Vindicator

by Denney Clements

  I confirmed this abuse of the public trust on Tuesday with the help of an able assistant. We drove by the building to determine whether it housed the white Dodge van used by the four men who invaded my fiancée’s home in Ouimet on Thanksgiving Day. (See my Nov. 26 report on the home invasion here.)

  During the home invasion, some quick-thinking victims placed a homing device in the van. As the accompanying photo of a receiver shows, the device was still working on Tuesday. Note the time and date at the base of the phone’s display. The red dot beside Garfield County Road 3125 reveals the van’s location: inside the building.

  This van might – might – be the same Kansas-tagged vehicle spotted in Los Llanos, Colo., two days before the dam explosion there on Oct. 11. That act of sabotage resulted in three deaths and billions of dollars in property damage. (See my Oct. 29 story and video on the white van here.)

  Shortly after I snapped the cell-phone photo, some men (I don’t know how many) in a yellow Hummer H2 came after my companion and me. Because we were using a sturdy four-wheel-drive pickup, we were able to outrun them in an off-road chase covering several miles. The chase ended when driver of the H2 lost control of his vehicle and it rolled over. But before we could get away, one of the men in the H2 fired two shots at us, both of which mercifully were off target. We drove away unscathed.

  The other photos accompanying this post show: (a) the gunman who fired two shots at us with what appears to be a 30.06 deer rifle; (b) the Hummer in pursuit of our truck just before the driver rolled it, and (c) the heavily fortified ARC building itself. Note the 16-foot security fence with coiled razor wire on top, the security cameras along the top of the building and on the gate leading into the parking lot – not what you’d expect at a taxpayer-owned facility supposedly devoted to researching advanced irrigation methods.

  I do not know the identity of the rifleman who attempted to take our lives. Readers who recognize him are invited to report his identity in a comment or to contact The Vindicator by phone or e-mail.

  There remain these questions about that million-dollar ARC budget: What path does the money take from the Agriculture Department to the men at the ARC? Who disburses the money? Who receives it?

  Reached her at her office shortly after 8 a.m. today, Agriculture Secretary Eunice Swindle refused to answer these questions. She insisted that The Vindicator file an Open Records request for that information in writing; the relevant documents, she said, would be forthcoming in no more than 15 days. When apprised that the Kansas Open Records law requires a response within three business days, she said: “That’s the best we can do.”

  Immediately afterward, I e-mailed the Agriculture Department staff member who handles public document requests. I requested all budget documents pertaining to agricultural research between 2005 and the present. I also requested immediate acknowledgment of the receipt of this request and an indication when the documents would be available. A copy of this e-mail was sent to Thomas Bernier of Wichita, The Vindicator’s attorney and an expert in Open Records law.

  As of publication time, more than six hours after The Vindicator’s open-records request, The Agriculture Department has not acknowledged receiving it, though I confirmed this morning that my e-mail reached its intended recipient. If the Agriculture Department fails to produce the records by the close of business Wednesday, Swindle risks appearing to be part of a conspiracy to divert public money to criminal activities. The Vindicator will leave it to Bernier to decide what action to take if the requested documents are not forthcoming by the legally specified deadline.

  Readers who know more about the ARC’s finances and/or the men who operate from the Garfield County facility are invited to contact me. Joe Emery

  Left out of the post was Natascha Schroeder’s connection to the ARC facility via the white Impala. Emery decided that if he played that card now, the network of people who supported and financed the ARC thugs would go to ground. Moreover, they might dispose of her. Even she didn’t deserve that.

  He was not yet ready to report Aaron Renke’s discovery that the Thanksgiving Day invasion of the Clark home in Ouimet was part of a three-year pattern of assaults. True, he had police reports and background material, furnished by Renke, on five assaults since April 2007 in the Kansas towns of Cherokee, Coffeyville, Holcomb, Washington and Colby. But the dry recitation of facts from the police reports would not explain the why of those attacks.

