missouri attorney general eric schmitt Archives

Missouri Supreme Court to hear arguments Tuesday in key Planned Parenthood case

December 9, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday morning in Jefferson City in a key case involving the state’s legal dispute with Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region.

The complicated legal case began when the Legislature appropriated money for fiscal year 2019, which prohibited expenditure of funds to any abortion facility. The sentence specifically reads “no funds shall be expended to any abortion facility as defined in Section 188.015, or any affiliate or associate thereof.”

The Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS), through its Missouri Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit, denied funding requests from Planned Parenthood, which appealed to the administrative hearing commission (AHC). The AHC ruled in the state’s favor.

However, St. Louis Circuit Judge David Dowd ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood, saying portions of the appropriations bill violated the state Constitution.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R) and Solicitor General D. John Sauer have submitted a 32-page brief to the Missouri Supreme Court, outlining their case. Schmitt and Counselor Sauer say the trial court erred, and that the bill does not violate the single subject provision. They also say the trial court erred in taxing costs against the state of Missouri.

Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region is being represented by Jefferson City attorney Chuck Hatfield, who’s submitted a 42-page brief to the Supreme Court.

Counselor Hatfield writes that Judge Dowd’s ruling should be affirmed. He says the appropriations bill violates the state Constitution, and says the Attorney General’s office is quoting opinions that “are neither binding nor persuasive.” Hatfield also says existing state law required the state to pay Planned Parenthood for physician and family planning services it provides to Missouri Medicaid beneficiaries.

The Supreme Court will hear the arguments Tuesday morning at 9:30 in Jefferson City. Missourinet managing editor Alisa Nelson will be covering the case.

Parson: Missouri Highway Patrol’s surge on St. Louis interstates has led to 300 arrests

November 26, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The mayors of Missouri’s four largest cities and Governor Mike Parson outlined their top priorities for battling violent crime in Jefferson City on Monday.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson visits with
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and their four respective police chiefs on November 25, 2019 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s office)

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Columbia Mayor Brian Treece and their four respective police chiefs met with Governor Parson behind closed doors at the Statehouse.

The governor and mayors briefed the Capitol Press Corps after the meeting, inside the governor’s office.

Springfield Mayor McClure says their top three priorities are witness protection and relocation, mental health treatment and keeping guns out of the hands of those under 18. Krewson says protecting witnesses is key to solving more crimes and obtaining more convictions.

Governor Parson also says the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s “surge” on St. Louis interstates is taking criminals and guns off the streets. In response to a question from Missourinet, the governor says the Patrol has made about 300 arrests since the operation began a month ago.

“So the important thing to take out of that (300 arrests), we are getting people off the streets,” Parson says. “And that’s just counting what we (state troopers) did, that’s still not counting what the cities are doing everyday up there. But all of that helps.”

The arrests announced by the governor also don’t include this month’s massive federal special operation called “Operation Triple Beam”, where 69 alleged St. Louis-area gang members were arrested. 16 of those arrests were for murder-related warrants.

Mayor Krewson tells Missourinet she “begged” the governor to send troopers to St. Louis, and praises his response.

“I drive on Highway 70 regularly and I always see one, two maybe three Highway Patrol officers out there, trying to make a difference on our highways,” says Krewson.

She says the operation has been successful, adding that some of the 300 arrests during the surge involve guns and drugs.

The governor also discussed the importance of education and workforce development during the meeting, along with battling poverty.

Parson also says he’s open to the idea of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s (R) call for lawmakers to approve a statewide carjacking statute.

Schmitt told reporters last week that there have been 305 carjacking incidents in the St. Louis metro area this year. Schmitt notes there is currently no uniform charge for carjacking, adding that the new statute would bring clarity to charging and sentencing carjackings.

Former Missouri hospital executive pleads guilty to $114 million billing scheme

October 29, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A former executive of a northern Missouri hospital pleaded guilty in federal court in Florida Wednesday to a $114 million pass-through billing scheme.

