mckeough, jennifer | testimony transcript 11-19-13

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Testimony given to Thomas Loraine.

TRANSCRIPT

  • Transcript of the Testimony of Jennifer McKeough

    Date: November 19, 2013Volume: I

    Case: In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    Printed On: December 1, 2013

    Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.Phone: 417-358-4078

    Fax: 417-451-1114Email:[email protected]

    Internet:

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

    Page 1

    IN RE: JOPLIN CRITICAL INVESTIGATION

    TELEPHONE SWORN STATEMENT OF

    JENNIFER McKEOUGH

    Taken on Tuesday, November 19, 2013, from 2:29 p.m. to 2:37

    p.m., at the law offices of Juddson H. McPherson, LLC, 626

    S. Byers, in the City of Joplin, County of Jasper, State of

    Missouri, before

    SHARON K. ROGERS, C.C.R.650,

    a Certified Court Reporter and a Notary Public within and

    for the County of Jasper, and State of Missouri.

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

    Page 2

    APPEARANCES

    MR. THOMAS E. LORAINE

    Loraine & Associates, LLC

    4075 Osage Beach Pkwy., Suite 300

    Osage Beach, MO 65065

    [email protected]

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

    Page 3

    S T I P U L A T I O N

    IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED that this Sworn

    Statement may be taken by steno-mask type recording by

    SHARON K. ROGERS, a Certified Court Reporter, and

    afterwards reduced into typewriting.

    It is further stipulated that the signature of the

    witness is hereby waived, and that said Sworn Statement of

    said witness shall be of the same force and effect as

    though said witness had read and signed Sworn Statement.

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

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    I N D E X

    Page/Line

    DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LORAINE . . . 5-2

    E X H I B I T S

    (sic) - typed as spoken

    (ph.) - phonetic

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

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    1 JENNIFER McKEOUGH

    2 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LORAINE:

    3 Q. Is it Jennifer McKeough.

    4 A. Yes, it is.

    5 Q. And I'm talking to you on a cell phone

    6 number, ma'am?

    7 A. Yes.

    8 Q. And what is your cell phone number?

    9 A. 417-434-2944.

    10 Q. Okay. And would you tell me what, if

    11 anything - I've told you I have three topics,

    12 one Alderman Woolston, two Alderman Scearce,

    13 and three anything that's going on or I

    14 should know about in the City operation or

    15 management. Can you tell me what you have to

    16 tell me?

    17 A. In regards to the first question with Mike

    18 Woolston.

    19 Q. All right.

    20 A. Dr. Rosenberg had called me a couple of weeks

    21 ago, asked for my permission to give my name

    22 to whoever was doing the investigation on Mr.

    23 Woolston. The only information that I have

    24 to give in regards to that is I live in a

    25 neighborhood that was destroyed by the

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

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    1 tornado and we built back. And based on a

    2 couple of different questions and neighbors

    3 we had started a neighborhood association, a

    4 neighborhood association, not a homebuyer's

    5 association, just something so we have some 6 sort of understanding among our neighbors to

    7 have a unified voice. And our first meeting

    8 that we had we invited a couple of the City

    9 Councilmen because we live on 20th Street

    10 where there was going to be several

    11 developments and we invited them, Dr.

    12 Rosenberg and Mike Woolston to join us. 13 During this meeting at least two of our

    14 neighbors had been approached by Mr. Woolston

    15 in regards to selling of their home, they

    16 live closer to 20th Street, and they were

    17 very irate and they voiced their opinions

    18 about Mr. Woolston to Mr. Woolston. It's not

    19 the first time Mr. Woolston had talked about

    20 real estate sales.

    21 Q. So he had talked about real estate sales to

    22 these folks before the aldermen talked to

    23 your group?

    24 A. Yes.

    25 Q. And what were their names, the folks?

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

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    1 A. One of them was McKenzie Robinson.

    2 Q. Okay, do you know how I could get hold of

    3 McKenzie?

    4 A. I would just have to look that up, and if you 5 don't mind I could get your phone number and

    6 call you back or I could email you the two

    7 family's names.

    8 Q. Okay. That would be fine. Why don't you

    9 call me back. Let's see, what's this number

    10 here? I tell you what, I'll give you your

    11 cell number.

    12 BY COURT REPORTER: Yes, it's

    13 437-3983.

    14 Q. (By Mr. Loraine) 437-3983. Okay.

    15 A. Okay.

    16 Q. And if you will get back with that. In any

    17 case these two people were irate about the

    18 fact that a Councilman was also dealing in

    19 buying and selling of real estate?

    20 A. Yes.

    21 Q. And what else can you tell me about that

    22 meeting?

    23 A. That was about it.

    24 Q. Did Mr. Woolston acknowledge the fact that he

    25 had made these prior contacts?

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

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    1 A. Yes, he did, and he made the same statement

    2 at the neighborhood meeting as what he has

    3 made to the City Council what I have read in

    4 the local newspaper.

