TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A former vice president of a Topeka bank has pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to forfeit more than $596,000. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom’s office said Friday that 40-year-old Jennifer Hughes-Boyles of Topeka pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Prosecutors say bank officials began investigating when they noticed that Hughes-Boyles originated more than $2 million in real estate loans between March and May last year, despite a struggling economy. Bank officials also noticed changes in her lifestyle. An audit determined that Hughes-Boyles altered credit scores on loan applications on documents for the bank’s loan committee. Sentencing is set…
Author: KMAN Staff
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tells military officers that any perceived weakness in U.S. power is a greater threat to the country than another nation or terrorist cell. Rumsfeld said Friday during a speech at Fort Leavenworth that past cuts in defense and intelligence spending led to gaps in security. He cautions it could happen again under current tight federal budgets. Rumsfeld served under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush and was in charge of the Pentagon during the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He retired in 2006. He spoke to more…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Lawrence police chief Tarik Khatib says one police officer involved in a ticket-fixing scandal is no longer working for the department. Khatib says Friday that a second officer is still on suspension after an investigation found that at least six traffic tickets were fixed in exchange for Kansas basketball tickets. The city has said officers fixed speeding tickets for a former university employee who is now in federal prison for his role in a broader ticket scandal at the university. Khatib said the investigation found one officer had a long-term friendship with the athletics employee. He says…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Mars company won’t be allowed to build a wind turbine at its Topeka plant because it would interfere with airspace at nearby Forbes Field. Topeka Airport Authority officials say any tall structure built at the Kanza Fire Commerce Park where the plant is located would severely limit use of Forbes Field. Mars had planned to build a 300-foot-tall turbine before being told by the Federal Aviation Administration that it was not allowed. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Friday that Mars officials say they are now seeking permission to build a solar field at the plant. The company…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has approved a bill that could reduce benefits to some unemployed Kansans while cutting unemployment rates paid by new employers. Under the bill, unemployment benefits would be reduced for a person who receives a lump-sum separation or severance payment. The reduced benefits would continue for the number of weeks that the lump sum represents. The bill also would reduce the unemployment insurance contribution rates. The Lawrence Journal World reports supporters tout the bill as a way to create jobs in Kansas. Critics said employers’ contributions rates shouldn’t be cut at a time when the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has approved a bill that would double fines on two busy state highways. The bill approved Thursday would double fines on Kansas Highway 10 between Lawrence and Johnson County and U.S. 54 in Wichita. It now goes to the House of consideration. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the Kansas Department of Transportation would add signs alerting drivers that they were on safety corridors and telling them about the increased fines.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas nurse who diluted morphine solutions at a Salina nursing home is due in court for sentencing. Melanie Morrison was scheduled be sentenced Friday in federal court in Topeka for consumer product tampering and adulteration of a drug at the Holiday Resort Nursing Facility in Salina. Morrison admitted putting sodium chloride into solutions of morphine sulfate, reducing the painkiller’s quality and strength. Sodium chloride is dangerous to some patients, particularly those with congestive heart failure or severe renal insufficiency. Morrison struck a deal with prosecutors that could send her to prison for three years. She also…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Many abortion opponents and conservative Republicans in Kansas are pushing to give the governor and legislators more influence over the appointment of appellate court judges. But a proposal seen as a step toward accomplishing their goals has stalled in the Legislature. The state Senate rejected a bill Thursday to have the governor appoint new Court of Appeals judges, subject to Senate confirmation. The measure would end the screening of applications for the court by a nominating commission controlled by attorneys. The Senate’s 22-17 vote against the measure showed Democrats and moderate Republicans still have misgivings about changing…
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is traveling to Fort Leavenworth to speak to officers studying at the Army’s Command and General Staff College. Rumsfeld served under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush and was in charge of the Pentagon during the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, retiring in 2006. He was scheduled to deliver a lecture at 10 a.m. Friday to more than 1,000 U.S. and international officers at the northeast Kansas post, then sign copies of his memoir, “Known and Unknown,” for the public. He has been touring the country promoting…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The FBI is investigating a suspicious letter sent to the downtown Wichita office of Sen. Pat Roberts, one of several congressional offices around the country receiving similar letters in recent days. KWCH-TV reports the letter containing a white, powdery substance arrived at the office Thursday. Traffic was restricted in the area while police and hazardous materials crews investigated. The FBI says no hazardous material has been found so far in similar letters sent to district offices of members of Congress around the country. Roberts’ communications director, Sarah Little, says the Kansas Republican was in Topeka on Thursday,…