William Session doesn't have to worry about waking up to a federal indictment.
U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips announced today that her office has closed its inquiry of the Port Authority of Kansas City. Mayor Mark Funkhouser had encouraged Phillips to examine the city agency in the wake of the revelation that Session, the Port Authority's general counsel, had received millions to do excavation work on land that the agency had sold to a private developer.
Session's double life as a legal adviser and construction-company operator was first reported in The Pitch in November. The Kansas City Star followed with a damning story that described in greater detail the concerns that Session's dual roles posed a conflict of interest.
Trey Runnion, the Port Authority chairman who permitted Session to work as a minority subcontractor at the former Richards-Gebaur airbase at the same time that he monitored compliance with affirmative-action goals, resigned under pressure last week. The Session Law Firm continues to serve as the Port Authority's general counsel.
Funkhouser told reporters on January 5 that the FBI had visited the Economic Development Corporation, the Port Authority's parent agency. Funkhouser became a harsh critic of Session and Runnion when their activities at the Port Authority became public. Session's judgment has also been criticized by mayoral candidate Mike Burke, who handled the bulk of the Port Authority's legal work. But often the "stupid" and "illegal" circles don't overlap. "Neither the Kansas City Port Authority nor William Session are targets or subjects in any federal investigation," Phillips said in a statement.
Phillips' announcement represents a change in philosophy at the U.S. Attorney's Office. Past federal prosecutors have allowed public officials to twist in the winds of suspicion. Former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields was a subject in a corruption probe that lasted two years.
Ultimately, it was a house -- not county contracts -- that got Shields into trouble. She and her husband, Philip Cardarella, were accused of mortgage fraud in early 2007, around the time she left county government. They were acquitted after a two-week trial.
Showing 1-5 of 5
Two points, Web. First, the change of philosophy I describe refers to the fact that Phillips released a public statement. Former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves, in contrast, did not bring down the curtain, so to speak, on his investigation into county corruption.
Second, you're wrong to state that our stories have been "unsubstantiated." The facts in this story are not in dispute. Reasonable people may disagree about what the facts mean. Mr. Session feels his actions were appropriate. Others do not. In any case, the story doesn't have to end in a federal indictment to have been one worth telling. Besides, the federal investigation was Mayor Funkhouser's idea, not the media's.
The writer of this column is not in the least bit contrite considering he started much of this Session-bashing with the first, unsubstantiated article. Your bias is even more evident in this piece with your undertone of guilt. Really? You think that the only reason Session was cleared is because the U.S. Attorney has changed their philosophy regarding civil investigation? I realize the Pitch is not real journalism but can’t you show just a bit of integrity? You were wrong to run your accusatory articles and you are wrong to draw unwarranted conclusions to this story.
like
dislike
