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Missouri Attorney General seeks prosecution for 12 former Catholic clergy after statewide investigation

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Attorney General Schmitt at press conference in St. Louis September 13, 2019 (photo Jill Enders)

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is referring twelve former clergy members accused of sexual abuse for prosecution. Schmitt’s office has concluded a year-long investigation into the four Catholic dioceses in the state.

In a Friday press conference in St. Louis, Schmitt said, “For decades, faced with credible reports of abuse, the church refused to acknowledge the victims and instead focused their efforts on protecting priests.”

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office must refer the cases to local prosecutors.

“In cases in which local prosecutors should seek our assistance, we stand ready and willing to help, he said Friday. “To the victims: you didn’t deserve any of this. None of what happened to you was your fault. This report, our referrals for criminal prosecution, our aggressive and substantive suggestions for reform, will not change what happened in the past. But, they can change the trajectory of the future and ensure that this never happens again.”

Schmitt, who is also Catholic, also outlined recommendations for church leaders: “Diocese [sic] should  assume greater responsibility and oversight over all religious order priests and priest visiting or relocating from other dioceses; number two, the diocese should ensure that their independent review boards are composed entirely of laypeople and that the determinations of credibility and sanctions will be given authoritative weight with respect to the ability of the offending priest and minister in its diocese.”

The investigation, initiated by the previous Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, reports that 163 clergy members were accused of sexual misconduct against minors. Of those, 80 have died, according to previous news reports.

Archbishop Robert Carlson released this statement in response to the investigation:

“The Archdiocese of St. Louis has cooperated in full transparency with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office throughout their investigation and will continue to cooperate fully with civil authorities on cases of clergy abuse of a minor. The Attorney General’s report confirms the progress the archdiocese has made in implementing the protocols to protect our children; and while we cannot predict nor control all human behavior, those protocols have resulted in no acts of physical sexual abuse since the Charter of 2002. We are taking the Attorney General’s recommendations to the Catholic Church into careful consideration and will continue to evaluate and enhance our safe environment programs for the safety of all of our families.”

Steven Spaner of the Survivors Network of those Abused By Priests (SNAP) says the investigation did not go after all of the evidence.

“They say they asked for the documents but they should have asked for subpoena power from the Legislature so that they could truly ask for the documents that are what they call ‘secret archives.'”

Reported by Jill Enders and Ashley Byrd

(VIDEO) Gov. Parson, Mayor Krewson press conference in St. Louis, promise a plan in 10 days

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Governor Mike Parson, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and County Executive Sam Page held a press conference after meeting with law enforcement and other city leaders about the area’s continued spike in violent crime. The governor calls it “a crisis in our state” and promises to have a plan in place in 10 days.

Watch the entire press conference below:

Veteran’s home loan benefits hiked to fund other veterans’ services, “slippery slope” says Missour-based lender

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The nation’s largest VA-backed mortgage lender has gone to battle over recent congressional increases to veterans’ fees for home loan benefits.

Chris Birk, Director of Education for Veterans United Home Loans

In an Op-Ed recently published in The Washington Post and The Kansas City Star, Chris Birk, Director of Education for Veterans United Home Loans warns that a recent hike in mortgage fees and another bill to extend that increase will “make it more difficult and even riskier for some Veterans to get a VA loan.”

The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act became law in June and H.R. 3504 passed the U.S. House by voice vote and is awaiting a Senate committee hearing. Missourinet has been contacting members of the state’s congressional delegation about their stance on the latest bill; so far there have been no responses. Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler’s communications director on Aug. 28, “We are looking into this now.”

Both measures are designed to provide fellow veterans with hard-earned support and benefits, but Birk argues, “Extending these fees would force VA borrowers to pay more than $750 million to use their home loan benefit over the next seven years, with most of that money going to programs that have nothing to do with housing. The Congressional Budget Office projects the two bills will produce a combined $160 million government windfall.”

The fee revenue is there for the government to repay lenders and recoup losses if veterans default on their loans, but that rarely happens. A Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey this year shows that veterans using VA loans have the lowest foreclosure rate in the United States.

“Duty and order and obligation are so ingrained in military borrowers and the VA does such a tremendous job in helping to service these loans and keep veterans in their homes, that more money comes into those coffers than goes out in those claims losses. This is a well that Congress has come back to time and again and we see a pattern emerge over time where this fee, which is enshrined in law, is raised for a certain number of years with the proviso that it will be pulled back,” Birk says.

With the possibility of rising interest rates and seven years of increased fees, Veterans United commissioned an independent study to gauge those impacts on future borrowing.

The researchers summarized, “A rising rate environment coupled with continued increases of the VA Funding Fee would hurt waves of military buyers and communities that depend on the economic impacts of housing. As many as 365,000 Veterans and military families would be priced out of using their home loan benefit if rates and fees keep rising.”

