The Cole County Commission today plans to discuss calls the commissioners have received from federal investigators regarding a controversial purchase of ambulances for the county.
On Monday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Federal Bureau of Investigation officials last week called Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher and Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle about the commission's decision to forgo buying ambulances from a company connected to Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Hoelscher and Scheperle confirmed to the News Tribune on Monday they had spoken with the FBI.
"They wanted to let us know that it was related to the ambulance purchases, but that they were not looking into anything about county government," Hoelscher said.
Scheperle added: "We and the county were not who they were looking at. They just wanted to give us a 'heads-up' that they were looking into the purchases."
Both men would not say if the officials they spoke with had talked to them about any specific individuals the bureau might be investigating.
On Monday, Bridget Patton, a spokeswoman at the Kansas City FBI Office, told the News Tribune, "We neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation."
On Monday, Bushman and Lt. Gov. Kehoe told the News Tribune they had not been interviewed by the FBI.
Since 2009, the county had been purchasing its ambulances from Osage Ambulances in Linn. The ownership group of the company includes John Kehoe, who is the brother of Lt. Gov. Kehoe.
In 2018 and 2019, Hoelscher and Scheperle voted to purchase new ambulances from Demers, a Canadian company with distributors in the United States. Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman abstained from the vote in 2018, but voted against the Demers purchase in 2019.
During the December 2018 vote, Cole County EMS Chief Matt Lindewirth told the commission two Demers ambulances would cost $381,300, while two Osage ambulances would cost $415,000.
At the December 2019 vote, Lindewirth told the commissioners three Demers ambulances would cost $577,110, while three Osage ambulances would cost $622,590.
In 2018 and 2019, the county got quotes for ambulance prices through cooperative pricing. Under government contract purchasing vehicle arrangements, local governments are able to buy products and contract with providers, such as Osage Ambulance and Demers, that have already been vetted by a federally-approved procurement sourcing agency.
Proponents of cooperative pricing said it can save the local government money in advertising for bids, as well as speed up the purchase.
In May, Lt. Gov. Kehoe told the Post-Dispatch he thought the county's purchasing process was unfair, saying Osage hasn't been given the opportunity to bid for the county's business since the December 2018 purchases.
"There are a lot of good people in the Cole County Courthouse and the citizens of Cole County deserve a government that is worthy of the people they represent," Kehoe said in a statement Monday to the News Tribune. "I have heard from many members of (the) community about concerns in the courthouse, and I am hopeful someone is trying to sort through those issues."
In May, the Post-Dispatch reported Kehoe is backing Hoelscher's and Scheperle's challengers in the Aug. 4 Republican primary election.
Republicans Rick Mihalevich, who is running against Hoelscher, and Harry Otto, who is running against Scheperle, confirmed to the News Tribune that the Kehoe family had contributed money to their campaigns.
"We never have talked or texted about such a matter (as the ambulance service)," Mihalevich told the News Tribune. "They have been long time friends, and they trust me."