Judge throws out case against former BPU attorney accused of stealing $400,000
By Justin Kendall in Follow That Story, News
Fri., May. 1 2009 @ 8:01AM
 |
| Rodney L. Turner |
Kansas Senior Judge Jack Lively told The Kansas City Star that he threw out the case against Rodney L. Turner because Wyandotte County prosecutors let KBI Special Agent William Delaney undermine the grand jury process by repeatedly making statements about the murder.
In testimony before the grand jury, Delaney "tainted the grand jury and violated Mr. Turner's rights of due process" by making statements that attempted to connect Turner to Thompson's murder, Lively wrote.
"The murder was irrelevant to the alleged Board of Public Utilities violations that the Grand Jury was charged with investigating, but the State allowed information and speculation about the murder to be thrust into the hands of the grand jury proceeding," Lively wrote.
The Kansas City Kansan posted a copy of the journal entry from the judge's ruling, which outlines Lively's reasons for dismissing the case. Those reasons include prosecutors and Delaneydepriving Turner of his Fifth Amendment rights and the state failing to conduct a fair grand jury proceeding.
A grand jury field charges against Turner and Marc Conklin, the BPU's chief administrative officer, last October for allegedly stealing $400,000 from the power company. WyCo prosecutors alleged that Conklin knowingly approved payment for fake bills submitted by Turner over a five-year period. The case against Conklin ended in late March when the 44-year-old committed suicide.
The Star is also reported that Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman has pledged to appeal the Lively's decision this morning. Gorman is also keeping open his option for filing charges against Turner but will wait for an answer to his appeal.
Post a Comment
