By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
GALENA, Kan. — Businessman Gary Hall gets to keep his jet, for now, thanks in part to his business partner and friend.
Hall is scheduled to stand trial on April 13, 2010, on a 43-count federal indictment.
He and seven others associated with Sunflower Supply Co. in Galena are charged in the indictment alleging they defrauded the state of Oklahoma and American Indian tribes in the state of $25 million in tax revenue.
The indictment against Hall, 66, of Joplin, Mo., includes several counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and other charges related to the tobacco-wholesale company that Hall owns.
The indictment describes a complex web of transactions alleging that Hall and the other defendants schemed to stamp cigarettes for sale at tribal smoke shops in lower tax-rate areas when they actually had been sold at tribal smoke shops in higher tax-rate areas.
U.S. District Judge Monti Belot set the trial date when granting a continuance last month. He noted in his ruling that defense lawyers needed the additional time to prepare for the case.
James Cross, a spokesman for acting U.S. Attorney Marietta Parker, has said about 95 percent of federal cases don’t go to trial, but are resolved with plea agreements.
Another ruling last month by the judge allowed Hall to keep his Hawker Beechcraft jet, listed in the forfeiture allegation of the indictment.
The judge issued an order allowing Hall to substitute property for the jet. The plane was seized as part of a federal seizure warrant on Oct. 17, 2008, the same day Hall was arrested.
The agreement allows Hall to substitute property owned by Hall, or business partner and developer Steve Vogel. It includes property in Benton County, Ark.; 300 acres known as the Standing Rock Property in Camden County, Mo., at the Lake of the Ozarks; and some of Vogel’s property in Webb City.
According to the Jasper County assessor’s office, the legal description is that of property west of Vogel’s City Pointe development, at 526. S. Madison Ave., 604 S. Madison Ave., 610 S. Madison Ave., 620 S. Madison Ave. and 622 S. Madison Ave.
“Gary’s always been there for me,” Vogel said. “It’s a no-brainer. He’s always helped me when I needed help.”
He said he is convinced of Hall’s innocence and thinks some in the public have unfairly convicted him without a trial.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” Vogel said, adding that if roles were reversed, Hall would do the same for him.
Vogel said the properties in Webb City and Arkansas are planned for commercial development. He said if either is sold, the money would be held in escrow pending the outcome of the case.
He said he is confident that Hall will prevail. He said Hall’s situation is an example of bad things happening to a good person.
Property value
The U.S. attorney’s office has confirmed that the value of the property totals at least the $5 million value of the jet, according to court documents.
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Trial date set in 2010 for Hall
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