Month: March 2016

Espinoza, Mustivar to join national teams ahead of FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Roger Espinoza
Roger Espinoza

Soni Mustivar
Soni Mustivar

Sporting Kansas City midfielders Roger Espinoza and Soni Mustivar will join their national teams next week as 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying continues in the CONCACAF region.

Espinoza has been named to Honduras’ 24-man roster ahead of two matches against El Salvador, while Mustivar is on Haiti’s 23-man squad for two matches against Panama.

Honduras will travel to face El Salvador on March 25 before serving as host for the return leg on March 29 at Estadio Olympic Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula. Both games will kick off at 7 p.m. CT.

Haiti will serve as host of Panama at 6 p.m. CT on March 25 at Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, then visit Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City on March 29 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Honduras (Group A) and Haiti (Group B) are seeking their first qualifying wins in the semifinal round, which consists of 12 CONCACAF nations separated into three groups. Teams square off in a home-and-away round robin format, with the top two finishers from each group advancing to the final qualifying round – often referred to as “The Hexagonal.”

Espinoza, 29, has earned 47 caps for Honduras since 2009 and has competed in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics. He has scored four international goals and most recently appeared for Los Catrachos on Feb. 10 in a friendly against Guatemala.

Now in his seventh MLS season, Espinoza began his professional career in Kansas City from 2008 to 2012 before joining English club Wigan Athletic. He returned to Sporting KC in 2015, tallying a career-high four MLS assists, and has started in each of the club’s first two wins this season. He has played 152 games for Sporting KC in all competitions, recording three goals and 17 assists.

Mustivar, 26, has made nine appearances for the Haiti Men’s National Team, most recently starting in a January playoff match as Haiti defeated Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for this summer’s Copa America Centenario.

In his first season at Sporting Kansas City, Mustivar received 2015 Co-Defender of the Year honors and had a 15-5-6 record as a starter in all competitions. He led MLS during the regular season with more than six interceptions per 90 minutes played and has started alongside Espinoza in Sporting KC’s first two fixtures of 2016.

Sporting Kansas City has next weekend off during the FIFA international window. Espinoza and Mustivar will return to the club ahead of its home match against Real Salt Lake on April 2 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Perry man sentenced to 24 years for attempting to produce child porn

A Perry, Kan., man was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to 24.3 years in federal prison for using a smart phone to record videos of his girlfriend’s daughter in the bathroom of a home in Lawrence, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Ken Theis, 56, Perry, Kan., was convicted on two counts of attempting to produce child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson found that in once instance Theis placed a cell phone in the bathroom of his girlfriend’s residence and pressed the record button on the phone in order to record the 11-year-old girl. He placed the phone on a shelf just above the toilet. He transferred the video from his phone to his laptop computer. In another instance, Theis activated cell phone cameras in the bathroom to record the girl getting into and out of the shower. Investigators who examined Theis’ cell phone and laptop computers found child pornography from other sources, too.

Grissom commended the Lawrence Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Flannigan for their work on the case.

Former Johnson County restaurant owner indicted on bank fraud charge

A former Johnson County restaurant owner was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on charges of fraudulently obtaining $605,000 in loans, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Charles Waits, 54, Lenexa, Kan., was charged in a superseding indictment with one count of bank fraud and two counts of making false statements to a lender.

The indictment alleges Waits, a partner in Kansas City Sports Grille, Inc., obtained two commercial loans through Community America Credit Union. He gave the lender a financial statement with false statements regarding his personal assets and net worth, according to the indictment.

The indictment seeks a monetary judgment of $605,000, representing the proceeds of the crimes.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on each count. The U.S. Secret Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

Other grand jury indictments

Abbie Jo McClellan, Topeka, Kan., 65, is charged with two counts of making false statements to the Social Security Administration and the Office of the Inspector General. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in in 2014 and 2015, in Topeka, Kan.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Social Security Administration investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Tomasic is prosecuting.

Jose Juvenal Jimenez-Delatorre, 27, who is not a citizen of Kansas, is charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Feb. 20, 2016, in Johnson County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

Mario Ulises Moreno-Ayala, 28, who is not a citizen of the United States is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Feb. 20, 2016, in Johnson County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

Stephanie R. Minor, 34, Columbus, Ind., and Matthew L. Hudson, 43, Hope, Ind., one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of traveling from Indiana to Kansas in furtherance of drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred March 6, 2016, in Liberal, Kan.

If convicted, the face a penalty of not less than 10 years and a fine up to $10 million on the possession charge, and a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the interstate travel charge. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.