Roger Golubski: Cop turned alleged criminal forces massive case review - USA TODAY

Back-to-back indictments of a erstwhile Kansas City bull and a reappraisal of tribunal records begs the question: What did the section know?

For erstwhile Detective Roger Golubski, cause dens were his idiosyncratic piggy bank, enactment workers his harem, and pinning crimes connected guiltless radical a mode to exert his powerfulness implicit the poorest Black neighborhoods successful Kansas City, Kansas, according to national prosecutors and accusations elaborate in hundreds of pages of lengthy tribunal records.

Golubski was arrested in September on six national civilian rights charges of sexually assaulting 2 victims portion acting nether colour of law. 

For decades arsenic a constabulary detective, prosecutors accidental Golubski preyed on mediocre Black women and girls successful the community, raping them and past threatening to termination oregon apprehension their household members if they told anyone, ever leaving them with the warning, “Keep your rima unopen oregon else,” the women said.

A 2nd indictment unsealed past week besides accuses him of protecting convulsive cause dealers who were enactment trafficking young women and girls, and of utilizing the victims for himself.

"Golubski chiefly chose young Black girls, ranging successful property from 13 to 17 years old, to taxable to enactment and to supply intersexual services to him," according to the indictment.

Golubski has pleaded not guilty. He was released from custody and enactment connected location confinement pending trial.

"Roger denies the allegations," his attorney, Christopher Joseph, said successful a statement. "He volition support some indictments astatine trial."

As the erstwhile detective awaits his time successful court, each lawsuit helium ever worked connected could soon beryllium nether scrutiny and the radical he's helped enactment down bars could get a accidental to wide their names.

'Justice is ever the close happening to do'

The county's apical authoritative has been warring to reappraisal each of Golubski's detective enactment since 2017, when a Kansas City antheral named Lamont McIntyre was freed aft serving 23 years successful prison for a 1994 treble execution helium didn't commit. 

The pb detective successful the lawsuit was Golubski. 

"That led maine to judge determination were utmost concerns with that detective and his enactment connected that case," Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree told USA TODAY. "It was wide that this man believed helium could bash immoderate helium wanted to do."

Making a lawsuit against erstwhile cop: Ex-Kansas constabulary detective allegedly helped tally underage sex-trafficking cognition for girls

In the aftermath of Golubski's back-to-back indictments, the county's committee of commissioners past week passed a solution to money the $1.7 cardinal it volition instrumentality to digitize much than 4,000 unorganized boxes that see constabulary investigations dating backmost to the 1950s.

Dupree hopes the files volition commencement being digitized connected Dec. 1 and instrumentality betwixt six months to a twelvemonth and a half. After that, reviewing idiosyncratic cases volition instrumentality overmuch much time.

"It's going to instrumentality years, there's nary uncertainty astir it," helium said. 

Although galore of the radical convicted stemming from investigations involving Golubski whitethorn beryllium retired of situation oregon deceased by now, it's vitally important to close immoderate imaginable wrongful convictions, Dupree said.

"Justice is ever the close happening to do," helium said. "If a strategy does not bash what is close and what is just, we request (victims) to travel guardant truthful we tin not lone wide their names, but truthful that we tin close the strategy truthful that it cannot victimize anyone other successful the future."

'Everyone knew however almighty Golubski was'

Golubski's back-to-back indictments prompted USA TODAY to behaviour a reappraisal of dozens of tribunal records filed successful McIntyre's case. The tribunal records overgarment a representation of corruption astatine its deepest, with 1 subordinate of the assemblage describing the erstwhile detective arsenic "a dirty, crooked cop.”

An apprehension that brought small relief: Claims a Kansas City bull was raping women swirled for decades.

"Everyone knew however almighty Golubski was," said Kendra Dean-Martin, a relative of McIntyre's who was progressive successful pack enactment arsenic a teen but has since turned her beingness around.

"(Golubski) protected the cause dealers but was ne'er investigated for his amerciable activities," Dean-Martin said successful a 2015 affidavit. "Basically, Golubski was a subordinate of the transgression assemblage and he besides had the powerfulness of his badge. We each knew helium could bash thing to anyone and radical often said helium would ‘put a case’ connected those helium wanted to target."

Lamonte McIntyre says that's conscionable what Golubski did to him. 

In a suit filed a twelvemonth aft helium was freed from prison, McIntyre sued Golubski, accusing the detective of framing him for a treble murder when helium was conscionable 17 years old. McIntyre's mother, Rosie McIntyre, said Golubski targeted her lad due to the fact that she refused to hold to a semipermanent intersexual statement with the detective aft helium raped her.

A authorities bureau settled the suit earlier this year, agreeing to wage the McIntyres $12.5 million.

In affidavits and depositions taken nether punishment of perjury, astatine slightest fractional a twelve radical said everyone successful the vicinity knew that McIntyre didn't perpetrate the 1994 treble execution of 22-year-old Doniel Quinn and 34-year-old Donald Ewing. Rather, the men were killed by the teenage henchman of a notorious area drug trader named Aaron Robinson who is present dead, according to the assemblage members.

"The feline who got convicted for these murders had thing to bash with it," Cecil Brooks, an admitted cause trader who besides worked for Robinson, said successful a 2016 affidavit. "None of america had ever heard of him."

It was wide known successful the assemblage that Golubski was protecting Robinson and Brooks due to the fact that they were paying him disconnected "to enactment retired of jailhouse and transgression trouble," Dean-Martin said. 

"During this time these large dealers engaged successful kidnappings, beatings and different convulsive acts," Dean-Martin said. "They knew they could bash this due to the fact that they had Golubski connected their team. The cognition was that they could bash anything."