The Justice Department in Washington says former Putnam County Memorial Hospital chief executive officer David Lane Byrns pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Byrns pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Klindt, of the Middle District of Florida.

The criminal count was originally filed in Missouri and was transferred to Florida, where Byrns now lives. The complex case was investigated by the FBI in Kansas City, Jefferson City and in Jacksonville, Florida. The Justice Department in Washington has been involved, as has the U.S. Department of Labor and the offices of two Missouri statewide officials.

The Justice Department says Byrns used the Unionville hospital to submit fraudulent claims for blood testing and toxicology, causing the Missouri Medicaid program and multiple insurance companies to pay more than $100 million in claims.

The Medicaid program is health care for low-income residents. Unionville is in far north-central Missouri, just south of the Iowa border.

Federal prosecutors in Missouri and Florida say billing companies and labs were also involved in the scheme, describing them as “co-conspirators.”

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway’s (D) scathing 2017 audit of Putnam County Memorial Hospital uncovered $90 million in inappropriate lab billings, and prompted calls for the federal investigation.

The Justice Department is acknowledging Galloway’s office for assistance, along with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s (R) Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Schmitt close to finishing referrals in Missouri clergy abuse investigation

October 27, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s attorney general says his office is close to completing 12 referrals of former clergy members across the state for potential criminal prosecution.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (2019 file photo courtesy of the attorney general’s office)

This involves Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s (R) investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by clergy members in the Roman Catholic Church.

“We issued the report about a month ago with our findings and announcing that we had the 12 criminal referrals, so we’re in the process of working with those local prosecutors right now, formally making those criminal referrals,” Schmitt says.

Schmitt’s office notes that in Missouri, the jurisdiction to formally investigate clergy abuse lies with local law enforcement and not the attorney general’s office. Schmitt expects the referrals to be completed soon.

“And also letting them know that we’re ready, willing and able to work with them on those prosecutions,” says Schmitt.

Schmitt spoke to mid-Missouri reporters on Wednesday at Heisinger Bluffs in Jefferson City, following his presentation to seniors about scams.

He says the 12 referrals are more than any other state attorney general.

Schmitt released his office’s report in mid-September, saying that one of his top priorities has been conducting a thorough review of allegations of clergy abuse.

He says his office reviewed every available personnel record of every priest serving in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and the Diocese of Jefferson City, dating back to 1945. That included more than 2,000 priests and 300 deacons, seminarians and religious women.

Schmitt’s investigation uncovered 163 priests or clergy members accused of sexual abuse or misconduct against minors. Of the 163, 83 of the accused are dead and the statute of limitations has passed in another 46.

Schmitt has said that one case remains under open investigation by the Church. 16 cases have previously been referred for local prosecution and five cases have been or are currently being investigated by prosecutors, leaving the 12 cases that Schmitt’s office is referring.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has called on the Missouri attorney general’s office to use subpoenas and to question Missouri Catholic Church officials under oath.

Missouri senior citizens are being warned about increasing scam calls (AUDIO)

October 23, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s attorney general warned Wednesday afternoon in Jefferson City that scams targeting seniors are increasing, including the “IRS” and sweepstakes scams.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt spoke to about 50 seniors Wednesday at Heisinger Bluffs, urging them to be on the lookout.

“Preying upon people’s vulnerabilities, a grandchild in trouble or if they don’t pay the money, they (seniors) are going to be thrown in jail,” Schmitt says. “We want people to be armed with the information number one and number two, let us know.”

Schmitt urges seniors and other Missourians to report scams to his office’s Consumer Protection Hotline, which is 1-800-392-8222. He says the Consumer Protection division receives about 100,000 complaints about fraud and scams each year.

One Jefferson City resident at Heisinger worried that he’ll be charged a “fee” if he contacts Schmitt’s office. The attorney general tells the audience there are no fees.

“That’s what we’re there for, and it’s a core mission of our office to look out for consumers,” says Schmitt.

