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Prison over Politics
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| Contributor | RBH |
| Last Edited | RBH Jan 07, 2009 11:53pm |
| Category | Blog Entry |
| News Date | Feb 16, 2006 11:00pm |
| Description | Disgraced former Jackson County politician John Carnes is making a comeback. Sort of.
On February 3, at a ceremony held in the Independence courtroom of Jackson County Judge Vernon Scoville, Carnes regained his license to practice law. Among a group of about 50 people who watched the one-time eastern Jackson County political boss rejoin the legal fraternity were County Legislator Dennis Waits, developer Ken McClain and state Rep. Paul LeVota. Not a bad showing for a guy once marched out of a courthouse in handcuffs.
Carnes, 50, a former Independence councilman and Jackson County legislator, was disbarred after pleading guilty in 1989 to federal charges of bribery and bank fraud. Carnes admitted to slipping two grand to an Independence councilman to buy support for a zoning matter. He served two years at the minimum-security camp at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, then spent two months at a halfway house before being paroled in August 1991.
At the swearing in, Carnes choked up as he thanked his supporters. In a show of contrition, he said, "I'll be the first to say it was my own fault." But Carnes couldn't keep from lashing out at his tormenters. He suggested that former Independence Mayor Barbara Potts, who cooperated with investigators, belonged in the "rat hall of fame." Carnes' comments drew a gentle reprimand from Judge Scoville. "Be nice, John," he warned.
Carnes, a Democrat, said he did not intend to run for office again. "I've already served my term," he said. "I'd rather serve another term in the penitentiary."
In a sentiment neatly summarizing the true spirit of Jackson County politics, he said, "I'm going to have to live to be 136 years old to get back at all the people." |
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