Kansas City-area official facing criminal charges resigns as questions swirl in village

An elected official in a Jackson County village who faces felony charges for filing false voter documents has resigned from his position as questions swirl around the little-known municipality near Kansas City.

James Hoppe, an elected board member in River Bend, a small village east of Kansas City, resigned in a letter obtained by The Star. The letter, submitted by his attorney to the village clerk on March 12, came more than two months after Hoppe surrendered to authorities in January.

Another letter submitted last week shows that Hoppe and his wife, Jessica Caswell, a former elected board member, also resigned from all committees and commissions with the village. Caswell, who up until her resignation was still a member of the village’s zoning commission, faces identical charges to her husband and was arrested on Dec. 29.

Lance Sandage, the attorney for Hoppe and Caswell, confirmed the resignations in a phone interview. He cited their bond conditions which require them to have no interaction with the village government.

The controversies surrounding River Bend come just days before Hoppe and Caswell will once again appear on the ballot in the village’s general election on Tuesday. Sandage said they will immediately resign if elected.

Hoppe and Caswell, in Jackson County grand jury indictments handed down on Dec. 15, each face two felony charges of willfully providing false voter documentation and filing false documents. The indictments allege that the couple knowingly signed documents stating that they met the statutory qualifications of candidates for elected office even though they did not meet the residency requirement.

The arrests and resignations came after The Star in October revealed a series of connections between River Bend’s Board of Trustees, which operates similar to a city council, and Jack Mitchell, an influential marijuana businessman and developer of a proposed marijuana-based entertainment district.

The little-known village had for years been a hotspot for industrial businesses. But after Mitchell began plans for a massive $189.5 million redevelopment project, village business owners voiced concerns about the board’s ties to Mitchell and questioned whether some of the members had lived there long enough to be elected officials.

Village stakeholders and business owners have collectively painted a picture of a municipality besieged by accusations of collusion and shady behavior. The Star also revealed a series of oddities such as a government website that featured a photo of a lodge more than 1,000 miles away in Montana and a contact email that didn’t work.

Mitchell later withdrew his redevelopment plan for the village. The property has at times been used as festival grounds, hosting marijuana-friendly events that have featured boxing giant Mike Tyson, wrestler Ric Flair and rapper Wiz Khalifa.

Amy Howse, the village clerk who is also Mitchell’s daughter, did not return a call for comment on Thursday. Mitchell also did not return a call and a phone call to River Bend’s main number was not returned.

The indictments available online redact the village’s name, but allege that Hoppe and Caswell were not residents for at least a year before running to be on the board. Missouri law requires that trustee members be inhabitants of a village for at least one year before they are elected, an issue The Star previously highlighted.

In the months since the arrests, village stakeholders have grown increasingly furious with the dearth of information shared by the village government. The board has canceled two of its previous three meetings this year due to a lack of quorum or agenda items.

Dan Zima, a village stakeholder, said in a phone interview that River Bend is charging excessive costs for public records requests, including one in which he paid $300 for documents.

“Every barrier they can think of to put up, they have done,” said Zima, the director of staff for Illicit Gardens, a marijuana cultivator that is looking to expand its operations in River Bend. “It’s exhausting…I think what they’re doing is they’re just trying to get to Tuesday without giving us any documents.”

Brandon Decker, who owns a trucking business in River Bend, shared photos with The Star that show the festival grounds are now being used to store pickup trucks. He sent an email to Howse, the village clerk, last month demanding the trucks be removed, saying that they encroach on government property.

“The saga just continues…even being indicted, you know, they still just — Amy won’t give out any information, you know, they want to charge fees for everything,” he said. “It’s just corrupt.”