More names of Wichita men, letters surface in federal inquiry

Letters from the U.S. Department of Justice show the names of two other Wichita men whose communications were intercepted in a federal investigation. The letters are similar to ones naming businessman Brandon Steven.

On Tuesday, Steven said he was the subject of a federal inquiry into high-stakes poker and his efforts to open a casino in Kansas.

The three letters, which were all to the same addressee, notified the recipient that his communications had been intercepted with Brandon Steven, 43; Danny Chapman, 66; and Daven Flax, 45.

The dates of the cellphone interceptions listed in the letters were:

▪ Between April 15, 2015, and June 13, 2015, with Flax

▪ Between May 14, 2015, and June 13, 2015, with Steven

▪ Between July 24, 2015, and Aug. 22, 2015, with Chapman

Kansas City-based attorney Chris McHugh, Flax’s attorney, said he can’t comment.

Wichita attorney Matt Leavitt, who is representing Chapman, said he could not comment.

A neighbor of Chapman’s said Thursday that she saw authorities search Chapman’s home last week. She said officers surrounded the house and were there all day; some wore clothing that said “FBI.”

She said officers removed items from the house in white boxes and towed away a motorcycle.

The federal government also has intercepted phone calls made by Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell. At the time, O’Donnell was a state legislator.

No charges have been filed. It is not clear whether the investigations are related.

A March 20, 1985, Wichita Eagle article said that a Danny Chapman of Mulvane was put on two years of probation after pleading no contest to gambling on college and professional sports. The man in the story, who was 34 at the time, was convicted of a misdemeanor count for not buying a gambling stamp in 1982 and of one felony tax-evasion charge.

This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 7:40 PM.