  Emery knew why those hooded assholes had come after him and his loved ones. But what had the earlier victims done to merit the goons’ disfavor? To find out, he needed to interview as many of them as he could contact. He’d do that tomorrow.

  Finally, fairness dictated that Harmon be given this opportunity to explain how a lone independent blogger, and not the KCID, had found the Garfield County facility. But Harmon’s treatment of Emery thus far had been cavalier. He decided he owed nothing to the AG.

  After hitting the blog’s “publish” button and e-mailing the link to James Schmidt at the Spotlight and Pete Sarantos at the Examiner, he opened The Vindicator. He had a hit on his hands. After only two minutes on the web, the piece had already garnered almost 200 page views, and comments were piling up.

  He checked his e-mail. There were 10 new messages in his mailbox. Arthur Cushing said, “Splendid effort.” Marcus Tyler wrote, “Great investigative work. The photos are Pulitzer-worthy. Can’t wait for the sequel.”

  J-3 wrote, “Hey! How come you didn’t post any pictures of me? :) Great job, Poppy. I'm proud I was part of it.” And Sadie wrote, “Sorry I got up in your face last week. I’m printing out your post so I can show it to Mom. I love you.”

  He clicked the reply button: “Love you, too, sweetie. See you soon.” Then he refreshed his mailbox. Uh oh. One from Mike Harmon. He opened it. It had been sent from a Yahoo! address. “Emery: We already knew about the ARC, you asshole. Now you’ve blown our investigation and made me look like a fool. Why didn’t you come to me with this material? Where are you? We have you posting from Santa Fe, but I have a feeling you’re closer. Turn on your phone and call me.”

  He considered publishing Harmon’s message and private e-mail address on the blog. It would serve the arrogant jerk right. Instead, he replied: “I didn’t come to you because I don’t trust you. The fact you’re trying to track my IP address bears out that suspicion. It’s not my job to support your investigation. Going public with what I have is what I do. You make me feel like I’m a fugitive but I’m one of the good guys. Are you?” He clicked “send,” waited one minute, then refreshed his e-mail. Harmon had replied. He clicked it open.

  “I am one of the good guys. I’m sorry my message was so heated. Thank you for not posting it on your blog. I didn’t think about that until after I sent it. We need to talk privately. Assuming I don’t have to go all the way to Santa Fe, I’ll meet you anywhere you say.”

  Emery thought a moment, then replied: “Be at the East Topeka turnpike rest area today at 6 p.m., in the parking lot as close to the convenience store as you can get. If you don’t bring a posse – and I’ll know if you do – I’ll contact you there.”

  “Deal,” came Harmon’s reply 10 seconds later. “I’ll be in a maroon Crown Vic.”

  Emery found Stiggy in the living room swinging his right arm wildly and jumping around. “Playing tennis on the Wii,” he gasped, nodding at a huge flat screen TV, which took up most of the east wall. The display showed an ever-larger yellow ball hurtling toward his host over a net. Stiggy lowered his arm. “Great exercise. What up, J-2?”

  J-2? Emery liked that. Grinning, he asked, “Is that old Dodge pickup in the garage operational?”

  Stiggy nodded, flinging a drop of sweat from the tip of his nose onto the carpet. “Bet your ass. Real sleeper. Mopar hemi, four-speed shifter, custom shocks and suspension and Pirelli tires. Bucket seats and top-of-the-line tunes. You need to use it?”

  “For a few hours if you don’t mind.”

  The rest area spread along a blu
ff above the turnpike halfway between Topeka and Lawrence. Emery, dressed in jeans and a faded blue University of Kansas hoody, arrived there at 5:30, just as the sun was dropping below the western horizon. He parked the Dodge among the employees’ cars at the back of the parking lot and killed the headlights, then picked up the night-vision binoculars he'd borrowed from J-3 and slowly scanned all the vehicles in view. Near as he could tell, Harmon had not pre-positioned shock troops in the area.

