KC Confidential

For starters, former Hereford House main man Rod Anderson‘s legal eagles blew it…

So says convicted KC businessman Craig Glazer of Stanford & Sons fame.

“I think what the public doesn’t understand is how incredibly unfair the criminal justice system is,” Glazer says. “It should not be punishment to take your case to trial, but it is, because they say, ‘Take these five years or we’re going to hammer you.’ ”

Speaking of which, Anderson reportedly turned down a pair of 5-year plea deals before dumping a fortune in legal bills and zeroing in on a 15 year sentence.

“Nothing against Rod, but from the evidence, it looks like he’s guilty,” Glazer says. “In my case I was innocent, but my lawyer warned me that I was risking my life – did I want to risk 10 years in Leavenworth even though I was innocent. You know, a lot of innocent people get convicted. He also warned me that my legal fees, if it went to trial, would be about $250,000.”

And that’s where Anderson’s lawyers failed him, Glazer says. Continue reading →

This just in from sources close to “the Morrison family”…

Boxer Tommy Morrison’s parents and family will reportedly hold a service for the former Kansas City pugilist and Rocky V star on October 12th in Sulfur Springs, Arkansas.

The $64 million question being, will Morrison’s fam be allotted any of his ashes for their more traditional sendoff.

Here’s the deal. Continue reading →

I‘ve got more coming your way on the Rod Anderson case but first…

Here are a few thoughts on the comprehensive reporting concerning the Hereford House owner’s sentencing in today’s Kansas City Star.

For starters, I fully understand the way reporters try to breath life into news stories. Still I think describing Anderson in the opening sentence of the story as the “man who fought to save a landmark restaurant” after he’s been convicted of torching that very landmark is beyond a stretch.

Anderson’s hiring thugs to burn the place down for the insurance money was hardly an effort to save a local landmark. It was an effort to save his financial bacon – landmark be damned – and come up with enough dough to build a new restaurant from the ground up. The landmark was the last thing Anderson was trying to save. Continue reading →

Let me begin by telling you that this was a very humbling experience…

Anyone who’s ever faced hard times – like Anderson’s Hereford House did – can maybe relate to the feeling of despair this otherwise model Kansas City citizen was experiencing and the temptation to opt for a seemingly easy out in the form of an insurance fire.

There’s no doubt arson was the wrong way to go, of course.

Yet despite continuing to proclaim his innocence, as Anderson has, it was clear at yesterday’s sentencing that both he and lawyer J.R. Hobbs were quite shamed and apologetic for what Anderson had done.

Yet five years after the fact, there we all sat in a courtroom packed with friends, family and former associates and civic leader Anderson braced for the worst. A 15 year sentence was awarded with restitution to be determined.

And there was Anderson, the always impeccably dressed, well coiffed businessman / restaurateur, beat down and forlorn in a faded orange jumpsuit with the word “Inmate” stenciled across the back. Adorned in chains that ran from his ankles to his wrists, then around his waist. Continue reading →

Rachel Ammons of Tyrannosaurus Chicken

Suppose they held an entertainment district and somebody forgot to open a country music club…

Unimaginable, right? Wrong.

It’s been years now since the Beaumont Club – and Guitars & Cadillacs before – graced the Westport nightlife scene. And hey, this is Kansas City. No matter hip hip and erudite we believe ourselves to be, for better and for worse, country music is king around these here parts.

When was the last time somebody held a rock concert at Arrowhead?

Excuse me, Camarohead.

Well, the guy who masterminded country at the Beaumont in the early 1990s – Wild Bill Nigro – is back in the saddle again at the nightclub formerly known as The Dark Horse Tavern.

The name of Nigro’s new game: The Westport Saloon. Continue reading →

Word that former Kansas City Star lightning rod Jason Whitlock had escaped the low-paying gravitational pull of Fox Sports raises a few questions…

Will his return to ESPN to blog and head up a site that aims to discover and develop young, African American sports bloggers – in essence, future Jason Whitlocks – bring JW the fat paycheck and fame he enjoyed here in the Cowtown?

“I’m going to guess Jason may be finally making over $100,000,” says Whitlock pal and sports / media observer Craig Glazer. “Because ESPN is such a monster now and they want Whitlock to be to be a scout now. And they think that five or ten years down the road online blogging will be a big deal. I don’t think it is right now – I think it’s just like you and Tony right now.” Continue reading →

Speaking of possible wild card teams from the heartland…

This year’s Kansas City Royals remain in the running for a wild card berth, the deck is stacked against them, says comedy impresario Craig Glazer.

“The problem with the Royals is there are just too many teams in front of them and you have to have losses by the teams ahead of you,” Glazer says. “There are like three our four teams ahead of them and they have to pick up losses by all of them to advance. But hey, they’re getting it done right now, they’re just running out of time.”

“Don’t get your hopes up too high just yet, but…

The Kansas City Chiefs team that beat Jacksonville yesterday was the first truly legit team the club has fielded in a decade, says sports scribe Craig Glazer.

“Well, you know if you looked at my picks, I picked Kansas City to beat Jacksonville so I wasn’t surprised,” Glazer says.  “But I was surprised by the quality of the game. This clearly – from every aspect of the game – was their best win in several years. Even with all the wins in the Western Division title season I don’t remember them playing this well on the road. They dominated, even though it was a bad team. If you look at the entire NFL schedule yesterday, Kansas City was the only team with a lopsided score like this.”

Next up? Continue reading →