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Reeferfront Times
27
[WEED NEWS]
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Seedy Affairs
Records shows continued FBI interest in Independence marijuana, utility contract deals
Written by STEVE VOCKRODT AND JASON HANCOCK
This story was originally published by KCUR 89.3 and the Missouri Independent.
Federal law enforcement was still seeking information as recently as last summer about medical marijuana licensing in Missouri and utility contracts in Independence that have attracted FBI scrutiny for years.
That’s according to sworn deposition testimony from a Kansas City-area businessman that surfaced publicly this month.
The deposition of Joseph Campbell, owner of the real estate development firm itan ish, was conducted in November as part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit he and his company filed in against the City of Independence and two city council members. Excerpts of the deposition became public last wee after they were filed in ac son County Circuit Court by Independence’s attorneys. ampbell testified that agents from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department’s public integrity unit interviewed him on uly ,
The questions, according to Campbell’s testimony, focused on his involvement with a pair of utility contracts in Independence and medical marijuana licensing in Missouri — the latest indication that a potentially wide-ranging public corruption probe may be ongoing.
Campbell in his deposition indicated the FBI wanted to talk to him further, but hadn’t as of the time he gave his testimony.
During the deposition, Campbell said that as part of his July interview he was asked by federal agents about several people involved in state and local politics, including: • Independence Mayor Eileen Weir • former Independence council members Curt Dougherty and Tom Van Camp • Independence City Manager Zach Walker • Missouri lobbyist Steve Tilley • former Missouri House Speaker John Diehl ampbell also testified that overnor Mike Parson’s name came up during the interview. But the deposition transcript that was filed last wee in ac son ounty Circuit Court does not contain Campbell’s full testimony — only pages of at least pages were included — and does not go further into why some of the names like Parson and others were discussed. ampbell’s attorney filed a motion to suppress the document two days after it appeared in the public record, arguing that it should not have been filed because the deposition isn’t yet complete. Campbell did not return requests for an interview and his attorney, Mark McFarland, declined to discuss the matter.
Neither Campbell nor any of the people he was asked about during his interview last summer have been charged with any wrongdoing in regard to Independence or Missouri political affairs. Campbell said repeatedly during his deposition that his only involvement in the FBI’s Independence probe is as a witness.
A spokesperson for the FBI said the agency cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
The records provide a fresh glimpse into an FBI probe that’s transfixed state and local politics ever since news of it surfaced in
Independence deals
In , ampbell bought the former Roc wood olf ourse in Independence from a company that had owned it for several years. Months later, the Independence City Council voted to buy the golf course from his real estate company, Titan Fish, for almost $1 million, close to twice what he paid to buy the property. The land was used to build a solar farm.
The deal drew scrutiny over a series of donations to Weir days before she voted with the majority of council members to approve the purchase. The donations came from four political action committees connected to Tilley, a former state lawmaker and longtime friend and adviser to the governor. illey’s lobbying firm represents Independence’s electric utility and the company chosen to operate the solar farm.
Weir has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the donations.
Campbell’s testimony reveals he is also connected to the other Independence utility contract from that has received I scrutiny: the demolition of the power plant in Missouri City owned by Independence Power & Light.
The Independence City Council awarded a St ouis firm called Environmental Operations Inc. a million contract to tear down the plant, even though another bidder offered to do the job for less than half that amount.
A majority of the Independence City Council approved the contract despite opposition from some council members and a board that advises the city-owned utility. ampbell testified that he was involved in the Missouri City power-plant deal through a consulting contract he had with Environmental perations He testified that the land upon which the power plant stood would become “very valuable” given its proximity to a port along the Missouri River. ampbell testified that he was originally supposed to receive
Missouri’s medical marijuana regulators have recieved multiple grand jury subpoenas in the last two years as part of a federal investigation centered on Independence, Missouri. | CARLOS MORENO/KCUR 89.7
INDEPENDENCE
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half of the Missouri City property once it was repurposed. But Environmental perations officials later told him that the firm had to own the entire site because of an indemnification agreement with Independence. So instead, Campbell testified that he would get a 11.3 percent cut of the contract.
In 2020, the Kansas City Star reported that a federal grand ury had issued subpoenas to Independence to obtain a number of records related to the two utility deals, including minutes to private meetings held by the Independence City Council where the transactions were discussed.
Attorney-client privilege?
Campbell’s testimony also discusses Diehl, who resigned as issouri House Speaker in 2015 after it was revealed he had been sending inappropriate text messages to a legislative intern ampbell said Diehl, who became Environmental perations’ general counsel following his resignation, as ed if Campbell would claim that the two had an attorney-client relationship. ampbell testified that he understood Diehl had asked about forming such an arrangement in order to eep from having to hand over certain documents the government had re uested through a subpoena. ampbell testified Diehl had never represented him in a legal capacity.
