What to know about Interim Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota's federal indictment

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It's a conversation between Lovoda and someone labeled as individual one. And Lovoda, you know, has claimed that that is Daron McGee during his press conference last week. It seemingly is, you know, a recording of these conversations because the indictment is written in such a way that it kind of notes size and eye rolls and things like that. And, you know, the conversation is essentially, hey, if you drop out, what do you want? You know, where can I put you on a job seemingly according to the indictment? So how would federal investigators know about eye rolls and size and all those kinds of things, Ben? Do we know that? We don't know that yet, but, I mean, it makes you wonder if it's, you know, recorded on video or, you know, audio, something along those lines. Yeah. And why was Phil LeVos so interested in seeing Doran McGee drop out of that race, Ben? Yeah, I mean, it's kind of odd, you know, because in the conversation, it essentially claims, you know, that Duran was no longer interested in kind of elected office. And he's running for the executive at the time. And, you know, Phil was kind of flirting with running for the executive full time. You know, I think, Kaysen, you were at the press conference where Lovoda had said, you know, he had met with Duran, you know, after being asked by someone, you know, to sit down and talk with him. Kaysen, what else did he say there? Yeah, I mean, that press conference last week, we definitely saw a very defiant Philavoda where he obviously, like I said, denied the charges against him. But he also sort of made a claim that, you know. politicians in local government can appoint whoever they want to the position. And he sort of distanced himself from any kind of nefariousness when it came to the charges against him and sort of these transcripts, while also sort of acknowledging that this conversation did happen and that McGee did record him. I mean, Kaysen, the tricky thing for the county executive is that what? An offer was made, it involved money, and the offer was accepted. I'm no lawyer, but isn't that sort of what's at root here when it comes to the evidence involved?

Yeah, I definitely think that that's a fair read of the charges against him right now. And then I think that, you know, coupled with that is the fact that Lovoda allegedly lied to investigators when asked about it. Yeah. And the other thing that confused me, Kaysen, is this idea that Phil Lovoda has said that he knows that Duran McGee tapes every conversation. So if he knew that, why is he going so far as to make such a clear offer? make such a clear deal with the Ron McGee, at least allegedly, why would he do that? Or I guess maybe we don't know that. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a good question to ask. It's one of the many questions that Ben and I had while reporting out this story. I mean, I think that we're probably going to learn a lot more about this over the next few weeks because, I mean, he, in a phone conversation with me yesterday, you know, made a very similar claim that McGee was sort of known for recording conversations within Jackson County politics. You know, Kays and I should point out that you've got a good story today in The Star that points out that, hey, this might not be the end of the indictments in this latest federal probe into Jackson County. What else might be underway? Yeah, I mean, it does feel like the general sense that I'm getting in Jackson County is that a lot of people are sort of bracing for what happens next. And I think a lot of that stems from just the sheer amount of unanswered questions we have when reading through the transcripts in this case. I mean, all the questions that you've asked about, you know, I mean, one of the main questions we have is why was McGee or individual one recording the conversation in the first place? who went to the, you know, federal investigators related to this. And then I think there's another sort of big unanswered question is there's another person that's, you know, anonymous in this indictment that's described as individual too. We still don't know who that is. Lovoda told me yesterday he knows who that is, but he's not disclosing who that is. So I think just the sheer amount of unanswered questions is leading to a lot of speculation about what might be coming next. And on top of that case in former legislative chair, Mania Barka told you that, hey, I made a whole series of claims of corruption last month, and he's expecting more coming down the pike pretty soon, right? Yeah, yeah, that was, you know, I called him, I called former Legislature, Mani Barca, minutes after the Levota news became public. And he said that he was stunned by it, but, you know, he made a point to say that he expects more to come related to his seemingly separate corruption and bribery allegation. So I think that the Barca allegations just sort of add another level of uncertainty of what might be coming next.

