Wichita police want to talk to people who have done inflatable business with two companies

Wichita police want to talk to anyone who has used inflatables through Pure Entertainment or Moonwalks for Fun since June 2011 or had agreements with those companies cancelled this past weekend.

The two companies are under investigation by the city’s central inspection office and police for possible ordinance violations.

Chief Deputy City Attorney Sharon Dickgrafe said Monday that people who have done business with the companies should call detective Brad Wise at 316-268-4171.

“The investigation is continuing,” she said in an e-mailed response.

After The Eagle published a story last week that the two companies were being investigated, a number of customers received cancellation calls from either Moonwalks for Fun or Pure Entertainment.

Moonwalks for Fun had its license to provide inflatables inside the city limits revoked for two years in June 2011 because of a five-month gap in liability coverage. Investigators also want to know if Moonwalks for Fun or another unlicensed company is providing inflatables to Pure Entertainment, which is in west Wichita near Tyler and Kellogg.

Pure Entertainment can have inflatables at its site, but they must be provided by a licensed company. All five of the companies that are licensed and rent inflatables in Wichita have said they don’t provide the rides for Pure Entertainment.

Duane Zogleman owns both companies and his son, Jesse Zogleman, runs both businesses. In an Eagle story last week, Duane Zogleman said that no inflatables were being used at Pure Entertainment and that Moonwalks for Fun rented inflatables only to customers who live outside the city.

By noon Friday, two licensed companies said they had been contacted by nearly a dozen people who lived in Wichita and who had agreements for inflatables at weekend parties cancelled by either Moonwalks for Fun or Pure Entertainment. Several of those people confirmed those cancellations to The Eagle for a story published Saturday.

In addition, several people contacted The Eagle to say they had used inflatables at Pure Entertainment in recent months. Licensed inflatable companies have said that Moonwalks for Fun has been operating inside the city since shortly after its license was revoked.

Duane and Jesse Zogleman could not be reached for comment Monday. The two companies’ answering machine said no one was available. A message was left at Moonwalks for Fun, but Pure Entertainment’s message box was full.

A sign posted on Pure Entertainment’s front door last Friday said the company was closed because of “staff training”; it remained there through Sunday. The sign was gone Monday.

The two companies’ troubles stretch back to 2010, when a 5-year-old boy died after he fell from an inflatable provided by Moonwalks for Fun at Pure Entertainment.

This story was originally published May 7, 2012 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Wichita police want to talk to people who have done inflatable business with two companies."