Attorney for Porter fund invested money in own company

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The lawyer overseeing a memorial fund for two murdered Independence children invested part of the $30,000 in donations in a company he owns, a newspaper reported.

The Kansas City Star said in its Sunday editions that Independence lawyer Kent Desselle took almost $20,000 of the money collected to build a playground in the memory of Sam and Lindsey Porter and invested it in New Century Investments LLC.

The newspaper said he also wrote thousands of dollars in checks from the fund to his law firm and his sister. The Sam and Lindsey Support Center is based in his law office and he has sole authority to write checks on the fund.

Desselle, contacted by the newspaper, denied any wrongdoing: "The funds were not drawing interest in the bank, so we had to put them in an account that drew interest," he said.

But legal observers said it was inappropriate for a lawyer to enter a business transaction with a client without full disclosure and giving the client a chance to review the transaction's benefits with independent counsel.

"Anybody who is handling funds for someone else is required to avoid self-dealing," said Steven Lubet, a Northwestern University School of Law professor who focuses on judicial ethics. "That's an obligation of all fiduciaries."

In this case, the children's mother, Tina Porter, said didn't know that Desselle had invested most of the money in a company he owned and didn't get her permission.

Porter said she would immediately get the money returned to its account.

"This is not my money," she said. "This is the people's money. ... That money is going back to the bank where it belongs."

Sam and Lindsey Porter were 7 and 8 years old when their father, Dan Porter, picked them up for a weekend visit June 5, 2004, took them to a wooded area and killed them. He refused to tell authorities what he had done with the children, even suggesting they were still alive, until September, when he led FBI agents to the children's grave.

He pleaded guilty last month to two counts of murder and is serving life in prison without parole.

Desselle told The Star in December that he had invested the fund's money where it would gain interest until ready to purchase the playground equipment. But he didn't say where he had invested it. Documents with the Missouri secretary of state's office show New Century Investments deals with property development and investments.

He said he considered the investment of memorial funds as "low-risk" and described his company as "fairly successful."

Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at New York University School of Law, said he still needed to set the arrangement in writing and have the mother approve it in writing.

"Even then, the loan would not be ethical unless the terms -- interest rate, security, duration -- were fair and reasonable to the mother," Gillers said.

Charity watchdogs also criticized Desselle's decision as a conflict of interest.

"It's wrong for him to do that," said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy in Chicago. "He's violating his fiduciary responsibility to protect -- there are public assets, not private. And he's violating the donors' intentions."

Desselle owned the building where his law firm and the support center are housed but is behind on more than $48,000 in property tax payments for 2005-2007. Records show the Bank of Belton foreclosed on the property Dec. 20 because of default on a $351,000 loan.

He said Friday that his office and the support center would remain in the building because he has a lease option for the next three years.

Another decision generating claims of a potential conflict of interest is Desselle's recommendation to Tina Porter of his sister as a grief counselor, whose services were paid for out of the fund.

"You're supposed to refer your client to the best possible person, not to the person you know the best," said Lubet.

Desselle said his sister's services were legitimate.

"Part of the foundation's stated goal is to provide counseling for people," he said.

He estimated his sister was paid about $1,200 and the bills were submitted to the state's Crime Victims' Compensation Fund for reimbursement.

"They've advised us that they'll pay up to $2,500, and that will go back into the account," he said.

Desselle added that he's received about $2,500 in reimbursement for his services to the fund, which he said reflected only a small portion of the time he's donated to the center.

The Sam and Lindsey Support Center was established in February 2007. Besides the playground, its goals include providing financial assistance to families of missing loved ones and advocating legislation to protect endangered children.

Jackson County executive Mike Sanders set up the bank fund after the children's remains were found. He was county prosecutor when the children's father, Dan Porter, kidnapped them and wanted someplace for the influx of cards and donations to go.

Sanders said he was optimistic the playground would become a reality.

"My hope, along with literally hundreds of people in the community who rallied around Tina when the children were found, is that the $20,000 ultimately goes toward the construction of this playground," he said. "My hope is that this is a simple misunderstanding and quickly taken care of before this potentially gets more serious."