Month: May 2017

Former roofing company executive sentenced to prison in alien employment case

A former executive of a Kansas City-area roofing company has been sentenced to prison in connection with the company’s employment of aliens not authorized to work in the United States, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall announced today.

The former executive, Tommy F. Keaton, 71, Shawnee, Kan., was sentenced Monday by Chief U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release.

Keaton was indicted in June 2016 in connection with the use of undocumented workers by Century Roofing, whose corporate name is Canadian West, Inc., to install commercial and residential roofs in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

In addition, Judge Robinson ordered the forfeiture of $1.4 million seized from Keaton in the case. Keaton remains on bond but must report to federal prison when so ordered by the U.S. Marshals Service. He pleaded guilty Feb. 16 to harboring an alien unlawfully in the U.S., a felony, pursuant to a plea agreement in which he admitted his conduct involved harboring up to 24 undocumented aliens in the United States through roofing projects managed by Century.

Previously, two other defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced in the case, Graziano Cornolo, 56, Lenexa, and Alberto Diaz-Hernandez, 34. Cornolo pleaded guilty to unlawful employment of aliens and was placed on probation. In addition, Cornolo forfeited more than $800,000 and his interest in $500,000 seized from Century. Diaz-Hernandez pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony in connection with Century’s unlawful employment practices and was placed on two years’ probation.

In all, more than $2 million is assets were forfeited in the case, in addition to the criminal convictions and sentences. Beall said the case involved multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies led by Homeland Security Investigations, and he thanked them for their outstanding work on the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson.

Heavy rains flood legislative research offices at Kansas Statehouse

by Stephen Koranda, Kansas Public Radio and Kansas News Service

Heavy rains early Friday flooded some Statehouse offices and displaced some of the researchers who work for Kansas lawmakers.

Maintenance staff and members of the Kansas Legislative Research Department worked Friday to clean up and sort through water-damaged books and documents in the ground-floor offices.

Raney Gilliland, director of the department, said a 10-inch pipe that carries rainwater from the Statehouse roof failed during the storm.

“With the deluge that we had last night, this collar broke and all of the water from the roof ended up in (our) office,” he said.

Water cascaded down onto books, a desk and file cabinets in one of the offices. The water then flooded adjacent offices and nearby parts of the building.

The nonpartisan department conducts research and compiles documents for legislators, including the financial estimates connected to spending proposals.

This may be an especially inopportune time for the flooding to occur. Lawmakers are wrestling with tax and budget issues as they work to end the session, and members of the research staff provide information that they use when making those decisions.

“We’re always busy, but we’re very busy right now trying to help the Legislature make its final decisions,” Gilliland said.

The offices of at least seven staff members were affected. They moved Friday to temporary workstations.

“I think the Legislature will not notice any change in our work. We’re pretty adaptable,” Gilliland said. “We have lots of hands on deck down here.”

Gilliland said he doesn’t yet know a cost to repair the damage. The Statehouse underwent $300 million in renovations that were completed toward the end of 2013.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service.
See more at http://kcur.org/post/heavy-rains-flood-legislative-research-offices-kansas-statehouse.

Storms return to the forecast

National Weather Service graphic

Storms are returning to the forecast today and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service

The strongest storms this afternoon may produce small non-severe hail and isolated gusty winds, the weather service said.

Small hail will be possible Tuesday; however, no severe weather is expected.

Thunderstorms are possible again later in the week, according to the weather service. The threat of severe weather appears low at this time.

Today, there is a 50 percent chance of showers between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., then a chance of showers and storms after 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 67, with a west southwest wind of 5 to 7 mph. Between a tenth and quarter of an inch of rain is possible.

Tonight, there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 53, according to the weather service. There will be a south southwest wind of 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable.

Tuesday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, some after 1 p.m. There will be a high of 55 with a north northwest wind of 6 to 10 mph, the weather service said.

Tuesday night, there will be a low of 48 with a northwest wind of 6 to 9 mph, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, there is a 20 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m., with a high near 64, the weather service said. There will be a north northwest wind of 7 to 10 mph.

Wednesday night, the low will be around 48, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be sunny with a high near 75, the weather service said.

Thursday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorm after 1 a.m., with a low of 61, according to the weather service.

Friday, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 79, the weather service said.

Friday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 62, according to the weather service.

Saturday, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 78, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be partly cloudy with a low of 60, according to the weather service.