News from February 17, 2005 issue


6 arrested in check fraud case
Police believe they've busted an interstate check fraud ring that had recently been operating in Marion and Morganfield.

Six individuals have been arrested in Marion on various charges relating to the writing of thousands of dollars worth of bad checks.

Arrested late last week and over the weekend by Marion Police Department and Kentucky State Police were Mary Ann Koch, 27, of 124 Redbird Court; John S. Kuzmik Jr., 52, of 110 Redbird Court; Lucas M. Griffin, 31, of 719 Crittenden Drive; Monica J. Griffin, 31, of Crittenden Drive; Kellie O. Timmons, 28, of Marion; and Gregory James Scott Taylor, 25, of Marion.

The six suspects were arrested on warrants from Union County where an investigation by assistant Morganfield police chief Lt. Col. Jeffery Hart had uncovered a series of cold checks in a multi-state area that he said includes more than $8,641. Checks had been written in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.
Many of the checks were written against Morganfield and Marion banks ­ including Farmers and Peoples ­ and many passed at the Wal-Mart in Union County. Marion Police Chief Kenneth Winn believes either checks or debit cards on some of the suspected accounts may have been used in Marion, too. He said the investigation is continuing here.

"What they were doing is opening checking accounts with a minimum of $50 then writing a bunch of checks," Winn said.

Hart, the Morganfield police officer, said the investigation began when a Wal-Mart accountant discovered a pattern in the checks that were being returned to the store unpaid. Wal-Mart notified the Morganfield police who initiated the investigation last week.

Hart said checks on the suspected accounts were written in Morganfield between November and January.

Marion police say that if businesses here have accepted checks on any of these individuals' accounts, they should be aware of the pending investigation.
The suspects are each charged with theft by deception. All were taken from Crittenden County Jail to Union County Jail. The Morganfield police said in a news release that it believes the checking writing scheme may constitute organized crime charges.

Woman kicks out window of cruiser
A Marion woman faces a felony charge of assaulting a police officer and criminal mischief for breaking out the window of a police cruiser following an incident Saturday night on Rochester Ave. Marion Police responded to a 911 call the home of Tamara Anne Sisco. When officers arrived they found Sisco slightly injured, but she refused medical assistance and refused to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. According to the police report, Officer Ray O'Neal was trying to help administer First Aid when Sisco kicked him in the face. Since she refused to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, the officer put her in his cruiser for a trip to the emergency room. It was then that Sisco allegedly kicked out the rear passenger side window. Sisco was treated and released from the hospital, but then lodged in Crittenden County Jail.

Farmers may question CAFO regs
Crittenden County magistrates are expected to consider on Friday final passage of regulations for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
The fiscal court has moved its regular meeting time to 9 a.m., Friday because several county officials were in Frankfort early this week.

Some think the meeting Friday could draw a contingent of area farmers who are concerned about the county's proposed CAFO regulations.

Magistrates and Judge-Executive Fred Brown have received several phone calls and have spoken with other farmers who are worried that the new regulations might infringe upon property rights or agriculture-based businesses here.

After a couple of years of studying and researching possible means for monitoring CAFOs more closely, the court settled on a plan during its January meeting. It approved first reading of an ordinance to adopt state and federal regulations for local CAFOs and to require a county permit for any entity that desires to construct a CAFO.

Although laws defining CAFOs are lengthy, a concentrated animal feeding operation is generally constituted by a large number of livestock in a confined area. CAFOs do not exist where animals are on pasture. CAFA regulations may also affect feed lots if runoff goes directly into a river, creek or stream.

As defined by state and federal regulations, magistrates say no current Crittenden County operation would be considered a CAFO. Even if they were, those would be grandfathered in under the proposed ordinance.

Magistrate Greg West, who served on the committee that investigated CAFO regulations and helped design the local ordinance, said the county is not changing the definition of a CAFO. The same rules will apply once the new ordinance is in effect that applied two months ago.

"The only thing that has changed is that the county will have to issue a permit," he said. "It's just a mechanism so we can see that state and federal guidelines and being followed."

Dan Wood, another magistrate who served on the committee, said the local ordinance will help the county keep track of potential CAFOs and monitor them for compliance with state and federal laws.

"We are not creating any new laws," he said. "This is just an awareness issue. We just want to be able to monitor compliance."

The county's CAFO permit will be free if the measure passes.

The idea of creating some type of local ordinance regarding CAFOs became and issue after Tyson Foods became embroiled in a legal dispute with neighbors in Greenwood Heights because of the company's chicken-growing facility on the northeast edge of town. After being found guilty of city nuisance charges in 2003, the Tyson broiler houses closed.

Mark Williams, who operates a feed lot for cattle in rural Crittenden County, said he has reviewed the proposed ordinance and finds little to be concerned about.

"The only thing that worries me in the ordinance is that it states the county has a right in the future to make regulations more restrictive. That just leaves the door open," he said.

The proposed ordinance does have a provision that read as follows: "A CAFO is defined as any concentrated animal feeding operation within the meaning of applicable state regulations, including, but not limited to: 401 KAR 5:002 ... and any federal regulations, including, but not limited to, the Clean Water Act."

Williams said he, like most farmers, are concerned about pollution and preventing it. However, he thinks emotional issues like CAFOs can sometimes provoke bad laws.

"We have to be careful when we start passing regulations. We have to do it based on facts and science and not on emotion," he said.

Judge Brown said the proposed ordinance would serve only to help the county keep a better eye on incoming CAFOs.

"It would keep us abreast of what's gong on in the county. It's just a two-page application, but it would alert us to things we need to know about and things we need to keep an eye on," he said.