TOPEKA, KANSAS (BNO NEWS) – A Topeka, Kansas doctor pleaded guilty to unlawfully prescribing controlled substances, prosecutors said on Monday.

Physician Ethan E. Bickelhaupt, 58, issued prescription orders to individuals who were not legitimate patients. After receiving the prescription drugs in pharmacies, the patients gave the drugs to Bickelhaupt for his personal consumption.

Bickelhaupt would compensate his patients with cash or substances.

At the time, Bickelhaupt was working at VA Medical Center in Topeka, where he taught geriatric and acute psychiatry to psychiatry residents. During that time he also claimed to have a “tiny private practice” operating out of his home, even though there was no exam room there.

In an email, Bickelhaupt told a nurse in 2006 that getting “drunk” and “high” was his “only” interest and doing this with friends “socially, at no cost to them.”

Bickelhaupt is now facing a maximum maximum penalty of 24 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1.25 million on two different charges, unlawfully distributing and obtaining controlled substances.

TOPEKA, KANSAS (BNO NEWS) – A former Kansas mayor and city commissioner was sentenced to federal prison for taking bribes, prosecutors said on Friday.

Michael R. “Mick” Wunder, 53, accepted money from a developer who received city contracts to construct new housing developments during his term as Junction City Commissioner.

Wunder became friends with David Ray Freeman, a developer from Lawrence, Kansas, who was considering investing in land for constructing new houses in Junction City. During that time, soldiers were supposedly returning to Junction City and Fort Riley and would be creating a booming market for new housing as the city’s population was expected to double its amount. Junction City then began an annexation of 1,400 acres to be developed for housing.

Wunder told Freeman he could deliver the necessary votes and approvals to give Freeman’s company, Big D, the exclusive right to develop the housing are for $10,000 and construction of a new house on one of the lots.

Under the contract, the city would purchase the infrastructure and Big D would have the exclusive right to sell the 500 lots, which were worth more than $12 million to Freeman’s company.

Freeman wrote out a $5000 dollar check to Wunder’s wife that said, “Loan for Medical Bills” in May 2006.

Freeman bragged to his partners that he had a Junction City Commissioner in his pocket and he could get anything approved by the commission as he held fifty percent interest of the newly formed Big D Development, LLC, and Big D Construction, LLC.

In July 2006, Freeman issued another $5,000 check to Wunder that said, “Loan Repayment.”

The Junction City Commission approved the development project and later approved payments in excess of $12 million to benefit Big D.

Later that year, Junction City began accepting bids for renovation of the historic Opera House, which Freeman won for a $15,000 payment to Wunder, who received $9,000 during a meeting at a rest stop on Interstate 70 near Paxico.

Wunder has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and was imposed a $900 special assessment and a forfeiture of $19,000.

David Ray Freeman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.

WICHITA, KANSAS (BNO NEWS) – A man of Wichita, Kansas, was sentenced to 60 months, 5 years, imprisonment for one count of arson, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Francis A. Mlaga, 21, set fire to Ashbury Court Apartment Complex at 1940 S. Woodlawn in Wichita on August 24, 2009. He lived in an apartment of the complex which had insurance with Farmers Insurance Group in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The following day, Mlaga made a false insurance claim for property damaged in the fire. However he was arrested before obtaining any money. The fire caused damages valued approximately in $297,450.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Kansas state prosecutors.

TOPEKA, KANSAS (BNO NEWS) – A male and a female were indicted on Thursday with two counts of maintaining a residence for the purpose of storing and distributing cocaine and marijuana in Lenexa, Kansas, prosecutors said.

Lamont T. Drayton, 37, and Brittany Dorf, 23, live an apartment in the city of Lenexa, Kansas. The building is within 1,000 feet of Rosehill Elementary School. During April 2009 and January 2010, the defendants maintained a drug operation using this location for storing and distributing undisclosed amounts of marijuana and cocaine.

Drayton is charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.

Both defendants are waiting to be sentenced and they could face up to 40 years imprisonment for maintaining a drug involved premise.

TOPEKA, KANSAS (BNO NEWS) – Seth Bundy will become the new Communications Director and Press Secretary for the Kansas Governor’s Office, announced Gov. Mark Parkinson on Friday.

Current Kansas State Press Secretary Beth Martino has accepted a position as associate commissioner for external affairs with the Food and Drug Administration in Silver Spring, Maryland. She has been in the Governor’s Office since January 2009.

Seth Bundy will take his new role on February 12. Bundy is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in education. He’s the current Deputy Communications Director for Gov. Parkinson and has extensively worked with him in the past.

“I’ve worked closely with Seth since I decided to run for Lt. Governor in 2006,” said Parkinson. “Seth’s communications knowledge and his experience in the Governor’s Office will ensure a smooth transition into this new role,” he added.

KANSAS CITY (BNO NEWS) – A Kansas man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to using an infant to produce child pornography, prosecutors said.

Ronald Schulz, 54, of Franklin County became a target of a criminal investigation when an undercover officer in Sacramento, California received images of child pornography over the internet. The officer traced the images to Schulz at his Franklin County residence.

Agents of the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement served search warrants in August and September 2009 at Schulz’s home. Among thousands of images of child pornography, investigators found photos of a 2-month-old girl who was a relative of Schulz. In the photos, Schulz was shown touching the child’s genitals.

He faces a penalty of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

KANSAS CITY (BNO NEWS) – A former Olathe, Kansas school coach on Tuesday was sentenced to federal prison on child pornography charges, prosecutors said.

Michael T. Cowley, 39, was sentenced to over 17 years in federal prison after he admitted posing on Facebook as a 19-year-old female in order to persuade minor boys to send him photos of themselves nude and engaging in sexual activities. In exchange, he sent them nude photos of a girl that he got from the internet.

The investigation began in February 2009 when the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office received a report from police in Vancouver, Washington, that a 13-year-old male had exchanged nude photos with a Facebook user who claimed to be a 19-year-old girl in Overland Park, Kansas.

Starting from the Facebook page of a user called “Ashley,” who listed 696 friends, investigators followed an electronic trail through MySpace, Yahoo and AT&T Internet Services to an account held by Cowley.

Investigators discovered that Cowley taught a computer class at Brentwood Elementary School in Overland Park, coached various sports teams, drove a bus route for the California Trail Junior High School, and worked for the Jewish Community Center as director of a summer sports camp for 1st through 6th grade boys and girls.

Among the list of friends on user “Ashley’s” Facebook page were children who were on teams Cowley coached and others who had face-to-face contact with Cowley. Eleven children reported receiving nude images from the user called “Ashley” and seven boys reported sending nude images of themselves to the user called “Ashley.”

A search warrant at Cowley’s residence found hundreds of images of nude boys and girls, as well as minors engaged in sexual acts.

The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.