We'll be right back with more from our conversation about interim Jackson County executive Phil Avoda in just a minute. Stick around. Your support of KCUR inspires and makes a difference in our community. This August, KCUR and Giving Docs invite you to create your will for free and extend your impact long into the future. Start today at kCUR.org slash will. 120 years ago, Maude Wagner ran away from small town Kansas to the carnival, where she had her meet-cute moment at the fairgrounds. Maude meets Gus, pretty much approaches him and says, I'd like to be a tattooed woman. Gus says, I'm looking for a wife. And she said, I'll go on a date with you, but only if you teach me how to tattoo. Today, Maude and Gus Wagner are one of the most famous tattooed couples in American history. Hear all about them on our podcast, a people's history of Kansas City. Ben Wheeler, do we know what prompted federal investigators to start looking into Phil LeVote in the first place? As of right now, no. This kind of just came out of the blue. You know, initially when the news came out before I read the indictment, you know, you kind of assumed, oh, well. You know, these claims came out last month, but then you read it, and it's like, oh, well, this is separate. So we really don't know as of right now. And again, just to reiterate, Ben, Phil Lovoda is saying, he's a lawyer. He's saying, I'm innocent of these charges. Do I understand that correctly? Yes, I believe the words he used were categorically denied the charges against him. He's entered a plea of not guilty at his first hearing. And so, yes, he is denying these charges. Let me just ask both of you, what's been the reaction inside of the Jackson County Legislature itself to all this flurry of corruption charges? What are you hearing from legislators themselves? Yeah, I think very similar to what I said about, you know, former legislative chair, Mania Barka. I mean, he said he was stunned by the charges. He's sort of just waiting for the next shoe to drop. I think that's kind of been a very familiar refrain among other people we spoke with while reporting out the story. You know what's, you know, amazing about this? And obviously I've been watching this for decades now, but this notion of charges of corruption in Jackson County. I mean, what else is new? I mean, this is just the latest story in a long history of corruption inside Jackson County politics. Why is Jackson County government so prone to acquiring a reputation like this and this ongoing every few years, it seems like, a flurry of allegations of corruption? Ben, what's behind that? Yeah, so we've spoken with people who essentially have talked about the... I guess the prestige of the county positions versus the prestige of, say, the city positions, which, you know, through their analysis kind of lends itself to, you know, having more reputable elected officials seeking office with the city versus the county. That's one factor. Anything else you'd point to, Kaysen, that might be at play here?

Yeah, I mean, it's certainly a question that we were talking to people. I mean, you see it all the time, like when charges like this come down is like, why does Jackson County keep having these issues? I guess one of the thing that came up in our reporting is when you have sort of this reputation, I don't know if you want to use the word corruption or just sort of chaos. It can sometimes attract certain types of people to run for those positions. You know, it's kind of just like a case study in local government. You know, there were obviously. Philvote as immediate predecessor, Frank White, was recalled by voters. Former executive Mike Bernie Sanders was indicted and convicted. The predecessor before that, Catherine Shields was indicted but then found not guilty. It's just a long train of allegations surrounding this one position in Jackson County. And there's also this sense, Ben, that the county government has this lousy reputation. And maybe that also might be a reason why. you know, certain people decide to run for the county and certain people decide to run for city positions that the reputation might somehow be a factor in and of itself here. Yeah, that's certainly what we've heard from, you know, analysts who have kind of looked at the history, so to speak, and who is run and things like that. And I think, you know, as Kaysen pointed out, there is that long history of this, you know, just in recent years. It really, it really is something. Kason, what are the biggest unanswered questions you still have about this case as we move forward here? Yeah, I think I touched on some of them at the beginning of this conversation. I mean, to me, one of the biggest outstanding questions is, are we going to learn more about why Doran McGee, if he is individual one, why he recorded that conversation, how the federal investigators sort of found out about this conversation in a Kansas City bar? And then I think people are really waiting to figure out who individual two is in this conversation as well. You also can't help but wonder about the political vendettas that may be at play here. DeRan McGee, you know, recording a conversation with the interim county executive, other people involved to trying to get back at other legislators. It seems to be like it's just an ongoing cycle that might be playing out for a while to come here, Ben. Does that make sense? Yeah, yeah. And I think it kind of lends itself to what Kaysen brought up earlier with, you know, is there more to come? You know, it's kind of a storm right now and you're kind of waiting to see what happens. Kaysen, what's the next step here? What's going to, what are you expecting to happen next in this whole saga?

Yeah, I mean, in terms of the court timeline, Lovoda is set for a scheduling conference next week. It looks like the case is set for an accelerated jury trial next month. I think over the next few weeks, we'll probably see additional court filings. Lovota told me yesterday that, you know, obviously right now there's sort of one side of the story that's going on. He's promising that there's more to this story. We'll be waiting to see what that next side is. You know, we also had some news yesterday from Justice Horn, a former candidate for the county legislature now calling for Phil LeVos to step down. How much weight does that call have been? Do you expect Phil LeVos to step down or what's happening on that front? I really can't say at this point, you know, obviously we have the election in November. You know, I want to say we have, he had five months left in his tenure as interim. So it's going to be one of those things to watch, you know, whether or not, you know, he steps aside before that election process plays out. But Ben, he's saying flat out, that's not going to happen, right? That's what he said as of yet, as of now, yes.

That was our host, Steve Kraski, in conversation with Ben Wheeler and Kaysen Bayliss of the Kansas City Star. Up to date is a production of KCUR, and this podcast was produced by me, Zach Wilson. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll be back again soon. A nature lover had just one problem with the outdoors, spiders. So she embarked on a journey. Could she say goodbye to her phobia? I'm even trying to get on board with loving the little jumping spiders that everybody loves and things are so cute. That's on the podcast Up From Dust.