Nick Krug/Journal-World photo

Lawrence’s former mayor has left a mess behind. Yes, I know, that is not exactly breaking news at this point. But I’m talking about a literal mess, as in a pile of trash strewn about the front yard of his former home.

Journal-World photographer Nick Krug took these photos a few days ago at Jeremy Farmer’s former residence at 1135 Randall Road after some neighbors had called us to complain about the mess.

Nick Krug/Journal-World photo

Nick Krug/Journal-World photo

In case you have forgotten, Farmer resigned his post as mayor of Lawrence in August after he resigned his job as the executive director of a local food bank where it was discovered he failed to pay more than $50,000 in payroll taxes. The food bank’s board later alleged that Farmer overpaid himself by more than $52,000 over a two-year period, and deceived the Just Food board on multiple financial matters. We all await whether Farmer will face criminal charges in the matter.

Farmer’s whereabouts have been unclear since his resignation, and he hasn’t returned phone calls. Looking at county property records for 1135 Randall, I reached out to the owner of the property. The man who answered the phone didn’t want to give his name but did say he was the landlord for the property. He told me Farmer moved out of the property on Oct. 31. The man said it was Farmer who left the trash in the yard, and he was disappointed when he saw the mess. The man called city sanitation crews, who picked up the trash, he said.

The man said Farmer didn’t say where he is living these days. Farmer didn’t return a call for comment.

Certainly this isn’t the first time a mess has been left by a Lawrence renter leaving town. But I did find it noteworthy, in part, because Farmer once was an elected official who railed against such things. It would be hard for me to count the number of times Farmer climbed atop his soapbox to lecture about how we all needed to be better neighbors and about how we all needed to do more to build a community.

Hopefully, the soapbox is in that pile somewhere.

As for other updates on Farmer’s situation, we are kind of in wait-and-see mode. Charges haven’t been filed yet. As we’ve previously reported, it doesn’t sound like the type of case that local prosecutors are planning to deal with. Instead, my understanding is that federal investigators have taken the lead.

I don’t have great detail on the matter, but there could be numerous federal agencies that could be interested, with the IRS likely being near the top of the list. People who are familiar with such matters tell me federal investigations take their time. I think it could be months yet before we know whether criminal charges will be filed in the matter.

But there likely will be other opportunities for updates before then. As we previously have reported, the Just Food board has ordered an audit. My understanding is that audit is still in process. But when it is completed, we’ll seek to get a copy and report on its results.

The community has rallied around Just Food, and helped the nonprofit complete a fundraising drive to pay off its debt to taxing authorities. But, I think there is strong interest in the community about getting to the bottom of what happened at the organization. That interest likely will become stronger if Just Food seeks city or county funding in the future to help it keep its doors open.