  A little before 6, a maroon Crown Vic rolled up the ramp and stopped in a parking space near the convenience store. Emery could see the gleam of Harmon’s bald head through the rear window. He observed the scene for about 10 minutes. Then he picked up his throwaway phone and called Harmon’s mobile number, keyed in from his special notebook an hour earlier. The AG picked up on the first ring.

  “Emery?”

  “You alone?”

  “You know I am. You’ve been watching me.”

  “Don’t play games with me.”

  “Sorry. For all I really know, you drove in after I did. From Lawrence, right?”

  “I said don’t fuck with me.”

  “OK, OK. What now? My daughter has a basketball game tonight and I’d like to make the second half.”

  “Sit tight.” Emery clicked the phone shut and slipped his pistol into the hoody’s pouch. Then he got out of the truck. As he approached the Crown Vic, he heard the lock click. He opened the door and got in, looking around. No sign of a trap.

  “Wow, Emery. That home invasion really messed you up, didn’t it?”

  Emery sighed. “More than you know.”

  “I'm sorry. I want you to know I understand why you published that piece. I've thought about it. It doesn’t hurt KCID’s case as much as I feared. But it does narrow our range of investigative options.”

  “That’s not my problem. What can you tell me that I don’t know?”

  “Off the record?”

  Emery’s response was to open the car door. “See ya,” he said, putting his right foot onto the pavement.

  “OK, background, then. They can’t know I talked to you.”

  Emery pulled in his foot and closed the door. “Fair enough.”

  “If help you with your reporting, can you share what you learn with me?”

  “I won’t work for you.”

  “But we can talk periodically, right? You can call me and I can call you. Each of us decides what we can and can’t say? You’re a journalist, I get that. But you’re also a citizen who respects the law.”

  Emery thought about it. “I care about the law. That’s why I waited, and waited, for you to stumble onto the ARC. I’ve known about it for, what, 10 days?”

  “Well, you could have told me about it, but forget that for now. We found out about the ARC Tuesday from a source at the Department of Revenue, where Harold Ramsey, the secretary, is out of control. Thinks he’s the state’s director of homeland security. A senior clerk there blew the whistle after two of Ramsey’s security guards worked her over because she typed in the wrong license tag number. She suffered in silence a few days and then got mad and complained to my office about it. Seems the ARC has secret license tags assigned to its vehicles and she stumbled onto it.”

  Holy shit. “Was her name Wanda Willets?”

  Harmon jerked in surprise. “How did you know?”

  “Dear God. She’s been my friend for years.” He paused, then decided to tell Harmon the truth.

  “She ran that tag for me. I copied the number down in Los Llanos in October. White Impala that Natascha Schroeder was riding in. That seemed weird to me. Is Wanda OK?”

  “Wanda has some facial and body bruises but she’s recovering and back at work. I saw to it that Ramsey fired the knuckle draggers who beat her up and the Topeka DA has filed aggravated assault charges against them. I don’t think the good secretary knows we know about the secret tags.”

  “Well, it’s a relief Wanda’s OK.”

  Harmon looked at him a long moment, then said, “You really are good at your work, Emery. How come you haven’t reported on the Impala?”

  “Wanted to be clearer what Schroeder’s role is in all this. So, you didn’t know about Garfield County until this week?”

  “KCID sent a team out there yesterday after they identified the building as a possible base of operations. They arrived mid-afternoon. Found the gate open. Place was deserted. Vehicles all gone. Forensics people are sifting through it.”

  “Did they find the Hummer? It would have been in the scrub land maybe three miles northwest of the facility in a dry creek bed.”

  “I told them to look for it this afternoon, after I saw your post. It was still out in the scrubland. They would have needed a wrecker to get it out.”

  “Where do you think the thugs went? And who’s running them?”

  “Don’t know and don’t know, though the Schroeder connection is interesting. That’s why we have to compare notes. Trust me now?”

  “Enough to promise to keep the throwaway phone I just used to call you. Now you have my number. Now, tell me more about this raid.”

  Chapter 30: Scandal

  December 3, 3 p.m.

