KBI identifies deceased man found in truck as interim Peabody clerk
TOPEKA (KSNT) - State and local agencies confirm an interim city clerk, accused of mishandling taxpayer money is dead.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Harvey County Sheriff's Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) has positively identified the man found inside the truck near U.S. Highway 50 and Interstate 135 on Aug. 26 as Jonathan Clayton, 42 of Peabody, the KBI announced in a news release Thursday evening.
An autopsy was conducted, but the final autopsy report is pending. Currently, investigators have not found evidence of foul play. The investigation is ongoing.
Statement excerpt from the KBI
This identification comes the same day the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC) responded to allegations made by Clayton.
"Clayton’s allegations of wrongdoing by the Department of Commerce related to the awarding of BASE grants, along with his allegation that he was forced to serve on a volunteer theatre board, are categorically false."
The Department of Commerce was not aware of Jonathan Clayton’s felony convictions in Pennsylvania when Clayton was hired in 2020. Under existing Kansas law, we are unable to perform national level criminal background checks for the position that Clayton held. Our process for vetting prospective employees included online searches, social media reviews and reference checks, which unfortunately failed to uncover his felony convictions. He would not have been hired by Commerce had we been aware of these convictions."
KDC statement on Clayton's death
While no evidence of impropriety at the KDC exists, according to the KDC, an independent third-party organization is conducting a review of all ARPA grants. The department is also requesting help from local, state and federal agencies investigating Clayton's volunteer work with community-based organizations that may be the victims of fraud. These include organizations in Kiowa and Marion Counties.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly's office released a statement around 4:30 p.m. Aug. 29.
“The governor’s comments regarding Jonathan Clayton’s employment at the Kansas Department of Commerce were specifically referencing an independent review the Department of Commerce has requested to investigate any ARPA grants that Jonathan Clayton was involved in. Lieutenant Governor David Toland initiated this additional step several weeks ago as an extra precaution.
Lieutenant Governor Toland has conducted himself at the highest ethical standards throughout his entire career and has brought important reforms to the Kansas Department of Commerce, including the creation of the incentive transparency database, strong incentive clawback policies, and strict reporting requirements for all programs. He has worked to bring more, not less, accountability to the agency.
Clearly, Jonathan Clayton was able to avoid the discovery of his criminal convictions. His financial crimes coming to light, and questions about his involvement with local organizations that received ARPA grants, appear to have set off the chain of events that have occurred over the last several weeks.
The governor and lieutenant governor will be pursuing changes to the background check statutes this upcoming legislative session. In the meantime, they will be working to sort out issues with those impacted at the local level and will provide whatever support they can to those communities.”
Will Lawrence, Office of the Governor chief of staff
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