DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — A former insurance agent and annuity salesman from Clive will spend 19 years behind bars for stealing millions from older Iowans. KCCI reports 48-yer-old Zachary Flaherty was charged with 17 counts of mail and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and two counts of money laundering over $10,000. He was charged in April 2023.

In late November, he pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud. On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Flaherty to 222 months for wire fraud and an additional six months for contempt, for a total of 228 months, or 19 years. Flaherty was also ordered to pay $2.4 in victim restitution.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Flaherty used his position as an insurance agent and annuity salesman to defraud about a dozen older clients in Iowa and Nebraska out of their retirement savings and other monies. Officials say the victims lost more than $900,000. Prosecutors say the victims also wrote more than $1 million worth of checks that Flaherty deposited to himself, and Flaherty defrauded insurance companies over $650,000.

CARTER LAKE, Iowa [KETV) – Disputes in Carter Lake were once again on full display on Wednesday night. KETV-TV in Omaha reports the lone item on the agenda for the special meeting that was more than an hour long was the investigation into City Councilmember Jackie Wahl. Three of the five council members voted to discuss the matter behind closed doors, but that would have required four votes in support.

Councilmembers voted not to publicly release the report. Council members and the city attorney shared some key points, however. The investigator hired by the city said Carter Lake has an opportunity to turn a corner. She wrote that while Wahl acted inappropriately, so did others. Wahl faced accusations from four city employees.

The investigator recommended a reprimand of Wahl, which the other four council members did. She also recommended re-adopting a 90-day plan from 2022 for all council members intended to restore “order and productivity.” That plan does not allow council members to speak publicly against council decisions that have already been made. The investigator also recommended that Carter Lake create the role of city administrator and hire someone from outside the town.

In a lengthy statement provided before the meeting, Wahl said the report was a waste of taxpayer dollars. She said she will not be a “scapegoat” for city-wide issues and she will not resign.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report a Nebraska man was arrested Tuesday afternoon following a traffic stop in the area of 260th St. and Dobney Avenue. 28-year-old Jose Montes-Regro, of Bellevue, NE., faces charges that include:

• 4 counts of Abandonment/Neglect of a Dependent Person
• OWI/1st offense
• Possession of a Controlled Substance & Drug Paraphernalia
• Public Intoxication
• Failure to show proof of automobile insurance
• Permitting an unauthorized person to drive
• Failure to use a seat belt, and,
• Failure to Maintain Control

Montes-Regro’s bond was set at $10,000.  The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports also, 32-year-old Nicholas James Gragg, of Malvern, was arrested Tuesday evening, for Domestic Abuse Assault, Child Endangerment, and Interference with Official Acts. He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail. And, late Monday night, Mills County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 18-year-old Jasmine Ameliana Cadena, of Glenwood, for Violation of a No Contact Order. Her bond was set at $300.

(Creston, Iowa) – A man from Creston was arrested Wednesday evening, on an Assault charge. According to Creston Police, 19-year-old Nicholai Quenten McVay was arrested for (General) Assault, at a residence in the 600 block of N. Birch Street, at around 7:17-p.m.  He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on a $300 bond.

ANAMOSA, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, on Wednesday, said an inmate at the Anamosa State Penitentiary died over the weekend. 24-year-old Andrew Arnold Redman, Jr., was pronounced dead due to an unexpected medical emergency at 9:53-a.m., Saturday. Foul play was not suspected.

Redman had been serving a sentence for the crimes of Prohibited acts — manufacture, delivery, possession and Dominion/Control of Firearm/Offensive Weapon by Felon in Polk County. His sentence began on Feb. 7, 2023.

An autopsy is pending at the State Medical Examiners to determine the cause of death.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — A Cornell College instructor who was stabbed in a random attack in China is out of the hospital and on his way home. David Zabner’s brother told KCCI-TV in Des Moines, that Zabner was on a plane Wednesday night and was expected to be home on Thursday (today). Zabner was stabbed in the arm but is recovering well.

Police say a 55-year-old man stabbed four instructors while they were walking in a park on Monday. The instructors were in China as part of a partnership with a Chinese university.

Iowa leaders are working with the State Department to bring the rest of the victims home. They’re all expected to survive.