gathering. With a young family and a two-year-old mortgage, Lopez said his clean driving record meant the world to him. A ticket of any kind would have jeopardized his job and future, said the high school graduate from Brighton Park.  "This is how I provide for my family," Lopez said on his lunch break Tuesday as he stood outside the delivery truck he is currently driving. "I'm a driver. If that's what's on my record, it's like someone gave me a Class X Felony. It's hard to find a good job."

After being charged with the DUI, Lopez had a painful conversation with his boss, who nevertheless still trusted in him. In a sworn statement as part of the lawsuit, Lopez said he had one beer earlier the night of his arrest.  Lopez went to traffic court every month as the case worked its way through the system.  The father of three had earned his commercial driver's license just a month before Fiorito ticketed him, something that would have meant a significant pay boost and greater job opportunities. But immediately after the arrest, the CDL was revoked, and he never got a chance to use it. It has since been restored.

Man in Kansas Busted. Kids tied up outside walmart to protect them from demons.

Ok, now this is just some weird stuff.  It looks like a man and wife will stand trial on criminal charges in Lawrence Kansas after some bizarre behavior.  Adolfo and Deborah Gomez of a small town in Illinois were listening to a preacher on the radio, and somehow became fixated on the idea the world was ending.  They loaded up the family car with their five kids and began a journey that ultimately landed them in Lawrence Kansas.  The couple was found in the store after they had bound two of their children and put duct tape over their eyes, insisting it was to protect them from demons and that the children were possessed.

I have seen some odd behavior but...this is just wild.  Turns out the man hadn't slept in nine days prior to this incident.

Here is the story on CBS News.

(CBS/AP) LAWRENCE, Kan. - A Kansas judge ruled Tuesday that Adolfo and Deborah Gomez will face trial on child abuse charges after two of their children were found tied up outside a Walmart parking lot tied up. A lawyer for the father said he bound the kids to guard against demons.

In a preliminary hearing, Douglas County Judge Paula Martin said there was enough evidence to try Adolfo, 52, and his wife Deborah, 44, on two counts each of child abuse. The father also faces an additional count of obstruction for resisting arrest.  The Illinois couple has been in custody since June 13 when police found two of their children, ages 5 and 7, tied up and with duct tape over their eyes outside a Walmart in Lawrence. The couple's three other children, ages 12, 13 and 15, were in the family's SUV unrestrained. The children are now in protective custody.

Lawrence police Detective Randy Glidewell testified Tuesday that during the arrest, Adolfo told him he was listening to an online preacher who was predicting the end of the world and that a "darkness had come over the house" in Illinois. The family left their suburban home because they thought the world was coming to an end, Gildewell said. The detective also said Adolfo Gomez told him he hadn't slept in nine days, and that Gomez was concerned about one of the younger children because the child was "acting like he was possessed."  "He was scared (the child) would hurt some of the kids," Gildewell said.

Lawrence police officer Hayden Fowler testified that one of the older children told him the family believed there were "demons" in their home and outside their SUV in the parking lot, and that the vehicle's windows were covered to keep the demons out.  Adolfo's lawyer, Skip Griffy, said that blindfolding and binding the younger children was part of the family's religious beliefs, and that it was not done frequently or as a punishment, but as a way to protect the children from demons.  "Their actions were taken out of their religious beliefs, that these children were possessed," Griffy said. He added that the children had no injuries.  Angela Keck, Debora's lawyer, said the woman had no control over her husband.

"She was doing her best to protect herself and her children when Mr. Gomez was having a kind of religious experience," Keck said. "You have not heard anything that these children's lives were in any danger in any way."  Assistant Douglas County District Attorney Debbie Moody argued the "danger to these children was real."  "These types of bindings and blindfolds come into play when you're talking about ... prisoners of war," Moody said.  Moody also added that when Deborah was presented with an opportunity to help, "she went shopping for duct tape, two tarps and a baseball bat," alluding to the list of items police discovered in the mother's shopping cart at Walmart when the children were found.

"It was a team effort, your honor," Moody said. "What happens when kids in the Gomez family are possessed? They get bound and they get blindfolded."