Birk posits that VA benefits of all types should not be subject to Congress’s “pay-as-you-go” budget rules:

“They’re paying it to make sure their brothers and sisters are taken care of, are getting the benefits and care that they deserve. Asking those tough questions about should we be funding veterans benefits on the backs of other veterans, how do we approach expanding care are paying for them — are important questions that we need to be asking. I think we lose sight of that slippery slope we’ve been on now for more than a decade.”

 

Missouri Red Cross, Task Force 1 volunteers deployed to help with Hurricane Dorian reponse

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Twenty-eight Red Cross volunteers from Missouri have set out for the East Coast to help with Hurricane Dorian response.

Two-person teams from various regions in Missouri are taking emergency response vehicles used to provide food and other disaster response supplies to the residents affected by the hurricane.  Other volunteers will serve in logistics, transportation needs and shelter operation which includes feeding, health services, and mental health services.

Dorian, after making landfall in the Bahamas, is already the strongest storm this year and among the strongest hurricanes in history.

 

Volunteers deploying from Missouri chapters:

Central and Northern Missouri – 4 people

Greater Kansas City and Northwest Missouri (Jefferson City/Columbia) – 8 people

Southern Missouri (Springfield/Joplin) – 10 people

Greater St. Louis – 6 people

 

Missouri Task Force 1 volunteers left Friday to help in Florida. The 45-person team of first responders specializes in water rescues, among other duties.  Task Force 1 members are from all over the state and one of 28 such teams in the U.S.

Missouri Legislative Black Caucus asks to add gun violence legislation to special session in September, Parson says “not the correct avenue”

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Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, briefs Capitol reporters (file photo courtesy of Ben Peters at House Communications)

A group of state lawmakers wants to talk about gun violence in the special legislative session scheduled for September 11.

The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus has drafted a letter to Gov. Mike Parson, asking him to add consideration of a law to allow cities with high incidents of gun violence to pass their own gun control legislation.  The governor called lawmakers back for a special session to clear up a vehicle sales tax technicality.

The MLBC argues that the rate of child deaths caused by shootings is a more serious matter. Caucus chairman, Rep. Steve Roberts of St. Louis says that since the letter was drafted, another child bystander was shot and killed, bringing the total to 13 this year.

Gov. Parson today denied that request and issued the following statement:

“While the issue of how to reduce violence in our urban areas certainly needs addressed [sic], there are also many different opinions on how to find a solution. However, special session is not the correct avenue. If we are to change violent criminal acts in Missouri, it will take all of us at the federal, state, local, and community levels working together toward that common goal,” said Governor Parson.

Caucus member Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, said, “Kansas City and St. Louis have shamefully and consistently ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least the past ten years. This is now a public health crisis. With double-digit numbers in both cities of children being murdered, it’s time to give individual municipalities the ability to regulate how weapons flow through our neighborhoods. We must change the law now.”

 

China trade war escalates, Missouri congressman says “its time to bring this tariff thing to a conclusion”

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In the latest volley in the U.S. vs. China trade war, China retaliated Friday morning with higher export charges on American goods and agricultural products. Then Trump responded in a tweet late Friday afternoon: “China should not have put new Tariffs on 75 BILLION DOLLARS of United States product (politically motivated!) Starting on October 1st, the 250 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, currently being taxed at 25%, will be taxed at 30%…”

Missouri’s 7th District Congressman Billy Long, a Trump ally, reacted to the news in Springfield today, “I think it’s time to bring this tariff thing to a conclusion. I’ve been giving the president benefit of the doubt on this, the farmers have too,” he told Brownfield Ag News.

Long was in his district with U.S. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-MN, as part of a two-day trip to Missouri to meet with members of Congress and their farm constituents. Peterson also met with Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-4th, and Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, D-5th.

Chairman Peterson and Rep. Cleaver take tough questions from farmers at the Odessa Community Center

Peterson and Cleaver met with local farmers in a community center in Odessa Thursday to talk about rural broadband needs, federal disaster payments — and the trade war.

“There are people that will win in the China deal; their just not us. It’s the intellectual property, some of these other areas, autos, they’re the ones that will win if we ever get a resolution of the Chinese situation. Agriculture–I don’t see any upside for us,” Peterson told about 50 farmers.

Peterson, a career farmer, says his district has been hit hard in pork and soybeans.

“As of now, they are able to buy all the pork they need from the Netherlands, and from Brazil and other places and they haven’t had to buy from us. Our guys are dying on the vine. The soybean sales have dried up not only because of tariffs but because the market’s dried up in Asia,” he said.

He says trade issues with China could have been dealt with before that country became a member of the World Trade Organization. Peterson says he voted against that. Now he says, he would handle the situation by taking China to the WTO court.

