State denies missing official’s email allegations | Marion County Record

The state denies the allegations in the email from the missing official

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

The Kansas Department of Commerce strongly denies claims made by Jonathan Clayton in an email he created to be delivered after his death.

Clayton, a former department employee who went from hounds to acting Peabody clerk, tried to shift blame for alleged wrongdoing from himself to Commerce.

Clayton, a convicted financial offender, disappeared on August 3 amid a cloud of suspicion over his handling of COVID-related funds. His pickup truck was found wrecked in a field near Newton on Sunday with a body inside.

Identification of the body is pending an autopsy.

In response to Clayton’s email, Commerce issued a statement Thursday responding to specific allegations in Clayton’s email.

“While his death is unfortunate, the Commerce Department believes it is necessary to provide clarity on the allegations made publicly by former Commerce Department employee Jonathan Clayton,” spokesman Pat Lowry wrote in the department’s response. “Clayton’s allegations of wrongdoing by the Commerce Department related to the awarding of BASE grants, along with his claim that he was forced to serve on a volunteer theater board, are flatly false.”

Clayton wrote in the email that Commerce, under the leadership of Lt. Gov. David Toland, “conceived a scheme” to alter the results of the Building a Stronger Economy grant program so that Butler and Johnson counties were favored in the awarding of grants. .

He claimed the direction was part of an agreement between Toland, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.

Clayton claimed he was appointed by Toland to join the board of directors of the Iola Theater Association in hopes of obtaining grant funds to restore the Iola Theater in Toland’s hometown.

“This request was not given to me as an option, but as a request,” Clayton wrote. “In December 2022, I was requested by Toland to travel to Iola on a working day, using a state vehicle, to visit him personally regarding the board position and the state of the theater. During this visit, Toland said to me, “You are now on board.” I felt, because of the position I was reporting indirectly to him in the Trade department, that I was not given a choice in this way.

“During 2023, I was asked several times to pursue grant funding for the Iola Theater, which was in direct conflict with other non-profit entities in the state. I was encouraged to use my work connections and office time to secure funding and was ultimately successful in working with the council to secure a $300,000 grant from the Sunderland Foundation in September 2023.”

Clayton wrote that he was told to resign from Commerce on October 6.

“The allegations by the Department of Commerce that we did not provide sufficient documentation for two BASE Grant awards are unilaterally unfounded and I believe to be a form of retaliation. These allegations have increased since my October 2023 departure from the Commerce Department.”

Shortly before Clayton’s disappearance, Commerce began investigating BASE grants to the Mullinville Community Foundation and the Peabody Main Street Association.

Mullinville Community Foundation received $425,398 on July 15, 2022 to repair storm damage to recreational equipment.

Peabody Main Street received the first half of $1.50 on April 25, 2023, to restore historic downtown businesses.

Those investigations are ongoing.

Clayton pleaded guilty on December 13, 2016, in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania to forgery, theft and conspiracy to commit theft.

He was sentenced on March 13, 2018 to five years of probation.

He then moved to Kansas, but his probation was never supervised by the Department of Corrections.

Lowry said Commerce was unaware of Clayton’s record when he was hired on Feb. 23, 2020.

“Under current Kansas law, we are unable to conduct statewide criminal background checks for the position that Clayton held,” Lowry said. “Our screening process for potential employees included online searches, social media reviews and reference checks, which unfortunately failed to uncover his felony convictions. He would not have been employed by the Trade had we been aware of these beliefs.”

Lowry said an independent third-party contractor was conducting a full review of all COVID-related grants through the department.

“The store has also requested and is assisting local, state and federal agencies investigating Clayton’s volunteer work with community organizations in Kiowa and Marion counties that may be victims of fraud.”