Kansas Lawyer Steals $52.5 million gets three years in Prision

I saw this just come across the web on CBS Money Watch.  Looks like a Lawyer in  Leawood Kansas is looking at doing 3 years for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.  After reading a few comment in the article I kind of have to agree with some of the statements.  I am usually one for being a little easier on people that have been convicted of a crime, but this seems like a light sentence in my opinion. (and that's coming from a criminal defense lawyer)

Someone pointed out that you get a far worse punishment for armed robbery than this person is going to get for stealing over $50 million dollars.  That doesn't seem to make much since to me, but it also doesn't make much sense how you can expunge a armed robbery after five years but you have to wait for 10 years to expunge a simple DUI charge.

Many things don't particularly make since in the law until you look at it from a political stance.  No one is in the legislature championing the idea we need to be easier on criminals, but its always a sure fire way to get votes to say lets be tougher on criminals.

Just a little food for thought.

Here is the article.

Kansas Lawyer Sentenced to 3 years for Ponzi Scheme
By AP

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas attorney faces three years in prison for his role in a scheme that bilked investors out of about $52 million.

James Scott Brown of Leawood, Kan. pleaded guilty earlier to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. He was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison without parole and ordered to pay $34 million in restitution.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City says investors loaned about $52.5 million through the scheme known as the British Lending Program. Victims thought they were loaning money for real estate projects, but Brown and two other men kept most of the money.

Martin Sigillito of Webster Groves, Mo., is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of leading the conspiracy. Derek Smith, of Oxfordshire, England, pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

Poker Runs, and Charity Raffles are illegal in Kansas

It's a game of chance.  That's that the law says, so it's illegal.  No more charity poker runs or raffles for a good cause.  Seems pretty silly to me.  Here is the article.

This should be the type of thing that is allowed...I wonder if one of the casinos could sponsor the thing.

Poker Runs, Charity Raffles Banned In Kansas 08/12/2012

Poker runs have become very popular fundraisers, but they are also technically illegal in the state of Kansas. They are considered gambling under state law. Organizers of many such events say this is news to them. According to Kansas gaming law, any activity that involves consideration, chance and prize is gambling. The Kansas Lottery and state-owned casinos are exempt, but charities are not. Kansas is one of just four states without a charity exemption in gambling statutes. "We're a nonprofit organization," said Shane Toney, President of Fire and Iron Station 54, which organizes an annual poker run. "We're trying to help as many people as we can. Toney and other organizers are now scrambling to change the event to it is legal. "We're doing a lot of charity work and we didn't mean to step on gaming laws, but it seems like we are now," he said.  "Maybe there's a loophole that needs to be sown up in the Kansas gaming laws to help out charities." According to those state gaming laws, poker runs -- fundraisers where motorcycle riders draw a card at five stops and the best poker hand wins -- are illegal. Raffle drawings can be illegal, too. Kansas gaming law has prompted the organizers of the Thunder on the Plains motorcycle rally in Dodge City to cancel this year's event, which was scheduled for next weekend. "We give away a bike every year and we sell chances for the bike giveaway," said Mel Watson, director of the rally. "This year, the gaming commission came down and said, 'It's illegal in Kansas, it is gambling, it is a game of chance.'" Watson said Thunder on the Plains has raised more than $60,000 for the families of southwest Kansas military members over the last six years. "It's for good causes and they're putting the stop to us," Watson said. "This law has been on the books for, I guess, a few years and they haven't enforced it."  Organizers of Thunder on the Plains learned about the law too late to make any changes for this year's event, but Watson promised the rally will be back in 2013. "We are planning on having a rally next year, in the later part of August and, one way or another, we're going to do it," he said. "We're bound and determined to do it." As for the Fire and Iron poker run, this year's event will happen as scheduled Sept. 8. "Our event is still planned and we're working to make it a game of skill and stay compliant within the Kansas gaming laws," Toney said. The state says the best way to keep a poker run within the law is to remove the element of chance by having participants throw a dart at cards on a board. Many charity organizers say they will be pushing for a change in Kansas law.

© KAKE News

Shaddy Funeral home Director is facing 10 Felony Counts

In probably one of the downright dastardly set of circumstances I can remember, a funeral home director is facing some very serious criminal charges.  From giving people the wrong ashes, to storing bodies at room temperature, to just straight up robbing money from the elderly who are pre-paying for their funeral, this guy is accused of doing it all.

