Ethics commission accuses legislator of misusing funds / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, November 17, 2006

The Associated Press

November 17, 2006

Topeka — A Johnson County legislator faces her second ethics complaint in five months, this one accusing her of misusing campaign funds.

Her attorney said Thursday her problems are more fallout from an abusive relationship.

The complaint before the Governmental Ethics Commission accuses Rep. Patricia Kilpatrick, R-Overland Park, of mingling campaign funds with personal funds, converting campaign funds to personal use, failing to report contributions and failing to keep detailed campaign finance records. She could face $120,000 in fines.

The commission has scheduled a hearing in her case for Dec. 13. In June, it fined her $4,000 after concluding that she had filed an inaccurate finance report for her 2004 campaign, and she has paid $600 of the penalty, the commission said.

In that first case, Kilpatrick said she had made mistakes in the wake of her escape as a mother of two from an abusive relationship. On Thursday, her attorney, Scott Hattrup, of Olathe, said Kilpatrick's former fiance had gained access to her campaign accounts and had stolen money from her.

"He was basically acting as her business manager," Hattrup said in an interview. "He conned her into giving him the ability to control her campaign account."

Kilpatrick, first elected two years ago, was a vocal supporter of a law enacted this year to impose a minimum 25-year prison sentence on offenders who prey on children. She decided not to seek a second term after taking a job with a Florida criminal justice foundation, only to give it up after a few weeks.

The latest complaint against her contends she violated laws designed to keep candidates from converting campaign funds to personal use. The incidents occurred between January 2005 and February 2006.

The complaint didn't give specifics about the alleged violations, and Donna Voth, the commission's attorney, declined to discuss the case because it is pending.

It is the latest in a slew of problems for Kilpatrick.

In May, she signed a one-year diversion agreement with Overland Park Municipal Court over her arrest for shoplifting $214 in merchandise from a SuperTarget store, court records show.

Records also show multiple complaints against her in the last several years for writing bad checks and owing back rent. Last month, Johnson County District Court ordered the state to garnishee her legislative paycheck after The Source, a campaign consulting firm, won a $5,000 judgment against her.

Discussion

LJWorld.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.

17 November 2006
at 8:34 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

SettingTheRecordStraight (Anonymous) says…

“Phil Kline and his wife should be tried and convicted!!!!”

Four exclamation points? You must know all the facts in this case.
18 November 2006
at 7:53 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Kropotkin (Anonymous) says…

Kilpatrick didn't decide “…not to seek a second term after taking a job with a Florida criminal justice foundation, only to give it up after a few weeks.” She was shown the door after the foundation quickly got wise to her.

The irony of the $5,000 judgment is that it was obtained against her by the right wing political consulting firm co-owned by Kansas Republican Assembly head Kris Van Meteren.
18 November 2006
at 9:31 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Kropotkin (Anonymous) says…

(Excerpts) Patricia Kilpatrick called the Jerry Agar talk show (6/20) saying a highly unflattering 6/15 article in The Pitch about her troubles was “about 25% true.”
–—
Deficit Spending http://www.bottomlinecom.com/pitch_ki…

Court records reveal Kilpatrick has had trouble since 2001. Per the KBI, Kilpatrick was arrested, fingerprinted and released on 11/30/05. She attempted to slip out of a Super Target store with $209 in merchandise.

Kilpatrick scored this session with the passage of Jessica's Law, which increases penalties on sex offenders who prey on children, mandating 25-year prison sentences and lifetime electronic monitoring. The law is named for Jessica Marie Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl murdered by a sex offender in February 2005.

A Wyandotte suit alleged she refused to pay for campaign signs. The plaintiff seeks $2,300.82. The Source, a firm run by GOP political operatives Kristian Van Meteren and Jared Suhn sued her. Its client list reads like a who's who of conservative politicians: Brownback, Kline, 5 Board of Ed members, Kansans For Life and the Intelligent Design Network. A campaign finance report says Kilpatrick's campaign paid $500 on 10/07/04 - a date listed on court records showing The Source's attempt to collect $4,499.34. The Source won $5,024.92 and is attempting to garnish Kilpatrick's legislative paycheck for $5,335.08, according to an order filed on 5/15.

In October 2005, Kilpatrick went to Aruba for 14 days, joining Dave Holloway, Natalee Holloway's father, in a search for the missing teen. Kilpatrick did return with trip photos posted on her campaign website -looking more like vacation slides (added bonus: eight days of scuba diving).

In 2004, Overland Park police responded to a d.v. call at the duplex she rented with then-boyfriend Nicholas Harms. Kilpatrick told officers Harms locked her out. “She broke a window to gain access and a physical altercation took place between the parties as she came through the window,” records say. Convicted of battery, Harms did 90 days. (He served time for stealing a Honda Prelude in 2001.)

A landlord sued claimed she owed $5,025 refusing to vacate. A judgment was entered against Kilpatrick and Harms for $6,111. In 2003, AMLI Management won $1,230. On 1/21 Kilpatrick wrote a bad check for $18.26 at Westlake Ace Hardware. An arrest warrant issued on 5/19 was dismissed when Kilpatrick paid. LaMar's Donuts filed over a $9.24 bad check; She paid a $240.24 judgment and costs. A 3/3/05 bad check for $20.17 at a Conoco cost her $336.17. Capitol Federal Savings sued for $1,940.28 plus costs, dismissed when paid. In 7/03, the Kansas Department of Revenue came after Kilpatrick for $219.10 in taxes from 2001.

Kilpatrick is leaving the Legislature to become the director of government affairs for the Jessica Marie Lunsford Foundation in Florida.

KMBZ reported on 6/22 that Kilpatrick was terminated by the Lunsford Foundation after three weeks.