TOPEKA — A St. Marys man will do two and a half years in a federal prison for stealing nearly $600,000 from his mother. Kent Gockel, 52, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of bank fraud in connection with the raids on his mother’s trust funds. His father, who owned a grocery store in St. Marys, had established two trusts to provide for his wife and children. When his father died in 2002, Kent Gockel took over the trust funds. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Gockel began looting the funds a few years ago, writing checks to himself and wiring money to accounts in Pennsylvania, Costa Rica and Antigua. Gockel’s mother learned about the thefts when the accounts were overdrawn, Grissom said.
Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1:30 p.m.
