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Posted on Tue, Nov. 29, 2005

TAFF PLEADS GUILTY

CHANCE OF PRISON LOOMS FOR FORMER CANDIDATE FOR U.S. CONGRESS
By DIANE CARROLL

The Kansas City Star

Sixteen months ago, Adam Taff was a rising Republican star, a serious contender for a U.S. congressional seat. On Monday, as he pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds to obtain a home loan, Taff effectively surrendered his political future and prepared for the possibility of prison.

The 40-year-old former Navy fighter pilot pleaded guilty in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., to one count of wire fraud and one count of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. In exchange, prosecutors agreed not to push for the maximum sentence.

Whether the plea agreement will keep Taff out of prison remains to be seen.

“One always hopes for that but one also has to be realistic,” Taff’s attorney, Jim Eisenbrandt, said after the hearing. Beyond that, Eisenbrandt said, Taff “knows he has disappointed a lot of people and for that he is truly sorry.”

Taff declined to comment. He left the courthouse hand in hand with his wife, Beth. The two married in April 2004 while Taff was a congressional candidate.

Under sentencing guidelines, Taff could receive up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the wire fraud charge. The maximum sentence on the campaign fund charge is five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum is not bound by the plea agreement. The judge scheduled sentencing for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 13.

In August 2004, Taff narrowly lost the Republican nomination in the Kansas 3rd Congressional District to Kris Kobach, a law professor. Kobach lost in November to U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat. Two years earlier, when Taff was the GOP candidate against Moore, Taff came closer than any other contender had come to upsetting Moore.

If Taff’s future in politics was in jeopardy before, it appears to be clearly over in the wake of Monday’s guilty plea, observers said.

“This finishes his political career,” said Allan Cigler, a University of Kansas political scientist. “Ethics considerations are just on everybody’s mind in a heightened way.”

Cigler and former state Senate President Dick Bond were saddened by Monday’s developments.

“He had a lot of things going for him,” Cigler said.

Bond, a Taff ally, agreed that the Republican no longer has a future in politics. But he said Taff had already decided not to run again.

“I feel so sad for him,” Bond said. “It clearly was a bad mistake, and I hope he doesn’t have to serve time. He clearly faced it like the man he is.”

In court Monday, Taff admitted for the first time that he knew he was wrong in using the campaign dollars for a home mortgage loan at the time he made the loan application.

A federal grand jury indicted Taff in August.

In the indictment, Taff is accused of listing $312,000 in campaign funds as personal assets when he applied for a loan to buy a $1.2 million home in Lake Quivira. Taff provided false information to a lender, the indictment said, and when the loan application was faxed across state lines, Taff’s actions became a federal crime.

A co-defendant in the case, John D. Myers of Leawood, pleaded guilty before Lungstrum on Nov. 18 to one count of wire fraud. Myers is to be sentenced Feb. 6.

According to information provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Taff admitted the following account of what happened in his plea:

In November 2003, Taff’s campaign had two accounts at Metcalf Bank in Overland Park. Also at that time, Taff was an employee of a mortgage company in Overland Park founded and run by Myers.

In November 2003, Taff agreed to buy a house from Myers at 177 Hillcrest West in Lake Quivira for $1.2 million.

On Jan. 19, 2004, Taff signed a loan application with NovaStar Home Mortgage Inc., stating that his assets included two accounts at Metcalf Bank with balances of $61,746 and $250,000. Those accounts, however, were campaign accounts and not personal assets.

That application also falsely stated that Taff’s monthly income was $15,000 when it was closer to $6,500.

On Feb. 10, 2004, Taff withdrew funds from the two campaign accounts at Metcalf Bank and obtained a $300,000 bank check made payable to Myers. Taff and Myers met with a closing agent at a title company in Overland Park and falsely represented the check as a down payment to Myers for the house. Neither, however, planned for Myers to receive the money.

With the approval of Taff and Myers, the closing agent altered a copy of the check to make it appear payable to the title company. The closing agent then prepared two settlement statements. One falsely stated that Taff had made a $300,000 payment to Myers. The other falsely stated for NovaStar’s records that Taff had paid the title company $300,000, which was to be distributed to Myers. The closing agent faxed a copy of the altered check and settlement statement to NovaStar. NovaStar then funded the remaining $900,000 of the purchase price.

No charges have been filed against the closing agent.

Taff then took back the $300,000 check and returned the funds to his campaign accounts. Because he previously had loaned his campaign $125,000, he is considered to have converted the remaining $175,000 to his personal use.

After the 30-minute hearing Monday, Eisenbrandt said that Taff had accepted full responsibility for what he did. Myers’ decision to plead guilty had no bearing on Taff’s decision to do the same, he said.

Jim Bergfalk, a longtime Kansas City political consultant who lives in Mission, said Taff might have survived politically if the amount of money involved hadn’t been so great.

“It almost destroys your ability to recover, no matter how much you apologize,” Bergfalk said.

Moore, who narrowly defeated Taff in 2002, declined comment.

A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, the state’s chief elections officer, said Taff would lose his right to vote and run for public office while serving his sentence. Those restrictions disappear after that time.

Diane Perry, a spokeswoman for the Navy Reserve Forces Command, said the Navy would conduct its own review of Taff’s situation to determine his future in the military and the fate of his Navy pension. Taff is a member of the Navy Reserve.

The day was sad and emotional for Taff, Eisenbrandt said, but Taff has a strong faith and people who support him.

The Taffs are “trying to make the best of a bad situation,” he said.

Neither Eisenbrandt nor Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton would speculate on whether Taff would be sent to prison.

As for Taff’s thoughts on that, Eisenbrandt said, “He is anticipating the worst.”
The Star’s Steve Kraske and Dave Helling contributed to this report. To reach Diane Carroll, call (816) 234-7704 or send e-mail to dcarroll@kcstar.com.