State briefs 5/19/2016

Doctor misdiagnosed in fraudulent claims

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri doctor admitted in federal court he purposely misdiagnosed more than a dozen patients to get unwarranted payments on health-care claims. Dr. Randle E. Meyer, 60, of Jefferson City pleaded guilty in Kansas City to charges of making false statements related to health-care matters. Prosecutors said Meyers was a doctor and surgeon at Central Missouri Cardiology when he falsely diagnosed 14 patients he treated in 2010. Meyer admits he claimed the percentage of the patients' lesions and narrowing of blood vessels was at least 70 percent when, in fact, it was substantially less. Meyer used those misstatements to ensure the claims would be paid. He agreed to surrender his medical license and pay more than $76,000 in restitution.

Ex-coach admits to 1990s rape

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A former Springfield coach pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a teenager 25 years ago. Ronnie White, 68, admitted Tuesday in Greene County to one count of deviate sexual assault for abusing the female student from 1991 to 1993 while coaching at Parkview High School. The Springfield News-Leader reported two other counts were dismissed through the plea. Court documents stated White repeatedly apologized for his behavior in a recorded conversation last year with the victim. The documents stated another teacher told police he walked in on White abusing the girl, but White wasn't fired. A bond-recommendation document states White was the subject of sexual-harassment claims during his tenure. White faces up to seven years in prison. Sentencing is set for July 29.

Ex-teacher sentenced for youth-sex ad

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A retired Missouri teacher and former school-board member was ordered to spend 10 years in federal prison after placing an online ad for a couple who "would like to include their kids in sexual fun." Paul Robert Cannon, 71, of Sedalia was sentenced Tuesday for attempting to induce a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity. Prosecutors said he described himself as a grandpa and retired teacher in the advertisement he placed on Craigslist in January. A Boone County deputy responded to the ad, posing as the mother of a 14-year-old daughter. Cannon was arrested after going to a Columbia restaurant to meet with them. Cannon taught from 1976 to 1996. After retiring from the Gasconade County school district, he served one term on the school board.

Ferguson loses 2 more protest cases

CLAYTON, Mo. -- Ferguson prosecutors lost two more cases of people arrested during unrest that followed the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported a St. Louis County judge Tuesday found Michael Powers and Meghan Flannery not guilty of failure to comply. Three other protesters were acquitted last week. The private lawyers acting as prosecutors for Ferguson billed the city $11,251 for the five cases. One of those attorneys is Stephanie Karr, who also serves as Ferguson's city attorney. Powers is legislative director for St. Louis Aldermanic president Lewis Reed. Flannery is an employee at St. Louis Alderman Antonio French's North Campus education center. Both were arrested Aug. 14, 2014, while waiting for French to be released from jail after a protest.

13 Muslims sue over citizenship vetting

ST. LOUIS -- Thirteen Muslims are suing U.S. immigration officials, alleging in a federal case filed in St. Louis a secret "blacklist" was slowing their quest for citizenship. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the lawsuit names U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services and immigration officials as defendants. The suit alleges the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program has flagged the immigrants as "national security concerns," wrongly relying on such things as "innocuous activity and associations, innuendo, suppositions and characteristics such as national origin." The suit alleges the program holds Muslim citizenship applicants to a higher legal standard and illegally bars them from upgrading their immigration status. A USCIS spokesman said the agency "adjudicates all applications and petitions on a case-by-case basis according to existing laws, regulations, and USCIS policies."

-- From wire reports