  Late Thursday night, Emery posted his second story of the day:

  THUG SCANDAL OVERTAKES HODGE ADMINISTRATION

  Agents of the Kansas Criminal Investigation Division raided the state-owned Agricultural Research Center in sparsely populated Garfield County on Wednesday afternoon, according to a knowledgeable law-enforcement source. They found the 25,000-square-foot building abandoned. Whether the men who had occupied the building fled as a result of The Vindicator’s report earlier today on the ARC and its million-dollar budget was not immediately clear.

  The KCID agents, however, were able to collect forensic evidence suggesting that at least 10 persons had been staying in the building. According to the source, who asked not to be identified, the agents collected hundreds of fingerprints.

  “The bathrooms,” he added, “were a gold mine of hairs, skin flakes and cast-off toothbrushes. Our crime-scene techs also found some bloody bandages in the dumpster behind the building.”

  The agents are checking the DNA they collected against state and national databases, according to the source. They also had tire prints from at least a dozen vehicles. And they found the wrecked Hummer H2 referenced in The Vindicator’s earlier report in a field about four miles from the facility.

  Meanwhile, said the source, another KCID team in Topeka has uncovered a small database of secret license tag numbers at the Department of Revenue. These tags are apparently connected to the vehicles formerly housed at the ARC building. Agents are questioning Harold Ramsey, the Kansas secretary of revenue, and high-level employees of the Revenue Department to ascertain why and how the secret license tags got into the hands of the people staying in the ARC building. The identities of those people, said the source, are not yet known. The KCID has provided the ARC vehicles’ tag numbers police departments and sheriff’s offices statewide. Law enforcement officers statewide, said the source, are on the lookout for these vehicles.

  The piece was brief, but, in tandem with Emery’s earlier report, it caused a sensation. As of Friday morning, reporters for new and traditional news media in Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City and other locales swarmed onto the story. Judging by the updates on their web sites, their quest to elbow The Vindicator aside was not going well. Harmon confirmed the facts in Emery’s report but would say nothing more about it. Eunice Swindle was nowhere to be found. Her spokesman would not talk to reporters. Harold Ramsey at Revenue was not taking reporters' phone calls, and neither was his spokeswoman. Natascha Schroeder was out of pocket, as was Ernest Complet.

  As for Gov. Hodge, she turned out to be in Shanghai on a trade mission, now in its third day, with 15 public- and private-sector Kansas leaders. Because several Wichita business leaders accompanied Hodge, the Examiner’s Kendra Wendell had written a brief about the trip earlier in the week and knew where the governor was stayin
g. She reached the governor at her hotel early Friday, Kansas time. In a recorded interview published on WichitaOnline.com, Hodge said she was having a great time in China, working with Kansas manufacturers, importers and exporters to strengthen existing relationships with Chinese companies and to build new relationships.

  The governor showed little concern that her administration had become enmeshed in scandal. After Wendell informed her that her secretary of agriculture oversaw public money that appeared to have financed crimes against Kansans, and that her Revenue Department had a database of secret license tag numbers tied to the criminals' vehicles, Hodge professed to know nothing about any of it.

  The governor insisted she had no idea why or how the ARC budget had been increased to $1 million for the current fiscal year. “If I’d realized that much money was in the agriculture appropriations bill,” she said, “I’d have vetoed it. My budget staff failed to inform me about it. I’ll take it up with them upon my return on Monday. As for Mr. Ramsey, my fellow former legislator, I cannot and do not believe he was aware of these alleged secret license tags. This assumes, of course, that Mr. Harmon and the hacks with whom he has larded the KCID aren’t off on an ill-founded fishing expedition.

  “You also should know, Kendra, that Eunice isn’t really my secretary of agriculture,” Hodge continued. “She was the consensus pick of the Farm Bureau and the Livestock Association, and I went along with them. You should ask them what this is all about. Her actions have nothing to do with me. I hope she resigns so I don’t have to fire her.”