KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? A day after convicting two former Westar Energy Inc. executives of looting the Topeka-based utility, a federal jury was asked Tuesday to force the men to turn over millions of dollars in assets and salary.

Former chief executive David Wittig and former chief strategy officer Douglas Lake were found guilty Monday of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and circumventing internal controls at Westar, the largest electric utility in Kansas.

Jurors now must settle the final charge, which would force Wittig and Lake to give up all money, benefits and other property connected with their crimes. The case is expected to go to the jury today.

Prosecutors want at least $27.9 million from Wittig and $9.5 million from Lake. That total includes salary, life insurance benefits, stock awards and other payments made to the men before they were forced out of the company in late 2002.

For Wittig, forfeiture could include his Topeka home, the Landon Mansion, which was appraised at $1.9 million before he invested $6 million in renovations. Prosecutors say he used loans backed by his Westar stock to pay for the renovations, planning to get reimbursed for the work – plus a profit – if a proposed merger with the New Mexico utility had gone through. Instead, Kansas regulators nixed the deal.

Prosecutors also want Wittig to cough up $1.9 million in art and furnishings in the home, as well as a 2001 Ferrari.

In addition, assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Hathaway said the men should be forced to turn over the $9.1 million in legal fees that Westar has already paid to their attorneys and any money they may receive in an ongoing arbitration fight with Westar over money the two men say Westar still owes them. Wittig claims the company must pay him $110 million while Lake is demanding $220 million.

Defense attorneys said the government was trying to play of jurors’ emotions to punish a couple of rich families.

“Maybe now you know what this case is really about,” said Adam Hoffinger, Wittig’s lead defense attorney. “It’s about money – money the government wants.”

Hoffinger and Lake’s lead defender, Edward Little, said prosecutors had little direct evidence connecting the men’s property with the crimes for which they’ve been convicted.

For example, prosecutors argue that since Wittig used thousands of Westar stock shares and a split-dollar life insurance policy as collateral for an extensive line of credit at Topeka-based Capital City Bank, anything he bought with that credit should be forfeited.

But under cross-examination, Capital City Bank president Bob Kobbeman agreed that while Wittig used $17,000 in credit to buy the Ferrari, the rest of the car’s $229,000 price tag came from Wittig trading in other vehicles.

Wittig’s attorneys also pointed out that he paid off the line of credit used to renovate the Landon Mansion and the collateral shares were returned to him.