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NEWS
4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005
STATE
Couple faces prison time
BY ROXANA HEGEMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WICHITA — The married owners of a group home for the mentally ill have been convicted of enslaving its residents, forcing them to work naked and perform sex acts and illegally billing their families and the federal government for therapy.
Arlan Kaufman, 69, and his wife, Linda, 62, were convicted of 50 federal charges — including health care fraud, Medicare fraud, forced labor and holding clients in involuntary servitude — in their treatment of residents at the Kaufman House Residential Treatment Center.
Jurors began deliberating Thursday and reached a verdict Monday afternoon.
Linda Kaufman was acquitted of making a false representation and writing, while her husband was convicted on the same charge.
The Kaufmans' bail was revoked and they were taken into custody immediately after the verdicts were announced.
Federal prosecutors contended the Kaufmans controlled the lives of mentally ill residents, including deciding who could wear clothes. They were found guilty of forcing residents to masturbate, fondle each other and shave each other's genitals — activities that Arlan Kaufman videotaped.
The Kaufmans face up to 20 years in prison for each of the conspiracy, forced labor and involuntary servitude charges; up to 10 years for each of the health care fraud charges; and up to five years for each of the other charges.
"Justice is about speaking for those least able to speak for themselves," said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. "Today has been a great achievement for justice."
Melgren credited Attorney General Phill Kline for pushing the investigation. The attorney general has said his office could not prosecute the case because the state's statutes of limitation for most of the charges had run out.
Melgren said the convictions had come from a wealth of evidence and the "courage of victims who took the stand in the face of their oppressor of years."
Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, noted that it had taken more than 20 years for the Kaufmans' victims to get justice.
Kline, who was in court Monday, said it was important for the state to pass stricter controls of group homes for the mentally ill, particularly conflict of interest issues that allowed the Kaufmans to be landlords, guardians and service providers at the home.
The Kaufmans incorporated their unlicensed treatment center in 1980 and operated it until their arrests in October 2004. Their crimes dated to 1984.
"We hope justice today will become full justice through sentencing," said Nichols, who is representing 11 former residents in civil litigation.
Linda Kaufman's attorney,
Steve Joseph, said he would not
comment until after sentencing.
But his office coordinated an effort with Newton police, Nichols' group and the federal government before FBI agents swarmed into Newton, closed Kaufmans' facilities and arrested the couple.
Megan True/KANSAN
The servitude counts arose from manual labor the residents did at the Kaufmans' farm and from their part in the videos, which prosecutors called "stomach-turning." According to the indictment, the Kaufmans created the videos to sell them.
Nagesh Nagadenahalli, left, and Swetha Maganti perform a dance called the Mannequin Dance on Saturday night. The dance showed Bollywood trends from the 1950s to present. Bollywood is an Indian film industry that produces more than 800 films a year. The dance was part of a KU Cultural India Club event, called Diwali, that celebrated the Indian Festival of Lights.
Canines CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
If a dog were to miss some narcotics, no one would get hurt, Brenneman said.
"But if a dog I trained missed one bomb, I couldn't live with myself."
The Douglas County Sheriff's office has one K-9 unit, a German Shepherd named Gero that works with Corporal Ed Swanson. Gero was trained overseas and lives with Swanson, who is the dog's caretaker.
Gero is called out when there are reports of suspicious drugs
or a search warrant for drugs. He also is always with Swanson during his patrols.
Kari Wempe, spokeswoman for the Sheriff. said the dog was also used for public service, including visiting Lawrence schools.
In his career, Brenneman has trained 673 dogs that have protected presidents and dignitaries, been sent to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. His dogs also have been used to check for bombs at the Kansas Speedway and to protect actress Cybill Shepherd.
trom Newton, has operated in Lawrence for four years. He trains dogs at Vom Kaiserhofe for the Overland Park police and the Johnson County sheriff's department.
Brenneman gets his dogs mainly from Germany,where he learned to train dogs 25 years ago. There, dog breeding is controlled by the state and the dogs are bigger and more likely to have the skills necessary to do their job.
However, he does get Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers from northeast Kansas at animal shelters.
"If we can save a dog, then I feel we've done a great thing for humanity," Brenneman said about rescuing a dog from death and putting it to use saving lives.
However, Brenneman said out of 150 dogs he finds around Lawrence, only one will have the ability to complete Vom Kaiserhofe's training.
The other 149 dogs may be man's best friends,but it takes more than a friend to protect and serve.
— Edited by Erick R. Schmidt