EX-SHERIFF GUILTY IN DRUG SCHEME

A former Kansas sheriff was convicted Wednesday on federal charges of
selling cocaine that had turned up in a seized car after a sheriff's auction.

Curtis L. Bender, 37, of Lawrence, was convicted in U.S. District Court in
Wichita of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it,
attempting to distribute cocaine, possessing a firearm during a drug
trafficking crime and two counts of distributing cocaine.

Bender, the former Trego County sheriff, faces as much as 40 years in
prison on the most serious charge - attempting to distribute 1.92 pounds of
cocaine. Sentencing is scheduled Sept. 13.

The drugs had been hidden in a 1994 Dodge Intrepid that a couple bought at
a sheriff's auction. After the sale, the buyers found the cocaine and
turned it over to Bender.

Prosecutors said that rather than destroy the drug, Bender conspired in
March 2003 to distribute it in Trego and Ellis counties. Hays is in Ellis
County; Trego is the next county to the west.

Someone tipped off the Kansas Bureau of Investigation about Bender's
intentions and authorities had someone buy some of the drugs. Prosecutors
said Bender, who was carrying a gun, tried to distribute the cocaine to an
undercover officer on March 25, 2003.

Bender resigned less than two weeks later. He had been elected in 2000,
defeating Sheriff Jerry White, who had been accused of illegally using a
background check on a former deputy who was planning to challenge White for
the sheriff's position. In 2001, White accepted a diversion agreement that
will keep him out of law enforcement for 10 years.

Two other men who were charged in Bender's case pleaded guilty this month.

Steven C. Babcock, 29, of Logan, Kan., pleaded guilty May 3 to conspiracy
to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Frank H. Casto, 34, of
Quinter, Kan., pleaded guilty May 7 to conspiracy to possess cocaine with
the intent to distribute it, attempting to distribute more than 1.1 pounds
of cocaine and two counts of distributing cocaine. Babcock and Casto are
scheduled to be sentenced July 27.

To reach Richard Espinoza, Johnson County police reporter, call (816)
234-7714 or send e-mail to respinoza@kcstar.com.