He says the “IRS scam” has been increasing, reminding seniors that the IRS will never contact you by phone, only by mail. Schmitt also reminds seniors to never give their social security number to people who call them.

Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin attended Wednesday’s presentation. She told the audience that scammers have also called people impersonating utilities such as Ameren Missouri and “Jefferson City Utilities,” adding that the caller ID makes it look legitimate. Mayor Tergin urges seniors to be cautious, noting she’s received scam calls as well.

Attorney General Schmitt will travel to southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau to meet with seniors at the Chateau Girardeau Thursday afternoon at 1.

Click here to listen to the full conversation between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, which was recorded on October 23, 2019 at Heisinger Bluffs in Jefferson City:

State-federal prosecutor team announces long list of violent crime charges in St. Louis

October 8, 2019 By Ashley Byrd

A specially-formed joint team of state and federal prosecutors announced another wave of charges in the St. Louis area.

In the project called the Safer Streets Initiative, Missouri Assistant Attorneys General are deputized as by the U.S. Attorney’s Office so that the prosecutors can take advantage of harsher federal sentencing guidelines.

Tuesday, Missouri Attorney General Schmidt listed more than 100 charges made since late June:

“Fifty-nine criminal possession of firearms and ammunition, 30 drug trafficking or distribution-related charges, 12 possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, four carjacking or carjacking resulting in death charges, four supervised release revocations, and three Hobbs Act robberies,” Schmidt listed at a press conference in St. Louis.

Carjackings are at a steady increase in St. Louis –averaging one a day—and pacing higher than last year at this time. In the past few days, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports there were two Sunday morning, one Monday morning and three Monday night. Then a woman and a nine-year-old were victims of a carjacking Tuesday morning.

Two other joint state and federal prosecutors have been tapped in Kansas City and one in Springfield.

Governor Mike Parson has also provided state troopers to team up with local officers to fight violent crime in St. Louis. That began a week ago.

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

September 13, 2019 By Ashley Byrd

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

Schmitt to issue Friday report about clergy abuse in Roman Catholic Church in Missouri

September 12, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s attorney general will release a long-anticipated report Friday morning in St. Louis, regarding allegations of clergy abuse statewide within the Roman Catholic Church.

Then-State Treasurer Eric Schmitt speaks to former House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty on June 11, 2018 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R) has called a press conference for Friday at 10 a.m. at the old Post Office in downtown St. Louis.

His report will include all four Missouri dioceses: the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Diocese of Jefferson City, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

The investigation has been going on for about a year.

Former Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office told Missourinet in September 2018 that all four Missouri dioceses had agreed to independent reviews conducted by the attorney general’s office.

Hawley resigned as attorney general after his November election to the U.S. Senate, and Schmitt was appointed to the post by the governor.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) held a Statehouse press conference last September, the same day Hawley’s office spoke to Missourinet about the four dioceses agreeing to independent reviews. SNAP said then that there were at least 113 publicly-accused Catholic priests in Missouri, although SNAP believed the number is higher.

Diocese of Jefferson City Bishop Shawn McKnight briefs reporters in Jefferson City on August 24, 2018 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

SNAP has called on the Missouri attorney general’s office to use subpoenas and to question Missouri Catholic church officials under oath.

Diocese of Jefferson City Bishop Shawn McKnight held a press conference last August, where he said Mr. Hawley had called to express his gratitude for the bishop’s request that the AG’s office review diocese files about clergy abuse.

During that August 2018 press conference, Bishop McKnight was critical of previous Roman Catholic Church leaders.

“Their active cover-up or passive silence when clergy abusers were continued in the ministry or promoted in office gravely compromised the credibility of the hierarchy, and by extension, the whole Church,” McKnight told mid-Missouri reporters that day.

Bishop McKnight described sexual abuse of children as “a crime and a sin,” adding that the Diocese of Jefferson City has no tolerance for those who intentionally harm children.

