Topeka ? A federal judge refused Wednesday to move a criminal trial for David Wittig outside Kansas, declaring that the former Westar Energy Inc. chief executive and a co-defendant will have their case heard in Kansas City, Kan.

Wittig, of Topeka, and Douglas T. Lake, of New Canaan, Conn., the company’s former executive vice president, each face 40 counts, with prosecutors alleging they tried to loot Westar, the state’s largest electric utility, before leaving the company near the end of 2002. The charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements to government agencies.

They pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued that they could not receive a fair trial in Kansas because of negative publicity, particularly about Wittig, the company under his management, and other legal problems he faced. Their attorneys had suggested moving the trial to Denver.

“We’re obviously disappointed in the decision, but we intend to go to trial wherever it is,” said Edward Little, a New York attorney representing Lake said in a telephone interview. “We hope we can find an impartial jury, but I still have my doubts, given all the negative publicity.”

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson filed her order late Wednesday, after the U.S. District Court clerk’s office had closed for the day. The full text of her decision was not available online, but basic details were.

The judge made a similar decision last year, when Wittig sought a trial outside Kansas in an unrelated case. He and a former Topeka banker were later convicted of hiding a $1.5 million loan from federal regulators, and a jury convicted Wittig on six charges. Both have appealed.

Wittig and Lake are scheduled to go to trial Sept. 7, but Lake has asked for separate trials.

Last week, attorneys for Lake and Wittig filed new documents attacking the government’s case. Wittig’s attorneys asked Robinson to dismiss 33 of the 40 charges against him, while Lake’s attorneys argued that the entire case should be dismissed.

The attorneys contended that the indictment charging the two men was flawed and, in some cases, too vague. The U.S. attorney’s office has until July 26 to respond, and Robinson plans to have a hearing Aug. 10 to consider pretrial issues.

The indictment alleges that Wittig and Lake sought to enrich themselves even as Westar faced financial problems. Wittig joined the company as a vice president in 1995 and eventually rose to CEO. Lake joined the company in 1998.

In November 2002, after his indictment in the bank loan case, Wittig asked Westar’s board of directors to place him on administrative leave so he could concentrate on his defense. He resigned less than two weeks later.

The next month, two weeks after Wittig’s departure, Westar’s board put Lake on indefinite administrative leave, though Lake’s attorneys later described the action as a firing.