Wichita ? Three mayoral candidates have been convicted of felonies and the fiancee of a fourth filed for a court protection from abuse order.

The Wichita Eagle reported in its Thursday edition that background checks of 15 mayoral candidates revealed that:

• George Poulos, 77, spent 20 years in prison in two stints after convictions for arson, racketeering and gambling. Poulos referred to his criminal background in announcing his candidacy, saying, “People are going to have to get up awful early in the morning to get scams past me.”

He also has detailed his criminal exploits in a book titled “George, You Rascal, You.”

• Martin Mork, 39, served two years’ probation after a 1992 conviction for attempted possession of marijuana with intent to sell. Mork said he thought smoking marijuana was sinful in the same sense that drinking alcohol was sinful. But he said he didn’t think it should be illegal.

“I feel that a lot of people are fed up with the laws on marijuana,” he said. “I believe it’s none of the government’s business what we do in our own home as long as it’s not harming anybody.”

• King David “K.D.” Davis, 46, had a 1992 conviction for being a habitual traffic violator.

The Eagle also reported that two days after announcing his candidacy for mayor, movie theater mogul Bill Warren got a judge to seal court records in which he and his fiancee make allegations of abuse, threats, extortion and slander.

No criminal charges were filed as a result of the complaints. Warren had become a front-runner after winning the endorsement of seven-term Wichita Mayor Bob Knight. Knight said he was unaware of Warren’s personal legal battle.