An Overland Park developer who stands to collect more than $100 million in tax incentives has been previously barred from doing business in Missouri.
Michael Schlup is the developer for the Corbin Park retail complex.
Court records show Schlup spent time in federal prison in the 1990's.
And in 2007, Schlup was sentenced on 14 felony tax evasion counts after paying undocumented workers cash on a Lake of the Ozarks condominium project.
Plaza Gardens
Schlup's Corbin Park features stores like Scheel's and Von Maur.
As the 41 Action News Investigators first reported in October, Schlup stands to gain more than $100 million in tax incentives over the next 20 plus years.
That money comes from a special sales tax you pay if you shop at Corbin Park.
"From our perspective, it's been a tremendous success," said Overland Park City Councilman Terry Goodman. "I guess the best thing I could say about it is if we had to do it over again, we'd do it over again," he said.
Corbin Park caught the attention of the 41 Action News Investigators after a recent tragedy involving a law enforcement officer.
As the 41 Action News Investigators first reported in September, former Schlup employee Adrian Espinosa-Flores is accused of driving drunk and killing Johnson County Master Deputy Brandon Collins.
Federal authorities confirm they can't find documents to show Espinosa-Flores is in the country legally.
Missouri court records show Schlup has a history of hiring undocumented workers.
In 2005, one undocumented worker was killed and another one was seriously injured at Schlup's Lake of the Ozarks condo complex called Plaza Gardens.
Plaza Gardens
An investigation by Missouri's attorney general found as many as 30 undocumented workers at the site at any one time.
Court records show Schlup paid those workers cash to avoid paying Missouri taxes.
Current Governor Jay Nixon, then the state's attorney general said, "These practices take advantage of vulnerable workers and place their safety at risk, they depress pay for hard working Missourians and they are unfair to the businesses that follow the laws of the state."
Schlup agreed to an Alford plea in the case which means he admitted there was enough evidence to convict him, but he didn't acknowledge guilt.
A judge ordered Schlup to pay nearly $1 million in fines, penalties and back taxes.
As part of that deal in the case, Schlup was also barred from conducting future business in Missouri.
But he can still do business a few miles west in Kansas where he's already collected more than $800,000 in sales tax reimbursements after one year of the Corbin Park deal.
"We were well aware of his background," said Councilman Goodman.
When asked if he was troubled by that background, Goodman said, "It was a matter of concern."
Goodman raised that concern at a 2012 committee meeting.
But he says after Schlup purchased Corbin Park out of bankruptcy, the city council was faced with two choices.
They were to either deny Schlup and wait for someone else to develop Corbin Park or move forward.
"We made the choice to allow the project to move ahead," Goodman said.
The felony tax evasion case against Schlup is not his only past legal trouble.
The quality of his work on that Lake of the Ozarks condo project was also called into question in 2009 when the Mid County Fire Protection District condemned the Plaza Gardens lakeside decks and balconies.
Schlup settled a lawsuit in 2013 with the condo association after all the residents had to move out.
Those condos just recently went back on the market after an Iowa developer invested $5 million to repair and upgrade the complex.
Additionally in 1993, federal court records show Schlup pled guilty to eight violations for conspiracy to commit loan application fraud.
He spent 21 months in federal prison.
With federal authorities now investigating Espinosa-Flores, the 41 Action News Investigators asked Goodman what might happen if federal authorities find Schlup hired illegal immigrants to build Corbin Park like the Lake of the Ozarks project.
"I'm sure the city would take appropriate action, but until federal authorities resolve the issue, I really can't comment," he said.
Scheel's President Bill Nelson tells the 41 Action News Investigators he was unaware of Schlup's past legal troubles and declined further comment.
Schlup is also the developer for a suburban Denver Scheel's.
In late November, the Overland Park City Council unanimously voted down a new proposal by Schlup to use the special taxing district money to create a bond to build a new hotel at Corbin Park.
Schlup declined multiple offers for comment on this story.
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Andy Alcock can be reached at anderson.alcock@kshb.com.
