The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 27

SECTION Road rage: How should motorists cope with it? C-2 The Kansas City Star! Metro wmmkcstarcomlocailocallrtm KANSAS CHY AND THE REGION Tanning salon owner charged LEWIS i DIUGUID Man sent to prison in slaying 2-year-old son was beaten to death with frayed belt for wetting his pants ceiling the manager told police Vogelsberg and another female detective hope to finish watching the videotapes in two weeks They will pause the tapes to make a photo as each victim enters the booth clothed First the manager will try to identify the women and then detectives will let potential victims look at photos Detectives also seized an appointment book that goes back to April 1 5 About 120 people called Vogelsberg on Friday but she was able to talk to only about 25 of them She hopes to return the calls within two weeks Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim should call Vogelsberg at 477-7270 and scheduled a court date for 9 am Thursday Bond was set at $10000 Emmons was arrested Thursday after a salon manager looking for the source of a leak went into office which was always locked She became suspicious when she found videotapes and a ladder that led to a false vent police said She played one of the tapes which showed women tanning and called police The manager was one of the victims and she identified 12 other women on the tapes Police had not talked to them on Friday Officers found four tapes at the business and then searched the home By Friday afternoon they had collected 40 to 50 tapes that detectives wanted to go through said Lenexa Police De Videotapes of nude customers were made secretly By RICHARD ESPINOZA Staff Writer A Lenexa tanning salon owner was charged Friday with secretly Videotaping 13 women while they tanned nude and police were trying to find out how many other victims there might be Michael Wallace Emmons of Lenexa who owns Sun Swim USA at 12012 87th Street Parkway did not enter a plea after hearing the charges 13 counts of eavesdropping need to talk to an said Emmons 32 A judge entered a not-guilty plea for him tective Sarah Vogelsberg In the salon detectives found that a restroom and tanning booths No 3 and No 4 had been set up for someone to watch unsuspecting tanners One booth had a false vent over a hole in the wall On the other side of the wall in the office the hole was covered with black msh Anyone who lifted the mesh far enough to peer through had a full view of the room with the help of strategically placed mirrors Vogelsberg said No one answered the phone at the business Friday Emmons has owned the Sun Swim USA since January police said In March he remodeled the business installing plasterboard in his office to close a gap between the top of the wall and the By JOE LAMBE Staff Writer Redirecting compassion Jackson County Circuit Judge David Shinn on Friday told a Kansas City man who beat a 2-year-old to death with a frayed belt why he would get no mercy have tried seven death-penalty cases and I know how many first-degree murder Shinn said I have never heard more vicious Then he sentenced John Williams Jr to life plus 30 years Williams 30 will become eligible for parole at age 70 A jury found Williams guilty in June of second-degree murder armed criminal action and child endangerment for beating his son Michael Scott to death with a belt on May 29 1997 Defense attorney Horton Lance argued at the sentencing hearing and at trial that his client was guilty only of involuntary manslaughter for an See KC C-2 Col 5 board OKs development By STEVE NICELY Staff Writer the color of justice is green US Attorney Stephen Hill Jrfs recent actions caused me to retjlo a speech I gave a week ago at the Moberly (Mo) Correc-tidnal Center con the inmates their families and friends at the 25th Annual MCC-NAACP Branch 4071 Freedom Fund Banquet see through any journalism lite talk So I told them the truth about color of green as in money and more cash almost always buys more justice Hill inspired me with that fact when he doled out what I call this month to the Flamingo Hilton Casino in our Missouri River town Many of the inmates had suffered under that criminal unwritten color-of-justice code Their inexperienced overworked and underpaid public defenders wqre outclassed by a bigger better-financed police and prosecution teams only when defendants have millions of dollars that they get a cut of I borrow that phrase from that former football star actor spprtscaster and then-millionaire OJ Simpson bought in his firfet trial He got the best criminal defense team money could buy and was acquitted on double murder charges in 1995 in the Slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman But pockets deep enough to buy twice A civil jury last year found tiini liable in the deaths and ordered him to pay $335 million in pompensatory and punitive damages OJ justice is on the table only as long as the money is there too No one would argue that the Flamingo Hilton has a lot of money Hill allowed Hilton Hotels subsidiaries to pay the government $655000 and devise ethics training for its employees to dodge criminal public corruption charges a pittance The company acknowledged making a $250000 payment in 1993 to a firm owned by Michelle Lathan a business associate and lover of then-Port Authority Chairman Elbert Anderson Prosecutors had said the money was part of a $1 25 million reward for help in getting Hilton a site for the Flamingo riverboat casino Hill said Hilton had to have the deal If Hilton were convicted1 of criminal charges gaming authorities in other states might try to close Hilton casinos putting thousands of people out ofwork Hill said But what about the people Anderson employed the Black Epos he brought to town and innocent people told me that they put any of that on their resumes? Meanwhile Anderson likely get any OJ justice in the sentence he draws for paying bribes to then-Japkson County Legislator Jajnes Tindall and then-Kfnsas City Councilwoman Jeanne Robinson Lathan served six months uitder house arrest Robinson is in prison and Tindall is awaiting trial Anderson Lathan Robinson and Tindall are black which is Why African-American leaders recently denounced handout to Hilton as a standard of Hill denied the racially tinged charge I told the inmates that it was just another case of OJ justice something that no one in that state prison had the cash to buy and neither do I Our only options are to des-ia cks or get-riph-quick schemes only lead to ruin Hard honest work deep profound study analytical thinking and the skilled communication of new ideas