Hearne: Fishy Jayhawk Justice Bequeaths Squealer Alert

Informant, snitch, tattletale, rat…

Take your pick, KU ticket ripoff artist and party boy Rodney Jones – the mastermind behind the scandal that sent Kansas athletics director Lew Perkins packing – is now attempting to parlay his role in the above into a shorter prison stretch, says the Lawrence Journal World.

Let’s take a look.

“The imprisoned former head of Kansas University’s Williams Fund alleges that he’s entitled to a shorter prison sentence because he claims federal prosecutors did not honor terms of his plea agreement in the case,” the Journal World reports.

“The government failed to adhere to their commitment to file a  – request for lesser sentence – in exchange for the defendant’s guilty plea and for providing substantial assistance in investigating his co-conspirators,” Jones writes in a motion to the court.

In March of 2011 former U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown sentenced Jones to 46 months for his guilty plea in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a ticket scam involving more than $2 million worth of KU football and basketball ducats.

Brown checked out in January at age 104 and Jones has been hitting the law books ever since, attempting to loophole his way into a shorter sentence as payment for…

dropping the dime on his fellow ticket conspirators – the ones who did his bidding basically.

In other words, what Jones is saying is he ratted out his pals to “federal authorities” to save his skin but they didn’t come through with the lighter sentence he says was promised.

Classy.

Example No. 1:

“Jones, who was the former leader of fundraising at Kansas Athletics Inc., alleges in the motion that his cooperation with federal authorities led directly to co-defendant Ben Kirtland, who served as associate athletic director for development from 2004 to April 2010, pleading guilty instead of going to trial,” the Journal World reports. “Kirtland is serving a 57-month prison sentence.”

Example No. 2:

“Jones also claims his assistance led to the indictment of co-defendant Kassie Liebsch, a former systems analyst who took over ticket operations at KU, in the case after she was initially exonerated in KU’s internal investigation,” the Journal World adds.

As for Jones jail house legal finagling, “He appears to be relying on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that put plea bargains under greater constitutional scrutiny, finding that convictions can be overturned if defense lawyers don’t adequately assist clients in deciding whether to accept (offers from prosecutors),” The Journal World reports.

Jones claims his defense lawyer did not “pursue” government assurances that he’d get a lighter sentence for throwing his partners in crime under the bus.

Poor baby.

On top of all that, Jones – something of a Lawrence playboy at the height of the illegal ticket scalping biz, sources say – has a hearing next month over an ill-timed, $100,000 child support payment to his ex just before his guilty plea.

Naturally, KU athletics, its insurance company and the IRS want that money back since Jones is believed to have harvested $359,000 in the scam and owes $113,843 to the IRS.

Stay tuned…

http://www.mb-kc.com/
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22 Responses to Hearne: Fishy Jayhawk Justice Bequeaths Squealer Alert

  1. balbonis moleskine says:

    Is this Tony Botello’s blog with the stop snitchin’ bullshit? Or do we only like certain NARCS (once a narc always a narc) like Glazer?

    Judges are under no obligation to accept plea bargains. But if there was paperwork not filed as part of the plea bargain that was central to his receiving lighter sentence then there may be something there.

    Ineffective assistance of counsel claims regarding pleas are pretty spurious. Plea bargains are not written in legalese and if you are knowing, voluntarily making the plea, and intelligent to understand what making a plea means then that standard governs your plea bargain as well.

    if you are keeping score
    this comment contains:
    one swear word
    one shot at a site author
    two recitations of hornbook law

  2. Rick Nichols says:

    Maybe all the crooks who’ve ever entered into a plea agreement should be asking for a lighter sentence if for no other reason than to simply keep up with Jones. Let’s see, we’ve also got a Brown involved in this case, the U.S. District Judge appointed to the bench by President Kennedy, and perhaps there’s a Smith to be found somewhere in the mix.

    “The Jayhawk Ticket-Shuffle Blues” (words and music by Ben Kirtland)

    “Me and Mr. Jones, we had a thing goin’ on,
    But he sang for the feds, so I’m doin’ time as a con.
    Now my reputation’s shot, Lord, and my money’s all gone!”

  3. the dude says:

    So, the ringleader rats out all his conspirators in hopes for a lighter sentence. In some bizzarro universe I am sure this makes sense to someone somewhere.

  4. smartman says:

    Gettin’ corn holed in the shower and having to blow your cell mate will make a guy look for ways to get out early.

    • Charlie Ford says:

      Because prison rape is so funny!! It’s the only kind of legitimate rape out there!!

