United States Attorney’s Office

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – The co-owner of a defunct Missouri construction company pleaded guilty this week to defrauding a federal program that set aside contracts for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Michael J. Parker, 40, Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States, one count of major program fraud and one count of wire fraud. In his plea, he admitted that he and his father, co-defendant, Warren K. Parker, made false claims in order for their company, Silver Star Construction LLC of Blue Springs, Mo., and Stilwell, Kan., to obtain more than $6.7 million in contracts from the Veterans Administration and more than $748,000 in contracts from the Department of Defense. The contracts were awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.

After an extensive investigation, federal agents determined that in fact Warren Parker never was classified as a service-disabled veteran by the Veterans Administration or the Department of Defense.
Sentencing will be set for a later date. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 51 months in federal prison and restitution.

Co-defendants include:
Warren K. Parker, who was sentenced to 87 months.
Mary Parker, who is set for jury trial Oct. 6.
Thomas Whitehead, who is awaiting sentencing.
Silver Star Construction, LLC, which is set for trial Oct. 6.

Grissom commended the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigation Division and the General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt for their work on the case.

If the EPA’s proposed rule to redefine waters of the United States becomes law, farming and ranching as we know it today may end.

“This is one of the most egregious oversteps of Congressional intent that has happened in modern times,” says Ryan Flickner, Kansas Farm Bureau public policy senior director. “Certainly since the Clean Water Act of 1972.”

Under the proposed rule, the Environmental Protection Agency intends to wield much more authority than Congress wrote into this law.

EPA published its proposal in the Federal Register April 21. It contends the new rule clarifies the scope of the Clean Water Act. In reality it provides more confusion and less clarity for farm and ranch families and could classify most water and some land features as waters of the United States.

Ordinary field work and everyday chores like moving cattle across a wet pasture, planting crops and even harvest may one day require a federal permit if this proposal becomes final.

Clean water is important to all of us, but this issue is not about water quality – it’s about federal agencies attempting to gain regulatory control over land use.

Throughout this republic’s history, Congress, not federal agencies, has written the laws of the land. Two Supreme Court rulings have affirmed the federal government is limited to regulating navigable waters. EPA’s recent proposal sends conflicting messages and would extend the agency’s reach.

Also at stake here are the roles of state and federal government, Flickner says – where that line is drawn and where it may be crossed.

Congress initially said the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers could only regulate “navigable” waters.

Farmers and ranchers are straight-forward people who believe words mean something. Agricultural producers believe the authors (Congress) of the Clean Water Act included the term navigable for a reason.

Is a small ditch navigable?

Is a stock pond navigable?

Ever see any maritime barges trying to navigate a southwestern Kansas gully during a cloud burst?

Because a farmer’s field, a homeowner’s lawn, a golf course or a playground collects water after a rain does not mean they should be regulated under waters of the United States. The new regulatory proposals could do exactly that.

What about the EPA claims that agricultural exemptions currently provided under the federal Clean Water Act should relieve farmer and ranchers of any need to worry about the proposed rule?

Exemptions provided in the act are mostly limited to plowing and earth moving activities. They do not apply to farm and ranch tasks like building a fence across a ditch, applying fertilizers or other forms of pest and weed control. Nor do they offer protection from land that has entered agricultural production since the 1970s.

If EPA’s proposed rule becomes law, many farming practices would require government approval through a complex process of federal permitting.

EPA’s so-called exemptions will not protect farmers and ranchers from the proposed waters rule. If farmlands are regulated as waters, farming and ranching will be difficult, if not impossible.

Public comment will be accepted until Oct. 20. Contact the EPA and Corps and let them know your opinion on this critical issue.

“Enough is enough,” Flickner says. “Kansas farmers and ranchers have worked with our state agencies including the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department of Agriculture and our elected officials. Let’s continue to work with these people who are more knowledgeable about our state.”

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee says as hard as the GOP is working to win Republican control of the U.S. Senate, Kansas can’t be the place that fails the party.

Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas told business leaders Friday in Wichita that as hard as Republicans are working to win seats across the country, it would be a “terrible mistake” for Kansas to fail to keep Pat Roberts in the Senate.

Moran also urged his audience to imagine the circumstance where the GOP puts in so much effort and Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is not re-elected.

Both Brownback and Roberts are facing tough re-election battles.

STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS says it has lost emails from five more workers who are part of congressional investigations into the treatment of conservative groups that applied for tax exempt status.

The tax agency said in June that it could not locate an untold number of emails to and from Lois Lerner, who headed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. The revelation set off a new round of investigations and congressional hearings.

On Friday, the IRS said it has also lost emails from five other employees related to the probe, including two agents who worked in a Cincinnati office processing applications for tax-exempt status.

The agency blamed computer crashes for the lost emails. In a statement, the IRS said it found no evidence that anyone deliberately destroyed evidence.

FULTON (AP) – A Missouri judge has ordered a man suspected of killing a 6-year-old boy to be held without bond after an unidentified person inquired about whether a cashier’s check could be used to post what had been a $1 million cash-only bond.

The Fulton Sun reports 27-year-old Scottie Willett of Fulton is accused of fatally shooting Dayne Hathman on Aug. 28 at a home where Willet had been living with the child and his mother. He is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering and receiving stolen property.

A Missouri Board of Probation and Parole representative says Willet told him if he bonded out, he would flee and not show up in court.

Willet’s next court date is set for 9 a.m. on Oct. 3.