SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A married couple has pleaded guilty in a scheme in which southwest Missouri jail inmates tried to unlawfully land big tax refunds.
43-year-old Andre Garnett and his wife, 35-year-old Kenya Morris-Garnett, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims. The plea agreement says that while Garnett was incarcerated in Christian County, he and another inmate conspired to submit false federal tax returns with the idea that they would then rake in large tax refunds.
Morris-Garnett was not in jail but participated in the scheme from the outside.
One of the fraudulent tax returns would have resulted in a refund of $18,427, and another would have resulted in a refund of $250,993. Payment of both refunds was halted by the IRS.
Due to power washing the Joyce Raye Patterson Senior Center at 100 S. 10th Street, the Library Square Parking Lot under the Center will be closed Tuesday.
The parking lot will reopen on Wednesday, September 26.
A cold front will push through the region today, bringing chillier temperatures and a chance for showers and storms. A few storms may have the potential to create some strong wind gusts, so keep an eye to the sky later today! Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: A chance of showers before 1 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., then a chance of showers after 4 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. South southeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming north northwest 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: A slight chance of showers before 7 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. North northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10%.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 68. North northwest wind 7 to 9 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 47. South wind 3 to 6 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 74. South southwest wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Friday: A chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Friday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 74.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.
Monday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The former Callaway County Collector pleaded guilty in federal court today to embezzling nearly $300,000 from Callaway County taxpayers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“On more than 100 occasions, this public official stole directly from the people she was elected to represent,” said U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison. “She will be held accountable for violating the public trust and abusing her position. The government will seek a significant prison sentence and repayment of what was stolen from the taxpayers of Callaway County.”
Oestreich -photo Calloway Co.
Pamela J. Oestreich, 59, of Fulton, Mo., waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr., to a federal information that charges her with one count of stealing from an organization that receives federal funds.
“As Sheriff of Callaway County, I express my sincere gratitude to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their prompt, professional, and expert assistance,” said Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism. “Although this investigation could have been conducted on the local level, many factors made it apparent the case should be investigated by a federal agency for prosecution in the federal court system. Of most relevance, myself and Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher D. Wilson believed it paramount the citizens of Callaway County be assured this matter was handled without the slightest hint of some impropriety. Throughout the investigation, I remained in contact with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure myself, and all other local Callaway County officials, provided any needed assistance.”
Oestreich was elected as the Callaway County Collector in November 2002. By pleading guilty today, Oestreich admitted that she disbursed taxpayer funds for her personal use on 103 occasions beginning in September 2015. Oestreich deposited taxpayer funds directly into her personal bank account. Oestreich also moved taxpayer funds between Callaway County bank accounts to conceal her theft of cash deposits made by taxpayers at the Callaway County Courthouse. The total amount embezzled by Oestreich from Callaway County taxpayers was $299,387.
Oestreich resigned from her office on March 15, 2018, when confronted by the Callaway County Sheriff and FBI agents.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Oestreich have agreed that she will face an advisory sentencing guidelines range of 41 to 51 months of imprisonment in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Oestreich’s sentence will include mandatory restitution of the stolen funds. During the course of her theft of public money, Oestreich made payments totaling $19,430 from her personal bank account into Callaway County Collector accounts to hide her theft. Consequently, the amount of restitution due and owing to Callaway County as a result of her criminal conduct is $279,957.
STONE COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 5p.m. Monday in Stone County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1987 Ford F150 driven by Lawrence R. Carter, 16, Galena, was westbound on MO 176 four miles east of Galena.
The driver failed to negotiate a curve due to speed. The vehicle traveled off the right side of the road, returned to the road, slid off the left side of the road, overturned and hit two signs. The driver was ejected.
Carter was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP
BROWN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 5p.m. Monday in Brown County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy Cavalier driven by Ronnie D. Myers, 47, Hiawatha, was eastbound at 783 U.S. 36. The vehicle rear-ended a semi that was turning into a private drive.
Myers was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.
The semi driver Martin E. Lawrence, 53, Wetmore, was possibly injured, according to the KHP report. Myers was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court won’t reconsider a ruling allowing voters to decide on a ballot measure changing the way state legislative districts are drawn.
The decision Monday reaffirms a ruling last week by a state appeals court panel letting the so-called Clean Missouri initiative appear on the Nov. 6 ballot as Constitutional Amendment 1. Opponents had claimed the initiative violates the state constitution by addressing too many topics.
The proposal would create a new position of nonpartisan demographer to draw state House and Senate boundaries based on the 2020 Census using criteria intended to achieve “partisan fairness.” The maps would be submitted for approval to bipartisan commissions, which would have less leeway than in the past to draft their own plans.
The initiative also would limit lobbyist gifts to lawmakers.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is defending his lawsuit against the operators of a duck boat that sank in July, killing 17 people.
In August, Hawley filed suit accusing Branson Duck Vehicles and Ripley Entertainment Inc. of violating Missouri’s consumer protection law and putting profits above safety, citing the July 19 accident on Table Rock Lake near Branson.
The companies responded by seeking dismissal, calling Hawley’s lawsuit “irresponsible” and “littered with factual inaccuracies and innuendo.”
In a filing on Monday, Hawley’s office said the companies are trying to delay state enforcement actions and evade any court order that would stop them from resuming operation.
Hawley is a Republican who also is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill.
A Flood Warning continues for the Missouri River at St Joseph until October 1st.
According to the National Weather Service, at 9:30 Monday morning, the stage was at 17 feet, which is flood stage. The river is expected to continue to rise to near 18.4 feet by early Wednesday morning and fall below flood stage by Sunday morning.
FESTUS, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have identified the men killed in an eastern Missouri plane crash as an American Airlines pilot and his son.
Fatal plane crash photo courtesy KTVI
Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak on Monday said the victims were veteran pilot 56-year-old Michael Metzger of Hillsboro and 20-year-old Jacob Metzger of the state of Iowa.
The plane crashed about 2 a.m. Friday just a few hundred yards from the unlit airport in Festus, even as the pilot’s fiancee tried to guide it in with a flashlight.
Michael Metzger was piloting the plane back from New York and reported electrical problems that prevented him from remotely activating the runway lights, which are turned off after working hours.
Marshak says the fiancee responded to the pilot’s texts and stood along the runway with a flashlight, but the plane crashed.
