April 28, 2008 09:02 pm
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By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
The co-defendant of former Cherokee County (Kan.) Attorney Michael Goodrich pleaded guilty Monday to blackmailing Goodrich.
Timothy Schooley, 30, of Baxter Springs, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor extortion as part of a plea agreement. He is set to be sentenced July 14, and he faces a possible maximum penalty of a year in federal prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The plea agreement reads that at sentencing, the U.S. attorney’s office would move to dismiss a felony extortion charge against him.
Schooley threatened to tell authorities about an alleged financial relationship between Goodrich and employees of Sensations Gentlemen’s Club if Schooley didn’t receive a share of the payments Goodrich supposedly was receiving from club management, according to the plea agreement.
The plea agreement reads that Schooley, while in Goodrich’s company between March and May of 2007, demanded that Goodrich share with him money he allegedly had received from the management of the club. The club in rural Galena, Kan., features nude women dancing.
The plea agreement reads that Schooley approached club employee Jason Carstley and demanded that money be given to him for use by him and Goodrich inside the club.
The plea agreement also states that the defendant knew that Goodrich allegedly accepted favorable treatment and money from the club in return for Goodrich allegedly providing favorable legal treatment by dismissing traffic tickets and court costs for club employees.
The plea agreement doesn’t specifically state whether Schooley would be required to testify at Goodrich’s upcoming trial. Jim Cross, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren, said he couldn’t say if Schooley would be expected to testify.
Goodrich, 48, is charged in U.S. District Court with felony counts of extortion, wire fraud and witness intimidation.
The wire-fraud charge alleges that Goodrich had a telephone conversation with a club employee about dismissing a traffic ticket, and the ticket ultimately was dismissed.
The witness-intimidation charge alleges that Goodrich tried to influence the answers that Garth Adams, who then was assistant county attorney, was about to give to an FBI agent about Goodrich’s activities.
Goodrich’s resignation as county prosecutor took effect Dec. 1. He was indicted Sept. 19, 2007, by a federal grand jury.
Trial date
Former Cherokee County Attorney Michael Goodrich’s trial is scheduled for July 8 in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
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