U.S. attorney to reopen inquiry into '88 blast that killed 6 firefighters

By MIKE McGRAW The Kansas City Star July 1, 2008

In a highly unusual move, the U.S. attorney in Kansas City is asking the Justice Department to review “new assertions” in the firefighters’ explosion case.

Today’s announcement followed a story Sunday in The Kansas City Star in which numerous witnesses said that a federal investigator in the case pressured them to lie.

“Sunday’s Kansas City Star article indicates that some individuals have called into question their own prior statements regarding an arson case that my office tried in the 1990s,” said U.S. Attorney John F. Wood in a statement issued this morning.

“This case was handled by experienced and highly professional agents and prosecutors. We have every confidence in their work, which was reviewed on appeal and in subsequent collateral litigation. But our paramount goal is to ensure that justice is served in every case. We should ensure that all evidence is carefully considered. In order to ensure that these new assertions are reviewed and considered in a thorough and unbiased manner, on Monday morning I requested that the Department of Justice designate an attorney outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office to review the assertions. We will fully cooperate with this review in order to assure that justice is served.”

On Nov. 29, 1988, the six firefighters died in a massive explosion ignited by arson fires at a construction site in south Kansas City. Killed in the blast were Thomas Fry, Gerald Halloran, Luther Hurd, James Kilventon Jr., Robert McKarnin and Michael Oldham.

The explosions touched off one of the most far-reaching criminal investigations in Kansas City history. Finally, in 1997, five small-time hoods from the nearby Marlborough neighborhood were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. All their appeals have been rejected.

The defendants, Frank Sheppard, Earl “Skip” Sheppard, Bryan Sheppard, Darlene Edwards and Richard Brown, have always maintained their innocence. All refused to testify against any of the others in return for shorter sentences.

But a Star investigation found up to 15 witnesses, many speaking publicly for the first time, said that a federal investigator pressured them to lie.

Five who testified in the case admitted they lied to the federal grand jury that indicted the defendants or later at their trial. The other witnesses said they refused to change their stories.

Witnesses told The Star that excessive pressure often came from Dave True, now a retired agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which helped investigate the case.

True has denied that he coerced or intimidated witnesses and has said, “There’s no question in my mind that the right people are in jail.”

An ATF spokesman has said that he didn’t believe True would use such tactics. The spokesman today referred questions about the latest action in the case to the U.S. Attorney’s office here.

The federal prosecutor in the firefighter’s case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Becker, also has insisted that none of his investigators used improper tactics.

In addition, The Star reported Sunday that a new witness said that one of the security guards at the construction site the night of the explosions acknowledged her involvement in the crime 20 years ago.

That witness, Antonia Garcia, brings to at least four the number of people who now say Debbie Riggs or her roommate and fellow guard, Donna Costanza, implicated themselves.

Garcia and the other witnesses said the arson fires set that night were described by Costanza and Riggs as an attempt by Riggs to get rid of her pickup truck and collect on the insurance. Riggs, who was once a suspect in the firefighter’s case, has admitted to insurance fraud in the past.

Costanza has denied she ever made those statements. Riggs has maintained her innocence to investigators over the years, but has not responded to phone calls and letters seeking comment.