Another assemblage subordinate named Shonda Nichols said successful a 2014 affidavit that "Golubski’s badge gave him leverage implicit radical to get what helium wanted."

"Detective Golubski openly cruised done the neighborhoods wherever transgression was occurring, shaking down cause dealers and picking up pistillate prostitutes for his ain enjoyment," she said. "He was known arsenic a corrupt serviceman ... He was simply portion of the transgression assemblage wherever drugs and enactment were sold."

Golubski retired from the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department successful 2010, collecting a afloat pension, and past worked for different adjacent constabulary bureau until 2016. 

What did the section know?

Community members and section constabulary watchdog groups accidental that Golubski's abuses were so unfastened and truthful egregious, there's nary mode his superiors didn't cognize astir them.

One retired homicide detective, Timothy Maskil, said successful a September 2015 deposition that Golubski wasn't adjacent moving successful homicide astatine the clip of the treble execution that McIntyre was convicted of, but someway got to beryllium the pb investigator. 

Maskil said helium recovered that Golubski ne'er adjacent applied for a hunt warrant for McIntyre's home, modular successful immoderate homicide investigation, and that helium improperly included 3 McIntyre household members successful a five-person lineup for witnesses. 

At slightest immoderate corruption was known to his superiors, Maskil said.

"Throughout the constabulary section Roger Golubski was known for having enactment with Black, drug-addicted prostitutes," helium said, adding that Golubski besides utilized the women arsenic informants. "I judge the full section knew astir this ... I judge that Roger Golubski utilized his colour of authorization implicit these prostitutes/informants to get intersexual relations."

Maskil went connected to accidental that helium knew the department's medication talked to Golubski astir his engagement with enactment workers successful the assemblage respective times but that they "turned a unsighted oculus to Golubski’s activities due to the fact that the accusation … seemed to get results, successful presumption of getting cases ‘cleared.’"

At slightest 1 pistillate complained astir Golubski to the department's interior affairs part successful 2004 and was told "there was thing they could bash due to the fact that it was her connection against" the detective's, prosecutors say. 

Golubski's chap officers – including 1 of his erstwhile partners – person said they knew thing astir immoderate abuses that whitethorn person happened.

"There was thing that ever indicated that Roger was doing thing shady, crooked oregon amerciable erstwhile I worked with him," said Terry Zeigler, who was Golubski's spouse for about 3 years, worked successful the department's interior affairs portion for a decennary and went connected to go the main of constabulary betwixt 2015 and 2019. 

When they were partners, Zeigler said helium would bash transgression country diagrams and Golubski would interrogation witnesses.

"My acquisition with seeing him interact with radical successful the streets was radical would question him out, telephone him out, outcry his sanction retired and speech to him," said Zeigler, present a backstage investigator. "I ne'er heard immoderate rumors, I ne'er received immoderate complaints successful my clip dealing with interior affairs connected Roger doing immoderate of the things that he's been alleged to person done."

Lauren Bonds, enforcement manager of the National Police Accountability Project, isn't buying it.

"In these situations erstwhile there's a atrocious histrion successful a constabulary department, erstwhile you get a accidental to truly look astatine it, there's rather the insubstantial trail, and much than 1 idiosyncratic successful the section has seen it," she said. 

In a connection to USA TODAY, the city's existent constabulary main did not code what the section knew and when, but said that "Roger Golubski does not correspond the culture, imaginativeness oregon ngo of the existent Kansas City, Kansas Police Department."

"Roger Golubski has been charged with deplorable crimes," Chief Karl Oakman said. "Although the crimes day backmost 20 to 25 years ago, helium did deterioration the azygous and caused symptom to members of the assemblage and shame to the badge. Based connected these charges Golubski’s tenure successful instrumentality enforcement was a moral, ethical and ineligible failure. KCKPD volition proceed to assistance the FBI successful their transgression probe of Golubski’s past behavior.”

Moving forward

District lawyer Dupree said he's lone been capable to commencement digging into Golubski's cases since Oakman became main successful 2021 and that practice with the bureau earlier that was "minimal." 

"Under Chief Oakman, they began to unfastened that connection and beryllium highly cooperative with sharing the accusation and files concerning Roger for the past 35 years that yet led to his indictment," Dupree said. "I deliberation that it's important that the assemblage cognize that determination has so been a alteration of leadership, a alteration of administration, and a alteration of those who power the aged defender to support the presumption quo, versus those who are pursuing justness astatine each costs."

Looking into Golubski's aged cases for improper convictions is simply a bully mode to commencement to physique the community's spot successful instrumentality enforcement again, Bonds said, but added that it's going to instrumentality a precise agelong time.

"I mean, these are the kinds of things that truly undermine spot for generations," she said. 

In his statement, Oakman said that his section "has made large strides to summation transparency and amended its narration with the community."

He cited a assemblage liaison, acold lawsuit unit, a monthly reappraisal of detectives designed to summation accountability, much extended training, and an summation successful programs that promote assemblage enactment with the department, among different initiatives.

Dupree said that his office's reappraisal of the department's past cases besides could uncover different improper arrests oregon behaviour by different officers.

"We volition beryllium capable to hunt them out," helium said, urging immoderate assemblage members who consciousness they were mistreated to travel forward.

"Without the assemblage coming forward, to springiness america the accusation to say, 'Hey, I was a unfortunate of this fella, I was determination erstwhile this happened. I saw definite things happen,'" helium said. "Whether it is with Golubski oregon otherwise, whoever it was backmost successful those days, we request them to travel and talk to america to marque definite that we are informed and that we are investigating the close cases, the close files and rather frankly the close name.

"If radical are not consenting to travel forward, past justness oftentimes volition proceed to spell without having done what it was meant to do, which is bring closure to to the close folks."