    5 Q. What was that?

    6 A. That anything that he thinks is a conflict of

    7 interest that he takes himself away from

    8 anything that may be a conflict of interest.

    9 Q. He certainly didn't in that case, did he?

    10 A. I don't know anymore of the details as far as

    11 I don't know what he knew, what was told to

    12 our neighbors, how he solicited. I don't

    13 know any of the other details about it, I

    14 just said at the meeting where Mr. Woolston 15 was present - the meeting was not in regards

    16 to - that was not the format of what he's

    17 concerned about, and I made it clear at the

    18 meeting that we had marked out an hour's

    19 worth of time for everybody and it was an

    20 hour and 15 minutes, it was more of that

    21 topic, and if they wanted to talk directly to

    22 (inaudible) they could do that prior to this

    23 meeting.

    24 Q. Okay. In any case two of your participants

    25 were irate about Mr. Woolston's previous

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

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    1 contacts and solicitations?

    2 A. Yes.

    3 Q. All right. Anything else that you can advise

    4 me of on these topics?

    5 A. On Mr. Woolston that is the only thing that I

    6 have.

    7 Q. Okay.

    8 A. It was just in the scope of that neighborhood 9 meeting, and I told Dr. Rosenberg that would

    10 be the only information I had and that I

    11 could probably pass on the two neighbor's

    12 names.

    13 Q. All right. What was the name of your

    14 neighborhood association?

    15 A. Parr Hill Estates.

    16 Q. Say that again for me.

    17 A. It's Parr Hill Estates.

    18 Q. Parr Hill, okay. And did you incorporate

    19 that entity or was it just a nonincorporated 20 association?

    21 A. Just a nonincorporated association, basically

    22 like a club agreement.

    23 Q. All right. And did you actually rebuild your

    24 home?

    25 A. Yes, I did.

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

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    1 Q. And nobody has solicited you for sale of that

    2 home?

    3 A. They sure haven't.

    4 Q. Okay. Is your neighborhood rebuilt

    5 generally?

    6 A. Yes.

    7 Q. So most of them are homes around you?

    8 A. Yes, they are.

    9 Q. All right. And these two people that were

    10 solicited, are they in an area that is still

    11 vacant?

    12 A. No, the area is Connecticut Street - 17th and

    13 18th between Connecticut Street and Delaware

    14 Street. There's just basically two blocks. 15 And Murphy Boulevard, there's some homes over

    16 there.

    17 Q. And these two people are over in that area?

    18 A. Yes, they are.

    19 Q. All right. Well, thank you very much, and if

    20 you wouldn't mind you can text us back with

    21 those names and numbers, that would be very

    22 helpful.

    23 A. Okay. I will do that. And what was your

    24 name again, sir?

    25 Q. My name is Tom Loraine, L-O-R-A-I-N-E. I'm

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

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    1 the Special Investigator that's been hired by

    2 the City Council to look into these matters.

    3 A. Okay.

    4 Q. Okay?

    5 A. That sounds good. I did tell Dr. Rosenberg,

    6 and if you don't mind I will probably contact

    7 these two people --

    8 Q. Sure.

    9 A. -- and ask for the information before I give

    10 their names out.

    11 Q. Absolutely. Tell them it's vital I get

    12 information like this if I can, you know.

    13 A. Okay. I will send it over to you.

    14 BY COURT REPORTER: Spell her last

    15 name.

    16 Q. (By Mr. Loraine) Could you spell your last

    17 name for me?

    18 A. It's M-C-K-E-O-U-G-H.

    19 Q. I really missed that one.

    20 A. Okay.

    21 Q. M-C-K-E-O-U-G-H.

    22 A. Yes, K-E-O-U-G-H.

    23 Q. Okay. Mrs. McKeough, I appreciate it very

    24 much your contacting me with this

    25 information, and if you can I'd appreciate

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

    Page 12

    1 the follow-up on it. Thank you very much.

    2 A. Thank you, Tom.

    3 Q. Okay. Bye-bye.

    4 A. Bye.

    5

    6 (SWORN STATEMENT CONCLUDED)

    7

    8

  • Jennifer McKeough In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

    417-358-4078Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

    Page 13

    REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE

    STATE OF MISSOURI

    ss.

    COUNTY OF JASPER

    I, SHARON K. ROGERS, Certified Court Reporter in the

    State of Missouri, do certify that pursuant to the

    foregoing Stipulation the witness came before me on the

    19th day of November, 2013, was duly sworn by me, and was

    examined. That examination was then taken by me by

    steno-mask recording and afterwards transcribed; said Sworn

    Statement is subscribed by the witness as hereinbefore set

    out on the day in that behalf aforesaid and is herewith

    returned.

    I further certify that I am not counsel, attorney, or

    relative of either party, or clerk, or stenographer of

    either party or of the attorney of either party, or

    otherwise interested in the event of this suit.

    _________________________

    SHARON K. ROGERS, CCR-650