By Mike Lear (Missourinet) – The field of candidates for the GOP nomination for governor in 2016 has gained another member. Bolivar senator Mike Parson has formally announced his campaign for governor, after telling the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association’s Board of Directors earlier this month that he had decided to run.

Parson was elected to the Senate in 2010 and is the chairman of its committee on Small Business, Insurance & Industry. He is a past sheriff of Polk County, spent six years in the U.S. Army and was elected to the state House in 2004.

The first hints of Parson’s interest in a run for governor began to appear after the suicide February 26 of Auditor Tom Schweich, who had just launched his own campaign for governor. Friends and family said Schweich was upset about a whisper campaign he believed was being conducted against him by the state GOP chairman John Hancock, and about a campaign ad that compared his physical appearance to that of TV character Barney Fife.

In the days after Schweich’s suicide, Parson took to the Senate floor to say that if negative campaign tactics played a role in Schweich’s death, the people behind them should be ashamed. He says his own campaign will be, “like no other.”

“I want to change the arena. It shouldn’t be about winning an election at all cost. It shouldn’t be all about the money … you should do things with an honorable intention of how you win an election, and if you win or lose, so be it,” said Parson. “I think at the end of the day we’re going to set a new example.”

Parson acknowledges he faces a challenge to reach the governor’s office. He becomes the third candidate in the GOP race along with former House Speaker and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway and former state representative Randy Asbury. 2012 U.S. Senate hopeful and businessman John Brunner has formed a committee to explore the possibility of running, and several others are said to be potential candidates. The winner of the primary seems likely to face Democrat Chris Koster, who so far has the backing of several other key Missouri Democrats.

“I think the one advantage that I have over most candidates coming from rural Missouri … I’ve always been able to do well in the agriculture arena but I’ve always been a huge supporter of the urban issues as well,” Parson told Missourinet. “I think that hopefully by having that balance, that I can make the state even better.”

Parson owns a cow-calf operation near Bolivar. He and his wife Teresa have two children and five grandchildren.

By Kyle Loethen (Missourinet) – Missouri corn planting has been off to a slow start this year.

The most recent USDA crop progress report shows only 20 percent of the state’s corn crop has been planted, compared to 44 percent last year at this time. Early planting sets the stage for good yields, but Missouri’s April showers have created wet conditions which has caused delays. USDA reports that Missouri farmers expect to plant 3.3 million acres of corn in 2015, the lowest amount since 2010.

University of Missouri Agronomy Professor Bill Wiebold said delayed planting in the southeast region has significantly lowered the state’s average.

“Corn planting begins first in the southern part of Missouri, especially the southeast, the Bootheel,” said Wiebold. “That area has been amazingly wet, maybe as much as 8 to 10 inches of rain in April.”

Wiebold said those numbers can change fast if the weather stays favorable.

“We can plant 50 to 75 percent of our corn crop within about 10 days and so once the weather turns, which it has, soils dry out, which is has, we’ve got the capacity to plant a lot of acres in this state relatively quickly,” said Wiebold.

Wiebold said Missourians should not be concerned if farmers can get a lot of corn planted in the next week.

“On average we haven’t lost much yield potential, in fact we may not have lost any yield potential because of delayed planting,” said Wiebold. “Now, if wet weather had continued for maybe two weeks longer, then we’d have some concerns.”

Wiebold said yield drops as much as 20 percent when corn is not planted by the end of May.

Four men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to steal identity information and use the stolen information to create and cash more than $70,000 in counterfeit checks.

Tyler Sutton, 53, Gary K. Keesler, 35, and Chad M. Mills, 26, all of Kansas City, Mo., and Christopher Hite, 32, of Windsor, Mo., were charged in a 10-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, April 28, 2015.

The federal indictment alleges that Sutton, Keesler, Mills and Hite participated in the conspiracy beginning in October 2013.

According to the indictment, Sutton unlawfully obtained identity and account information belonging to other persons and businesses. Sutton allegedly stole these items from a business and from the mail and allegedly paid addict co-conspirators in cash and/or drugs for checks, identification information, credit card numbers, and other information that could be used to create counterfeit checks and identifications. Sutton and co-conspirators used the stolen documents to create counterfeit identifications and checks, the indictment says, which they cashed at retail stores and financial institutions

Sutton was employed to be a property manager. He was a tenant at a residence in the 400 block of Gladstone Boulevard in Kansas City. According to the indictment, however, he only paid rent for one month and was evicted in October 2014. Sutton used the Gladstone Boulevard residence to conduct his illegal business, the indictment says, by operating it as a flop house where he offered cash and/or drugs to drug addicts who brought him stolen mail, identities, addresses, credit card numbers, and bank account information that could be used to create counterfeit identifications and checks. Sutton often allowed the addicts to stay at the Gladstone Boulevard residence.

Sutton did not usually create counterfeit identifications and checks himself, according to the indictment, nor did he personally present counterfeit identifications and checks for payment. Rather, he allegedly instructed others in the making and presenting of counterfeit identifications and checks, and shared the illegal proceeds with his co-conspirators. In this manner, the indictment says, Sutton attempted to insulate himself from liability.