Missourinet’s Jill Enders is covering General Schmitt’s Friday morning press conference in St. Louis.

Missouri man convicted of killing five grocery employees in 1987 will stay in prison

July 18, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A southeast Missouri judge has denied a legal effort from a man convicted of killing five people at a St. Louis supermarket almost 32 years ago.

Convicted killer Marvin Jennings is incarcerated in Potosi (2018 file photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Corrections)

Washington County Judge Troy Hyde has denied a petition for a writ of habeas corpus involving Marvin Jennings, who is serving a life sentence without parole for the high-profile 1987 killings at a National supermarket in north St. Louis.

Prosecutors say Jennings and an accomplice, Donnie Blankenship, shot the five supermarket employees to death on September 4, 1987. Two others were injured and survived, and some employees escaped injury by hiding on the roof.

Jennings says he’s innocent. Habeas corpus is an effort to determine whether a prison sentence is lawful.

“Jennings’ allegations in this petition are essentially attacks on evidentiary rulings by the trial court that have already been litigated in the ordinary course of review. He (Jennings) presents nothing new here,” Judge Hyde writes, in part.

Jennings has sought several state habeas actions in the past, and has also alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

“My most important duty as Attorney General is to protect all six million Missourians,” Attorney General Eric Schmitt says in a statement. “That entails prosecuting our state’s most violent offenders, but also ensuring that those offenders who were convicted, like Marvin Jennings, serve their sentence. Assistant Attorneys General in my office undertake important habeas corpus work, often behind the scenes and without recognition – they achieved a great result in this case.”

Jennings was convicted of five counts of first degree murder and eight counts of armed criminal action, along with several other felonies. He’s currently incarcerated at the maximum-security Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point.

Judge Hyde heard the case, because Potosi is located in Washington County.

Blankenship is incarcerated in Charleston.

Prosecutors say the five supermarket employees who were killed were Rose Brown, Michael Marr, Kenneth Bass, Michael Bean and David Spahn.

Offsets near southeast Missouri’s Fredericktown remains closed; owner appealing ruling

July 3, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s attorney general says a popular business and recreational lake in southeast Missouri that’s been the site of several deaths remains closed on this Fourth of July weekend.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (right) speaks at the St. Louis Clean Sweep event on June 14, 2019 (file photo courtesy of AG’s office)

Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R) says “The Offsets” near Fredericktown is a lead mine turned swimming hole and that at least nine people have died there from drowning or falling off bluffs, since the early 1980’s.

Schmitt says “countless” others have been injured. The quarry is surrounded by 40-foot bluffs, where people have jumped into a lake.

Schmitt says Madison County Circuit Judge Wendy Horn has ordered the “Offsets” to be closed until several safety measures are implemented.

Some of those safety measures are a detailed emergency response plan and frequent staff training, stationing trained lifeguards in specific areas where jumping would be allowed and placing an additional lifeguard in a boat in the water to be able to rescue swimmers. Judge Horn has also ordered the Offsets to require all patrons jumping off bluffs to wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life vests.

“As Attorney General, my duty is to protect all six million Missourians, and ensuring that people can safely enjoy summer festivities falls under that duty,” Schmitt says.

Online court records indicate Farmington attorney Clinton Roberts, who represents Offsets Recreation LLC, is appealing Judge Horn’s ruling. Counselor Roberts’ appeal has been filed with the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District.

Former Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) filed the lawsuit against the Offsets in Madison County Circuit Court in Fredericktown in July 2018.

“And what the common fact pattern here is that they jump from this very high point, they injure themselves upon entry into the water and then they are not able to swim because there’s no dock,” Hawley told Missourinet in a July 2018 interview.

Hawley said all nine people who have died at the quarry/lake were healthy males between the ages of 16 and 21.

The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” has reported that 19-year-old Cole Duffell of Chesterfield died at the Offsets on the Fourth of July 2018, after jumping off a cliff into the lake.