What was a civil case has evolved into another case this time with criminal charges pending.  Here is the article on Fox 4's website.  If this is true it is just plain messed up.


Funeral Home Director now Faces Criminal Charges
By: Tess Koppelman

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Attorney General is filing criminal charges against a former funeral home director in a story that FOX 4 news first started investigating two years ago.  Ron Marts is now facing ten felony charges including theft, deceptive business practices, and violating state laws about pre-need contracts. Pre-need contracts are for people who want to pre-pay for a funeral. People do it for peace of mind, but according to the Attorney General’s investigation, Marts wasn’t even licensed to sell pre-need contracts and now it appears that the money is gone.

Back in July 2010, FOX 4 first told you about Hadley Cutburth, who was certain that funeral director Ron Marts gave him the wrong ashes at his wife’s funeral. After his wife’s funeral, he got a call from the funeral home saying that they had his wife’s ashes ready for him to pick up, so he knew something was wrong. The Attorney General investigation confirmed that at the time of his wife’s funeral, she hadn’t even been cremated yet.

After Cutburth came to FOX 4 with his story, we investigated and found Marts Funeral Home was already on probation for things like shoddy record keeping and not storing bodies in proper temperatures. The state revoked Ron Marts funeral directors license and the funeral home was forced to close last spring. Just before closing, investigators came to the funeral home, taking pictures and collecting bags of evidence.  Friday, the Attorney General’s office issued the warrant for Marts arrest and a judge set a 20-thousand dollar bond. In a news release, the Attorney General’s office says that Marts is accused of giving the wrong remains to two different people, and selling pre-need contracts without a license. The court records also say Marts never set up a proper trust account for the pre-need money.

Cutburth has also filed a civil suit against Marts. Cutburth’s attorney Andy Smith says his civil case was set to go to trial in October, but it’s not clear how the civil case will be impacted now that Marts faces criminal charges. Smith says that these criminal charges confirm what he and his client have been saying all along, “that there was something terribly wrong going on there” at Marts funeral home.  The Attorney General’s office says Marts faces 15 years in prison for the charge of stealing over $25,000, seven years in prison for selling pre-need contracts without a license, and four years for the charge of “Unlawful Merchandising Practices.”
The Attorney General says people who paid for funeral services that were not provided should contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or online at ago.mo.gov to file a consumer complaint.

Question: I got a speeding ticket and the officer told me I had a warrant out. What do I do?

This was a question submitted through my sister site.  Newspaperattorney.com

Newspaperattorney.com is a site that I created and where I allow people to write in and I will answer questions for them about legal issues.  Currently we have about 17 newspapers publishing the article in their print or on their website.  This was a recent question that I thought may be relevant for the this blog.

Q:  I live in Kansas and I was pulled over for speeding in Kansas.  When I got pulled over the officer told me I had a warrant out for my arrest.  The officer didn't arrest me but told me to clear it up.  He also told me my license was suspended.  I don't know why the warrant was issued or where the warrant is from.  What should I do?
A:  I would start in Kansas, and I would start with the Kansas Department of Revenue.  Most of the time people have a warrant out for not showing up to court.  Many times this is because a person has a traffic ticket they didn't take care of.  When you get a ticket and don't go to court then the judge will often do two things: 1) Suspend your driver's license 2) issue a warrant for your arrest.  This may be what happened.  To find out where the ticket was issued you can go to the Kansas Department of Revenue's website and check why your license is suspended.  This video will explain how to do it.



Once you have found out where your license is suspended then you can begin the process of taking care of the warrant and addressing the suspension.   If this doesn't provide you with the answer you need (no warrants are present) then you may have a warrant out for a criminal case. If the warrant is because of a criminal case you may want to contact a criminal defense lawyer so that he/she can surrender you to the court and get a bond set for your release.  This may save you money on a bond, and will give you an opportunity to talk with a criminal defense lawyer.  To determine if you have a warrant on a criminal case you can go to the jail in your county and ask, or you can have a lawyer send in a written request to the sheriff's office.  Beware if you go in to the jail they may arrest you if you have a warrant out.  Depending on what state you are in this process will obviously differ.  Spend a little time researching on google and call a local criminal defense lawyer if you need additional help. Good Luck!