By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBUS, Kan. — A change-of-plea hearing for former Cherokee County Attorney Michael Goodrich is scheduled for Monday in U.S. District Court, Wichita.
The hearing signals the possibility of a plea agreement.
A federal grand jury on Sept. 19, 2007, indicted Goodrich on two counts of extortion, one count of wire fraud and one count of witness intimidation. All are felonies.
The first extortion charge alleges that Goodrich unlawfully obtained currency and unspecified favors not due him from the owner and employees of Sensations Gentlemen’s Club in return for favorable legal treatment. The crimes are alleged to have taken place between Jan. 1, 2005, and September 2007.
The club in rural Galena features nude women dancing for primarily male customers.
The second extortion charge alleges that co-defendant Timothy Schooley, in Goodrich’s presence, approached an assistant manager of the club, to ask for money to be used to give to waitresses and dancers. The charge alleges that the assistant manager gave Goodrich the money.
The wire-fraud charge alleges that Goodrich gave favorable treatment to the club’s manager by dismissing a traffic ticket after he received a call from the manager.
The witness-intimidation charge alleges that Goodrich tried to influence and intimidate then-Assistant County Attorney Garth Adams when Adams was scheduled to be interviewed by an FBI agent about his boss.
Goodrich, 46, of Baxter Springs, pleaded innocent during an initial court appearance on Sept. 24. He resigned as county attorney effective Dec. 1. Adams also has resigned.
James Cross, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren, wrote in an e-mail in response to a Globe inquiry that he couldn’t reveal anything in advance about a plea agreement in Goodrich’s case, or even if there is a plea agreement.
Goodrich’s attorney, Michael Hepperly, of Wichita, did not immediately return phone calls on Tuesday.
Schooley, of Baxter Springs, is charged with a single count of extortion. A change-of-plea hearing in his case is scheduled for April 7 in federal court.
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