“You’re going to get more good out of that than you are out of these tariffs, ” he told Brownfield Friday in Springfield.

 

Federal prosecutors memo reveals Stenger conversations, conduct in corruption case, connections to Better Together

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Federal prosecutors recommend a “significant prison sentence” for former St. Louis County executive Steven Stenger. Stenger’s sentencing is next week, August 9.
The assistant U.S. Attorney recommends that a sentence of 37 to 46 months’ imprisonment.

“Anything less would ignore the extent of defendant’s criminal conduct and the substantial harm defendant’s conduct caused to the public,” prosecutors argue in their memo to the court.  According to St. Louis Public Radio, Stenger’s attorney will release his own memo to the court before sentencing.

The prosecutors’ filing reveals Stenger’s conversations about his relationship to campaign donor and “Better Together” backer Rex Sinquefield.

Read the memorandum from the Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri: Government Sentencing Memo in Stenger Case

Lawmakers, lobbyists to revisit issues for 2020 Missouri legislative session

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Missouri Senate from staff entrance

Long before the new Missouri Legislative session begins in January, lobbyists, lawmakers and activists begin to rally around their respective bills. Here are a few that may live to see another day (or live in another version) in Jefferson City in 2020.

“Stop the Grainbelt Express use of eminent domain” is not the official title of House Bill 1062 but that’s the idea of it. Frankford Rep. Jim Hansen wanted to curtail the Grain Belt Express (or any privately held company) from evoking eminent domain to get to the land it needs to run electrical transmission lines through the state. In this case, wind power is crossing from Kansas to the East Coast via approximately 780-mile overhead, direct current (DC) transmission line. After the Missouri Public Service Commission voted unanimously that the project is in the public interest, the state agriculture industry and many affected landowners went to lawmakers to stop the project, even holding a rally at the Capitol with Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Why did it fail?

The bill met resistance in the Senate as rural communities, businesses, and municipal utilities also reached out to their lawmakers, seeking the $12.8 million in savings for electricity offered by the Grain Belt Express in Missouri. Democrats and Republicans wanted to see struggling small towns get the extra cash. The company says the project is a $500 million investment. Wind energy proponents see this project as critical in reaching the East Coast with clean, cheaper energy.

What’s next?

Bill sponsor Rep. Jim Hansen says there is another plan in the works. But the bill in this version is not likely to come up again. Meanwhile, the Grain Belt Express owners say they “look forward to working directly with Missouri communities and landowners.” The criteria for granting the power of eminent domain could emerge again in some form.

Prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP)

Missouri continues to hold out as the only state in the U.S. without a statewide database to monitor controlled substance prescriptions, to the frustration of top Republican (and Democrat) leaders.  They see it as an effective tool in fighting the national opioid epidemic.  U.S Senator Roy Blunt agrees, calling for it in his speech to the General Assembly this spring.

Why did it fail?

Senate and House members in the small but strategic Conservative Caucus equate the database with an invasion of privacy that can also be exploited by hackers.

The St. Louis Post also explains the bill’s struggles.

What’s next?

Republican Representative Holly Rehder tells Missourinet she’ll file the bill once again in January. In the meantime, more counties and states are working with St. Louis County’s voluntary PDMP.

Pro Tem Schatz is disappointed lawmakers didn’t approve prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation this year. He’s already looking ahead to 2020. “But I will tell you that we will come back next year and I have three more years in this chamber (Missouri Senate). And I will work every year until we get that thing accomplished,” Schatz says.

 

Legalizing sports wagering in Missouri will continue to come up since the U.S. Supreme Court last year allowed sportsbooks across the country.  Most of the sportsbook bills introduced in the 2019 session allow Missouri-based casinos to host online betting online.

Why did it fail?

State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, sponsor of Senate Bill 44 has been working on this issue for three years and says there are still disagreements about casinos paying fees to sports leagues and requiring the use of sports league official data instead of a third-party chosen by casinos.  (See also SB 327, SB 222, HB 119)

What’s next?

Hoskins will refile the bill which uses part the state’s revenue (in the tens of millions) to improve public infrastructure around sports venues to improve the safety and fan experiences. However, he’s open to compromise to lure sports betting out of Nevada and into Missouri.

“We do have a lot of sports betting going on here already, but it’s not regulated and it’s not legal,” Hoskins says.

 

Film Tax Credits could bring in millions to Missouri, but they have not been used since 2012, when the incentive to the movie industry expired. The bill got some debate in both the House and Senate in 2019, as lawmakers lamented money lost to Georgia (no limit to tax credits) while on-demand film companies like Netflix are spending billions on new content. Read more here.

Why did it fail?

Tax incentives face a fight from the six-person Conservative Caucus in the state Senate fundamentally opposes rewarding private companies with taxpayer money.  Despite that, film credits were overshadowed by a much larger tax credit bill brought in by Governor Parson in the final weeks of the session in order to land a GM automotive manufacturing expansion in Wentzville.

