KCK says Golubski lawsuit, investigation could mean material financial loss for Unified Government

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, said in a recent financial filing that the ongoing federal grand jury investigation and a civil lawsuit regarding alleged misconduct of a former police detective could “adversely affect” its finances in the future.

The Unified Government filed a prospectus in March with the intention of disclosing potential financial risks to bond investors.

In the document it said that a lawsuit brought against the government by Lamonte McIntyre, who was wrongly convicted and spent 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit, as well as a federal investigation into Roger Golubski could materially impact its financial standing depending on the outcomes. KCUR first reported on the document.

“Each of the following two matters, if ultimately resolved unfavorably for the Unified Government, could have a material adverse effect on the financial position and operations of the Unified Government,” the document said.

Federal prosecutors opened the criminal investigation into Golubski in 2019, and McIntyre, after being released in 2017, was presented a certificate of innocence by the state of Kansas and rewarded about $1.5 million for his wrongful conviction.

Officials said in the prospectus that McIntyre is alleging injuries he sustained from his “alleged wrongful conviction.”

“The Unified Government is required to disclose financial liability that could materially and adversely affect the Unified Government’s financial position,” said Ashley Hand, a spokeswoman for the Unified Government. “To that end, the Unified Government disclosed Lamonte McIntyre’s case. Because it is pending litigation, the Unified Government cannot comment further on the matter.”

McIntyre, along with his mother Rose McIntyre, filed their lawsuit in 2018 in the U.S. District of Kansas, arguing that the Unified Government and several police officers were responsible for violating their civil rights. A federal judge has since issued an order scheduling a jury trial, estimated to last four weeks, to begin Nov. 7.

The lawsuit contends that former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski sexually assaulted McIntyre’s mother and then framed her son when she rebuffed his later sexual advances. McIntyre is seeking more than $93 million in damages.

Lawyers for McIntyre argued that Golubski, a 35-year veteran of Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, was a corrupt cop who used his badge to terrorize many of the city’s Black residents, including the McIntyres. They contend the conviction of McIntyre was a setup orchestrated by Golubski to frame McIntyre and protect a drug organization the ex-cop was tied to, along with other misdeeds.

McIntyre is seeking $72 million for wrongful incarceration, from which his lawyers say he still suffers, along with $1.6 million in lost career opportunities and $20 million in punitive damages. Rose McIntyre, meanwhile, is seeking $30 million.

In total, they are seeking more than $120 million.

Defense attorneys for Golubski have argued that the arrest and investigative methods used to convict McIntyre met standards of the time. Further, they deny Golubski coerced witnesses or engaged in any criminal activity.

Golubski, 69, retired from the department in 2010 as a police captain.

In October of last year it was made public that federal prosecutors in Kansas had initiated a criminal grand jury investigation into Roger Golubski, accused of using his badge to exploit and rape vulnerable Black women

That news came after years of reporting by The Star on accusations against Golubski. That has included numerous columns by Melinda Henneberger, opinion editor and columnist for The Star. Henneberger has spoken with alleged victims of Golubski and their families, and reported on decades of misconduct, abuse and manipulation.

Separately, the newspaper engaged in a partnership of reporting with KCUR detailing the former detective’s connection to several slain Black women in Kansas City, Kansas.