Pubdate: Wed, 01 Dec 2004
Source: Kansas City Star (MO)
Copyright: 2004 The Kansas City Star
Contact:  http://www.kcstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221
Author: Benita Y. Williams, The Kansas City Star

FIVE COUNTY EMPLOYEES SUBPOENAED IN INQUIRY

Jackson County officials confirmed Tuesday that at least five
employees had been subpoenaed in an investigation into allegations
that records were improperly destroyed.

The officials said they had heard as many as nine subpoenas had been
issued seeking documents and testimony for a Jackson County grand jury
hearing scheduled for Friday. However, county spokesman Ken Evans on
Tuesday had copies only of subpoenas served on five staff members.

Those receiving subpoenas included finance director Gloria Fisher,
records director Robert Kelly and budget administrator Jeremy
Willmoth. Kelly and Fisher declined to comment, referring calls to
Evans. Willmoth could not be reached.

The subpoenas asked for documents related to the destruction of
financial records in 2003 and 2004. One subpoena sought a log of who
visited the county's records storage center in Independence since June
2003.

The subpoenas are the first confirmation of an investigation into the
county's records destruction policies.

Problems arose in late October when auditors examining the county's
anti-drug tax learned that records from 1996, which county staff
originally said existed, were missing.

County Executive Katheryn Shields said the records had been destroyed
during routine records purging last year, before the audit. Also in
October, an anonymous allegation surfaced that records had recently
been moved or destroyed.

Earlier this month, Prosecutor Mike Sanders implied that his office
was investigating allegations that records were destroyed to keep them
away from auditors examining the county's anti-drug tax. Sanders would
not confirm or deny the probe Tuesday, citing laws forbidding
prosecutors from commenting on possible grand jury
proceedings.

On Tuesday, Shields said Sanders launched the investigation to draw
attention away from the anti-drug tax audit.

Shields said a draft of the audit offered no evidence that allegations
Sanders made this year that Shields had misspent anti-drug tax money
were true.

She also said Sanders' insistence on spending anti-drug tax surplus
funds according to guidelines from 1995 will cause budget cuts next
year in the prosecutor's office.

"I think all of this is because he has not gotten the results out of
the audit that he wanted," Shields said. "He sees that . he's actually
significantly harming his own office. I think he just wants to create
a smokescreen so that he can draw attention away from the inaccurate
and untruthful statements he's made during the last year and the
disastrous results that have happened in his own department."

Shields also said there was no evidence of improper records
destruction.

Sanders in turn issued a written statement about Shields.

"As prosecutors, we are precluded by law from discussing matters
related to grand jury proceedings," Sanders said in his statement. "We
are troubled that County Executive Katheryn Shields would try to take
advantage of this required silence by alleging that a grand jury,
which is made up of independent citizens of Jackson County, is somehow
motivated by politics."

In an interview, he also denied Shields' claims about the audit.

"We have been very pleased," Sanders said. "The audit accomplished
what was intended. . It showed money was spent outside the guidelines
and how much money is in the anti-drug tax account."

Sanders, however, added that the draft audit by Cochran, Head and Co.
included disclaimers that they had not been able to investigate all of
the records because some were missing.

County Counselor Ed Rucker was negotiating Tuesday with two private
attorneys to represent the subpoenaed employees for about $15,000.
Rucker said his office could not represent them, because he also must
represent prosecutor's employees in civil matters, which could cause a
conflict of interest.
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MAP posted-by: Derek