What’s next?

Senate bill sponsor Denny Hoskins says he’ll try again. He’s a member of the Conservative Caucus, but says he’s tired of film projects (set in Missouri) going to other red states–bringing jobs, tourism and local spending in return for a cap of $5 million from the state.

 

B-Corporation designation is a special distinction for community-minded companies who want to attract like-minded investors (ex. Patagonia, Etsy). In order to be a “Benefit Corporation,” however, these businesses have to put their money where their mouth is, dedicating resources and money to a specific mission and creating financial transparency. There are no costs to the designation, but being a B-Corp protects company leadership from being sued for putting mission over profits or stockholders.

Why did it fail?

Missouri Right to Life added restrictive language to every B-corp bill this session, according to lawmakers on both sides. The group’s concerns are unclear and requests for comment from Missourinet have been unanswered.  Missouri’s Constitution restricts research tied to abortions.   The lead lawmaker for this bill is Republican Senator Lincoln Hough of Springfield. Democratic Senator Jill Schupp who supports the bill calls the MRL action a “poison pill.”

What’s next?

Companies are asking legislators, the Department of Economic Development and Governor Mike Parson to rally around the bill this coming session. One of those is Brewer Science in Rolla, which makes electronic components for computer chips.

“What it really does in terms of telling startups and high technology companies such as Brewer Science that you want to come to Missouri this is a great state to do business with. We’re a low-tax, low-regulation state, and we want to give you all the benefits more than 35 other states do being a Benefit Corporation, ” Brewer’s chief legal officer told Missourinet.  With the construction of the NextGen Precision Health facility for the University of Missouri System, high-tech life science research companies will want to come to this state, he contends.

“Kansas has this bill, Arkansas has this bill, Illinois has benefit corporation legislation. This is not something that we want to be out of, particularly where there’s no negatives: nobody ever has said anything negative, that this wasn’t a good bill and positive for Missouri. The only issue was the opposition from one interest group,” Gerson said.

Rep. Bruce Franks resigns July 31, to leave Missouri

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St. Louis Representative Bruce Franks officially resigns at the end of this month. The black activist leader who emerged out of Ferguson protests says his mental health is at stake.

“Battling anxiety, depression, mental health issues, especially in the black community, that’s something that’s been a stigma and it’s been frowned upon in our communities to seek help,” Franks told Missourinet and fellow lawmakers.

Not only is Franks leaving the legislature, but he says he is leaving Missouri.

He spoke with Missourinet when he announced his resignation. Read, listen to his interview here.

“I knew what I was signing up for when I came, it’s just everything stacked on top of each other is really what aided to my mental health deteriorating the way that it did.

He said he will continue to work between different communities.

“To kind of bridge a gap between urban and rural areas, Republican and Democrat, because I think it’s important. I think it’s important to build those bridges even if nobody walks across them, somebody eventually will,” Franks said.

Franks said on Facebook, “I love my city but I can’t heal from trauma and survive in the epicenter any longer,” “I’m not running away from it I’m choosing to change my environment to be the best version of me. ”

Franks, who was first elected in 2016, is in his second House term. He was the only Democrat to chair a Missouri House committee this session.

State Rep. Bruce Franks, D-St. Louis, briefs Capitol reporters about criminal justice reform efforts on February 11, 2019, as House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, (right) listens (photo courtesy of Benjamin Peters at House Communications)

 

In Kansas City, presidential candidate Buttigieg praises Veterans Community Project, says country is still struggling to support the troops (AUDIO)

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Democrat for President Pete Buttigieg joined Jason Kander in Kansas City to learn more about the city’s Veterans Community Project (VCP) . Kander, a Democrat and veterans’ activist, is now working on taking the service for homeless former service members nationwide.

The night before, he entertained a thousand people at a campaign fundraiser in Kansas City and announced he has raised more than any other presidential candidate in his party in the second quarter — more than $25 million.

Buttigieg, in a press conference, praised the group formed and run by former service members, saying it’s services are necessary, “not as a gift but as the country’s way of keeping a promise. You’ve got Americans who pledged to put their life on the line, not necessarily even knowing what that would mean and many of whom now face challenges, some of them as a direct consequence of their service to the country.”

The services of VCP include providing tiny houses for homeless veterans and walk-in support services for “every type of veteran facing every type of problem.”

During his only stop in Missouri Wednesday, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, took questions about his candidacy and his plans to help veterans. He touted a community support group for veterans in his city that he says taps volunteers who are “experts in their own communities” to help.

“This does not have to be driven from Washington,”Buttigieg said. “The question is how can federal policy be a wind at their back.”

Listen to an excerpt of the press conference (9:50)

Thanks to KCUR for press conference audio.