U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Francis Collins and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci demanding answers over recent reporting that Covid gene sequences were purged from an NIH database at the direction of Chinese researchers. Senator Hawley said, […]
Tag: gator
Some of Missouri’s largest CAFOs are seeking less stringent state regulation
Eleven of Missouri’s largest concentrated animal feeding operations are working to reduce the state’s oversight of their hog facilities despite a record of manure spills and clean water violations. Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, has 11 CAFOs seeking new state permits. The facilities, dotted across northern Missouri, combined are capable of raising more […]
Missouri man sentenced to 15 years in prison, without parole, for illegal firearms and drug trafficking
A Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms that were linked to several shootings. Marck E. Fristoe, 28, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 15 years in federal prison without parole. On Sept. 9, 2020, Fristoe pleaded guilty to one count of […]
Audio: St. Louis region fights “Second Amendment Preservation Act”
The St. Louis region is pushing back against a new state law that prohibits local police from working with federal investigators – in cases involving gun ownership rights. Bill sponsors named it the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which among other things opens local law enforcement to be sued if they join in a […]
Prosecutions and convictions lead to barring of four Individuals from participating in government healthcare Services
Due to prosecutions and convictions obtained by the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, four Missouri providers were added to the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s exclusion list, meaning that they are excluded from participating in all government healthcare programs. “My Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works tirelessly to root out, […]
Kirksville man found guilty of murder and armed criminal action
The Associated Press reports a Kirksville man has been convicted of murder after prosecutors argued he encouraged another man to shoot a victim. Twenty-year-old Andrew Head was found guilty June 3 of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the February 2019 death of 17-year-old Izaiha McFarland at a Kirksville apartment. The case was continued […]
Missouri man charged with arson of Kansas City apartment building
A Missouri man was charged in federal court with setting the arson fire of an apartment building in which several residents were injured. Rodney Boyles, 35, of Kansas City, was charged with one count of arson in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. Boyles remains in federal custody […]
Missouri man sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole for producing child pornography
A Missouri, man who was identified and arrested on the same day he shared live video and images of his sexual assault of a toddler with an undercover officer was sentenced in federal court for producing child pornography. Gino Alexander Maiorano, 26, of Clinton, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 25 years […]
Missouri man sentenced to 21 years in prison without parole for leading meth conspiracy
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in leading a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in southwestern Missouri. Nathen D. Libertus, 31, of Stella, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 21 years in federal prison without parole. On May 20, 2020, Libertus pleaded guilty to participating […]
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Service partners with agencies to ensure vaccine for the homebound
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced a partnership between the Area Agencies on Aging, local public health agencies, and Emergency Medical Services to ensure homebound adults have a streamlined and accessible vaccination experience across the state. Understanding that various communities have already developed a plan for vaccinating homebound individuals in their area, […]
Judge sentences bookkeeper who defrauded Plattsburg Special Road District
The former secretary/treasurer of the Plattsburg Special Road District has been ordered to pay restitution of more than $100,000 for defrauding taxpayers. Ava L. Langner was sentenced on the charge of theft brought by the U.S. Attorney. After receiving a whistleblower complaint, a 2019 audit by Auditor Galloway’s office detailed how Langner defrauded the district in […]
Two life-flighted to KC after pickup slams into rear of UTV
An accident overnight injured two people, including a pedestrian, on Livingston County Route JJ. The driver of a northbound pickup was arrested after it collided with a stopped utility terrain vehicle one and a half miles north of Avalon. Serious injuries were reported for the operator of the John Deere Gator, 75-year-old Charles Plummer of […]
Man sentenced to 15 years in a Missouri prison for distributing almost 6,000 pounds of cocaine in KC area
A man who was a leader of a $56 million criminal enterprise was sentenced in federal court for his role in the conspiracy that distributed more than 2,600 kilograms (5,732 pounds) of cocaine in the metropolitan area. Jose Luis Armendariz-Rascon, Kansas City, Kansas, also known as “Uncle” or “Rambo,” 40, was sentenced by U.S. Chief […]
Southwest Honkys gang member sentenced to 25 years in Missouri prison for meth conspiracy
A Fair Grove, Missouri, man who is a member of the Southwest Honkys violent prison gang was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy in which investigators intercepted a shipment of nearly 9.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. William F. Jones, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to […]
Audio: Northwest Missouri man charged with murdering 5-month-old son now under house arrest
A Gower man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 5-month-old son. Dillon Livingston also is charged with child abuse or neglect of a child in the February death. After a court appearance, Livingston is now on house arrest. Reporter Jeremy Shields from Cameron affiliate KMRN has this update. […]
Department of Health and Human Services authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine administration for children
Robert Knodell, Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and Dr. George Turabelidze, State Epidemiologist, signed the standing order for PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine administration for individuals 12 to 15 years in the state of Missouri. This is following the decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend to […]
Former Missouri corrections officer sentenced to 12 years in prison without parole for transporting child pornography
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for transporting child pornography over the internet. Kevin Michael Downey, 35, of Fulton was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 12 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Downey to pay a total of $30,000 in restitution to 10 of his victims. […]
Furious lawmakers demand answers from Missouri DSS for undercount of abuse reports
(Missouri Independent) – Lawmakers slammed the Department of Social Services on Thursday for underreporting the number of substantiated cases of abuse and neglect at youth residential facilities during a previous legislative hearing. For nearly an hour-and-a-half on Thursday, the House Special Committee on Government Oversight pressed DSS officials on why the number of findings of […]
Missouri company, Healthy Home & Family, Inc, settles Medicaid fraud case for $300,000
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that on April 27, 2021, Healthy Home & Family, Inc., an in-home health care provider, and its owners, Belinda Bivens and Mary Stockson, have entered into a civil settlement agreement totaling $302,127 in restitution and penalties, with his office for submitting 114 false claims to Missouri Medicaid (MO HealthNet). […]
Missouri Attorney General’s office secures conviction in 2015 assault case in Scott County Jail
On Friday, April 30, 2021, a jury convicted William Henry, AKA William Henry Applewhite III, of three counts of Assault on a Corrections Officer in the First Degree and three counts of Armed Criminal Action in the First Degree. The defendant was housed in the Scott County Jail awaiting trial on murder charges when the […]