      (except, it isn’t)

    • Craig Glazer says:

      I would imagine this guy is in a camp, first time offense, white collar, lower sentence, under 7 years…camps are not violent…in fact most inmates are safe all the way up to a level 4 prison…then it gets scary…I did time in a max prison, Lompoc Federal Prison and level 4/5 Terminal Island…after that was sent to level 2/3 Safford, Arizona, fights, a few stabbings but overall fairly calm in the level 2/3…not much rape, but in the higher more secure levels yes much more dangerous. He may have spent some time in Levenworth waiting for assignment that would have been scary and very unpleasant….the holding area, THE Shoe, is kinda a solitary confinement area, you wear all orange jump suits, segregated, one hour out of cells daily, sucks….when you get to the regular prison it becomes more of a city, or college campus with jobs, and some things to do, not much good stuff but some….and in lower levels just boring, not so violent…but violence is always around the corner in some fashion in all joints, again camps are safe…99%. Where Michael Vick went, Levenworth Camp, he never was in any jail.

  5. harley says:

    typical hawk fan…making excuses after the fact.
    Hawk fans just can’t take the truth.
    They’re always looking for an excuse for screwing up. Hey hawk fans..
    how about that ticket scandal? All those people trying to make some
    funny money selling tickets on the sly.
    Typical hawks…when they get caught…when they do down…there’s
    no loyalty…no courage…just squeling like a pig.
    Hernia…this should blow the comment section on this story up real fast.
    I’m predicting 40-50 comments by 5pm!!!lol.

  6. harley says:

    see here’s the deal…the ku crew is screwing with couple hundred thousand bucks
    …fighting over the money…trying to get the money back….The athletic department
    is struggling at ku…barely paying bills..self is upset since football isnt’ kicking money
    in…they are basically busted and with brownyback cuts…they’re in bad shape.
    and news reports say that ku has so many flunk outs and drop outs they’ll
    have to change their admissions policy.
    At the same time MU is dropping a large 200 million dollars for athletic stadium
    and facilities…taking in 40 million in rights….SEC bringing in millions of extra dollars…
    huge national presence…r and d dollars coming in…license rights thru the roof…
    recruiting thru the roof….excitement and interest at all time high….enrollment is
    so strong there’s a waiting list to get in…national exposure greater than ever
    before….national honors for 4 specialty schools….its exploding….and yes..
    i said this would happen when they first moved to sec…..

    hernia…this comment should register a 10 on the richter scale with ku fans…
    so i’m saying 75 comments by 5pm.

    • smartman says:

      And despite all that MU can’t erase the “taint” of you being an alum. I talked to your nurse yesterday. She says you’ve got sleep crapnia. Fancy way of saying you’re still pooping your pants.

      • the dude says:

        What do they call it when you pee pee the bed, cause Harlinator does that too.

        • smartman says:

          Harley is such a dick when he takes Viagra he gets taller.

          • paulwilsonkc says:

            This isnt going to see 75 comments by the end of the MONTH, let alone 5:00pm.
            Its hard for me to understand how he takes all this abuse and can turn around and claim you are all fans, readers, followers and “decipl3es”. Thats either misplaced self assurance or something else; I dont know what, but Im sure it has a really long name.
            Hardley = wrong again.

      • harley says:

        smarmyman:
        your wifes a real “head turner”…yes she is..
        when she’s blowing the guy who you sold the nasty feces
        infected used hot tub she can turn her head…real well.
        50? living with you in that house ? what kind of
        woman is she letting you bring in diseases and bacteria
        from the feces infected hot tubs into the house.
        That house you live in must be a fucking shithole and the
        people who live there likewise!!!! Real classy smarmyman.
        no class….just trash like the old angry man you are.
        you sound like one of those wife beaters smarmyman.
        or does the old lady wear the gloves at night to keep from
        getting the diseases you carry?

    • the dude says:

      That’s Governor Brownshirt to you.

    • paulwilsonkc says:

      75-19 = 56 comments short.

      Thats right. paulwilsonkc, always right, all that time. Go back to what ever you were doing, my fans, readers, followers and decisp3les.

      • laugh machine says:

        Did you have a bad night. Forget to take your flomax? Did you
        forget to drink your Ensure before bedtime. Maybe you forgot
        to clean those dentures? Did you eat too much bratwurst for dinner and didn’t have any tums in the house? Too bad!

  7. tiad says:

    Let’s see…. Jones got 46 months, Kirtland got 57 months. So, by, let’s say, the transitive property, Jones got a “lesser sentence.” Case closed, party boy, you’ve been sanduskied!

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