are the only down payments we can make on freedom We have to earn it on daily installment plans and only by our continued good deeds Send e-mail to Lewis Diu-yuid at Ldiuguidia kcstarcom or leave him a message at (816) 889-7827 and enter 1134 DAVID PULLIAMThe Star Sgt Robert McLees (right) spoke with Tarig Johnson as fellow out pamphlets near 11th and Main streets Friday The pam-Kansas City police officer Lincoln Schmeiser (behind) handed phlets discourage people from giving money to panhandlers Want to help? Give at the office The board of directors of International Speedway Corp of Daytona Beach Fla on Friday approved a detailed construction operation and development agreement for a motor speedway in western Wyandotte County The agreement clears the way for the purchase of land for the $208 million development The Unified Board of Commissioners of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Kan approved the agreement at a meeting Thursday Incentive checks and notices of closing were mailed Friday to 87 property owners who have signed contracts to sell to Kansas International Speedway Corp a subsidiary of the Florida company Sellers who signed contracts within two weeks of the time the offers were made will receive $4500 incentive payments The first purchase will take place next week said Jeff Boerger director of operations for Kansas International Speedway Construction equipment should begin moving onto part of the track site northwest of interstates 70 and 435 by the end of the week he said The clearing of trees and vegetation within the heart of the 15-mile oval track should begin in about two weeks he said Most of the closing dates are during the week of Oct 12 but persons who want to close sooner can do so said John Wood of Nunnink Associates which is handling the land acquisition The appraisal values for 15 properties under condemnation are expected to be determined Sept 9 Wood said After that the developer can deposit money with the court and take possession of those parcels almost immediately Property owners who dispute the price can appeal but would still lose possession around the middle of October Several landowners are involved in a lawsuit they filed over relocation expenses The Unified Government is attempting to negotiate a settlement The sale of $95 million in special revenue bonds awaits resolution of the lawsuit By LILA LaHOOD Staff Writer TIPS Kansas City Police Department tips on how to handle panhandlers: Don't give money to panhandlers a Acknowledge a panhandler with a nod but say to a request for money engage in a conversation with someone who is trying to persuade you to give money walk with confidence Call the police if you are ha- goal of this is to have people donate to the agencies versus giving it to the people who Sgt Robert McLees said This is the second year police have campaigned to discourage people from giving money on the streets Last year they used fliers idea this year was to make it more like a business McLees said The yellow form about the size of an index card explains some of the problems associated with panhandling and offers suggestions on what to do when a panhandler approaches It also- lists five local social service agencies that accept donations and help those in need find food clothing shelter and counseling can give this card to the person soliciting money McLees said Jane Tally is a spokeswoman for Kansas City Community Kitchen one of the organi-See POLICE C-2 Col 2 Derrick Ross can imagine what like to be down on your luck On Friday when a man on the street asked him for help he hesitate gave him a Ross 27 said "If I was in that predicament want them to give me a Kansas City police know the city is full of compassionate people But they say spare change given to buy food often ends up feeding an alcohol or drug addiction The police would prefer that people redirect their generosity from individual panhandlers to the social service agencies that run shelters and soup kitchens On Friday about a dozen officers deployed at several downtown intersections handed out more than 2500 informational cards explaining how to do that Donate the money you would have given to a panhandler to a shelter or food pantry PS The pig stays for now The saga of the potbellied pig too big for Blue Springs has come full circle Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Vernon Scoville on Friday told Joan Pfeiffer owner that she must pay the $50 fine for harboring a pig 30 pounds over the city's 125-pound limit But Scoville told Pfeiffer she have to remove the pig from Blue Springs within 10 days as the ordinance suggests He encouraged her to seek a variance to the ordinance That puts Pfeiffer back where she started in January 1997 when she asked the City Council to change the ordinance to accommodate Porky's portliness Pfeiffer and her attorney LD McDonald said they plan to ask the city soon for a variance that will end McDonald said Kim Kozlowski Landing pad Welcome back Kansas City School Superintendent Henry Williams will extend a taped telephone greeting to more than 36000 students who are expected back in the district on Tuesday The taped message will start going out today and is expected to reach all families with students in the district this weekend Williams says he is calling to welcome all students and staff back for the of the The taped message goes to all households with children in the public schools through a "phone system The system usually is used to notify parents when their students are absent from school and may be used this year to notify families when school will be closed for inclement weather Lynn Horsley DAVID PULLIAMThe Star new look Olathe will be getting a new airport this weekend Well sort of The Kansas Department of Transportation announced Friday that Kansas 7 between Kansas 10 and 111th Street in Olathe will be closed from 6:30 am to 8:30 am Sunday while an airplane lands as part of an open house promotion for AlliedSignal Commercial Avionics Systems AlliedSignal will celebrate the opening of its headquarters in Olathe on Monday Its $80 million headquarters southwest of the intersection of Kansas 7 and Kansas 10 was recently completed Between 7:30 and 8:30 pm on Monday the Transportation Department will close the highway again so the plane can take off Robert A Cronkletun Kenneth Green painted the sign on the Lyric Theatre at 1 1th and Central streets Friday where the finishing touches were being put on a $200000 renovation of the building The Lyric Opera will be celebrating 41 st anniversary this season which begins Sept 19 with the Italian opera La Traviata.