A request for comment to Diehl was forwarded to J.R. Hobbs of ansas ity law firm yrsch, Hobbs & Mirakian. He denied Campbell’s assertions. ur firm has represented nvironmental Operations Inc.] in connection with the inquiry, including document production and subpoena requests, and there is no accuracy to any assertion that Mr. Diehl ever advised anyone to assert privilege if it didn’t apply, Hobbs said, adding later r Diehl denies any possible assertion that he extended attorneyclient privilege at any time
Medical marijuana
Campbell’s testimony also reveals that he was helping finance a company called Herbal Health that applied for licenses to cultivate and sell medical mari uana He said that he was asked about mari uana licensing during the July 2021 interview with federal law enforcement.
illey was registered as Herbal Health’s lobbyist from January 2019 to November 2020, and has numerous clients in the medical mari uana industry He did not respond to a request for comment.
In November 2020, the head of issouri’s medical mari uana program testified under oath that a federal grand ury subpoena his agency received was connected to an I investigation in Independence. issouri’s medical mari uana regulators received two additional federal grand ury subpoenas last year, with each redacted before being turned over to the media at the re uest of the federal government to obfuscate the records being sought by law enforcement
It was not long after reports first surfaced of the FBI’s interest in the Independence utility deals that Titan Fish led a consortium that submitted a proposal to acquire and refashion Independence Power & ight’s soon to be shuttered lue Valley Power Plant.
Tilley was listed in Titan Fish’s Blue Valley proposal.
A Kansas City Star report in March 2020 quoted two Independence city council members who expressed reservations about doing business with anyone who might be sub ect to an I investigation
Campbell in 2020 sued Independence and the two council members, saying their comments defamed him. ampbell’s lawsuit is ongoing, though he attempted to settle with the city if the council handed over the shuttered Blue Valley power plant to itan ish, granted tax abatement and leased back portions of the power-plant land, according to an article published earlier this month in the Kansas City Star. eir testified in a deposition in the case ee s later, her attorney convinced a udge to seal her deposition after learning that an unidentified third party tried to obtain it. On Monday, the Kansas City Star filed a motion as ing a ac son ounty udge to unseal eir’s deposition, arguing that her testimony is a matter of public importance and that sealing it violated the First Amendment. eir is running for a third term as mayor and faces a crowded primary election next month.
In an unrelated matter, the IRS sei ed two vehicles belonging to ampbell on ay and signaled that it may seize a lake house in organ ounty, issouri, which also belongs to ampbell An affidavit written by an IRS agent in support of the sei ures alleges that ampbell, through his various businesses, fraudulently obtained government ID relief funds and that those funds were used to buy the cars and the lake house. n
[CBD]
High Hopes
CBD prevented COVID-19 infection in patients, according to new study
Written by LEE DEVITO
Yet another scientific study suggests that cannabis could help fight COVID-19.
The latest found that CBD, the nonpsychoactive compound found in cannabis touted for its possible health benefits, was able to block COVID-19 replication in human cells. That’s according to a paper published last Thursday in the peer-reviewed Science Advances journal.
The study saw a team of 33 researchers at the University of Chicago and University of Louisville survey 1,212 U.S. patients taking prescribed CBD to help manage seizures. It found that patients who took 100-milligrams-per-milliliter oral doses of CBD were less likely to get positive COVID-19 test results compared to a control group that did not take CBD (6.2 percent to 8.9 percent, respectively). Another part of the study, conducted in a lab with human lung cells, found CBD inhibited the spread of the virus.
“Our results suggest that CBD and its metabolite 7-OH-CBD can block SARSCoV-2 infection at early and even later stages of infection,” the study’s authors wrote.
The study comes just one week after another, from researchers affiliated with Oregon State University, that found that other compounds in cannabis prevented SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells in a lab, by effectively gumming up the virus’s spike proteins.
The researchers warn that you can’t just go to a local dispensary to treat yourself for COVID-19. Neither study has undergone clinical trials yet, and the Oregon State University study used compounds that are found in raw cannabis, not the CBD or THC that people consume.
“We strongly caution against the temptation to take CBD in presently available formulations including edibles, inhalants, or topicals as a preventative or treatment therapy at this time,” the University of Chicago and University of Louisville authors wrote. “Especially without the knowledge of a rigorous randomized clinical trial with this natural product.”
The authors of that study say that while the COVID-19 vaccines remain the best way to prevent serious illness or death, they hope a cannabis-derived product could be used as part of a multipronged approach, “especially for populations with limited inclination or access to vaccines,” they wrote.
“As a bottom line, what this says is that CBD has the potential to prevent infections, such as breakthrough infections, which might be one of the most useful applications,” lead researcher Dr. Marsha Rosner told Vice.
“The hope is that it would prevent more serious disease, but we don’t know yet,” Rosner said. “And we would need a clinical trial.” n
