KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? A former Topeka banker insisted Wednesday he acted alone to hide a loan he received from former Westar Energy Inc. chief David Wittig, calling conspiracy charges against them “absurd.”

Clinton Odell Weidner II, testifying in U.S. District Court, hotly denied the government’s central thesis in the bank fraud case — that Wittig loaned Weidner $1.5 million in return for his help in making $20 million worth of bank loans available to Wittig and others at Westar.

Wittig and Weidner went on trial last week, charged with identical counts of conspiracy, making false bank entries and money laundering. Wittig has denied all of the charges, but Weidner pleaded guilty to two counts of false bank entries just before jury selection began.

The charges stemmed from two transactions executed on April 30, 2001, at Capital City Bank, where Weidner was president and served as Wittig’s personal loan officer.

First, Wittig’s personal credit line was increased — at his request and on Weidner’s recommendation — by $1.5 million. Hours later, $1.5 million was transferred from Wittig’s account directly into an Arizona real estate project in which Weidner was investing.

Wittig had passed up a chance to invest in the project himself but had offered to lend Weidner the $1.5 million, for one year at 7 percent interest. However, Weidner testified, he had assumed the money would come from one of Wittig’s accounts at other banks.

In fact, Weidner testified, the transfer of money from Wittig’s Capital City credit line on April 30, 2001, was a mistake — made, he said, by his administrative assistant, Christy Gurney.

Weidner said he went out on business having told Gurney to give Wittig’s assistant instructions for wiring the money, which had to be in Arizona that day. When he returned in late afternoon, he said, Gurney told him she had transferred the money, straight from Wittig’s Capital City credit account.

“I was stunned,” Weidner said. “I had no idea she was going to tell me that she had wired the money.”

“This was the first you learned that the money you were getting was coming from your own bank?” asked Weidner’s lawyer, Pedro Irigonegaray. Yes, Weidner replied, and it was a problem.

Gurney had testified she didn’t know about the loan until Weidner told her in early June 2001, he had borrowed $1.5 million from Wittig and asked her to keep the matter confidential. She also testified she did not know who transferred the money from Wittig’s credit account to Arizona.

Weidner pleaded guilty last week to failing to list the loan on a May 2001, personal financial statement required by federal regulators. He also pleaded guilty to falsely writing on a bank document that Wittig’s line of credit was increased in April for Wittig’s benefit alone.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Rich Hathaway attacked Weidner’s credibility, pointing out Wednesday afternoon he concealed his actions until confronted by the bank’s president. Weidner eventually resigned from the bank, but was retained as a consultant.

Hathaway reviewed Weidner’s account of how the crucial transactions took place on April 30, 2001. He pointed out that Wittig had requested his line of credit be increased by the very amount that Weidner needed to invest on the same day.

“You’re telling us it’s purely coincidental?” he asked.

“It must be, Mr. Hathaway,” Weidner replied.