In addition to the conspiracy, Sutton, Keeler and Hite are charged together in two counts of bank fraud and in two counts of aggravated identity theft. Sutton and Mills are charged together in one count of possessing counterfeit checks. Sutton is also charged with two additional counts of possessing counterfeit checks and two counts of possessing stolen mail.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture count, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government any proceeds obtained through the alleged violations, including a money judgment of $70,100.

Four Kansas City, Mo., residents have been indicted for their roles in an arson and insurance fraud conspiracy.

Tina L. Shonk, 34, Roy Thieman, 30, Joseph Levi Little, 40, and Tyler Sutton, 53, all of Kansas City, were charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, April 28, 2015.

The federal indictment alleges that Shonk led the arson and insurance fraud conspiracy in 2014. She allegedly obtained renter’s insurance on a house she rented, burned the house with the help of co-conspirators, and then made false claims on the insured property resulting in a total loss to insurance companies of $235,464.

According to the indictment, Shonk rented a residence in the 3500 block of Garfield in Kansas City, Mo., for about three years. In 2014, the indictment says, Shonk obtained renter’s insurance in the amount of $60,000, much more than the value of her personal property. At the time Shonk obtained renter’s insurance, she owed approximately $7,929 in back due rent, and had the gas shut off due to non-payment.

Shonk and her co-conspirators allegedly moved all of her personal property of any value to a storage unit. They allegedly moved damaged and broken electronic equipment and appliances into the residence so that it would appear that valuable appliances were destroyed. In April 2014, according to the indictment, Shonk owed $10,356 in back due rent and eviction proceedings had been initiated by her landlord.

Shonk, Thieman and Little allegedly set fire to the residence on April 4, 2014, by covering a space heater with a blanket and setting fire to the blanket. The Kansas City Fire Department extinguished the fire but the house was a total loss.

After the fire, Shonk made false claims to the insurance company as to the value of her property, that her property was in the house at the time of the fire, and also that she had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the fire. She received a $57,364 check from the insurance company, which was deposited into a bank account controlled by Sutton. Shonk allegedly paid $2,500 to Thieman and $4,000 to Little for their criminal assistance.

In May 2014, Shonk and Thieman moved into a house in the 3800 block of Pittman Road in Kansas City, Mo., a property managed by Sutton. Co-conspirators allegedly discussed repeating the arson insurance fraud scheme at the Pittman Road house. According to the indictment, Thieman wrote a letter to Shonk outlining plans to insure their personal property and then burn the house, stating in part, “there can be no evidence, nor signs of foul play, or accelerant.”

In addition to the conspiracy, Shonk, Thieman and Little are charged together in one count of arson. Shonk and Sutton are charged together in two counts of money laundering related to conducting financial transactions which involved the proceeds of unlawful activity. Shonk is also charged with one count of mail fraud.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require all of the defendants to forfeit to the government any proceeds obtained as the result of the alleged violations, including $62,364.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former employee of the Social Security Administration was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for illegally accessing personal identification information as part of a nearly $10,000 fraud scheme to steal from the government.

Mary Francis Taylor, 54, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one year and one day in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Taylor to pay $9,853 in restitution.

On Sept. 16, 2014, Taylor pleaded guilty to the theft of government money.

Taylor worked as a teleservice technician in the Social Security Administration’s Mid-America Program Service Center in Kansas City, Mo., until she resigned on Jan. 10, 2014. In that role, she had access to sensitive private information for all individuals who possess a Social Security number.

Taylor admitted that she found a NetSpend debit card on a public bus in August 2013. She took the NetSpend debit card as well as some documents that contained additional personal identification information. Taylor called NetSpend, falsely claiming to be the cardholder (identified as Victim 1), and instructed NetSpend to add another beneficiary to the debit card. Taylor possessed identity information for this new beneficiary, identified as Victim 2, because she found Victim 2’s case file on a co-workers desk.

Taylor illegally accessed the SSA computer system to create an overage to Victim 2’s record, which was direct deposited into the bank account linked to the debit card that was stolen from Victim 1. As a result, SSA direct deposited $9,853 into that bank account.

Taylor used the debit card to pay off her account at Aaron’s and to pay arrearages on her home mortgage, utilities and car loan.

By Alisa Nelson (Missourinet) – State lawmakers, attorneys, and some citizens are continuing to ask Governor Jay Nixon to release from prison a man who has been there for more than two decades for marijuana-related offenses.

Supporters of Jeff Mizanskey have delivered a petition with nearly 400,000 signatures to the governor requesting clemency for him.

The signatures of 128 legislators were among those submitted on the petition.

Representative Paul Fitzwater (R-Potosi) says in Mizanskey’s case, the punishment does not fit the crime. “Mr. Mizanskey has served his sentence far greater than the crime committed and we need to see that justice is given to Mr. Mizanskey.”

According to Fitzwater, during Mizanskey’s 21 years in prison, he’s had two infractions. One was for a messy floor and the other was for putting a piece of mail in the wrong slot at the mailroom.
Representative Kevin Engler (R-Farmington) says the Legislature needs to take a look at the time criminals serve in prison for certain offenses.

“Do the taxpayers really want to pay for these types of criminals being in that long?” asked Engler. “It’s one thing to do some correction. It’s another thing to put them away forever.

The petition is the second such effort launched on Mizanskey’s behalf. Earlier this year, a House Committee chaired by Fitzwater also held a hearing on a bill offered by Representative Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) that would free Mizanskey if passed.