Rodney Steven also has been wiretapped, fed letter says

Wichita businessman Rodney Steven II also is on a list of Wichitans whose phone calls have been intercepted by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a recent letter from a federal prosecutor.

The Eagle obtained a copy of the letter late Tuesday. The letter, dated Feb. 1, says that communications with a phone number subscribed to Genesis Health Club Management LLC and used by Rodney Steven II were intercepted between June 18 and July 17, 2015. The letter is the government’s effort to notify people whose electronic communications with Steven have been wiretapped.

Steven said he believes the time frame in the letter is “convenient” because it matches the time frame during which there was a hearing and lawsuit over a casino project that he was involved in.

He said that neither his house nor his business has been searched by the FBI.

Steven, 44, and his brother Brandon Steven are partners in health clubs, auto dealerships and other enterprises.

The Eagle has previously reported that it had obtained copies of similar letters, also dated Feb. 1, naming four other people who had been wiretapped in 2015 as part of a federal investigation. Those four are Brandon Steven, former state senator and current Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell, Danny Chapman and Daven Flax.

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

▪ Between April 15, 2015, and June 13, 2015, with Flax, who is 45.

▪ Between May 14, 2015, and June 13, 2015, with Brandon Steven, 43.

▪ Between July 24, 2015, and Aug. 22, 2015, with Chapman, 66.

▪ Between June 3, 2015, and July 1, 2015, with O’Donnell, 32.

Brandon Steven has told The Eagle that he is a subject of a federal inquiry into high-stakes poker and his efforts to open a casino in southeast Kansas.

No charges have been filed. It isn’t clear whether the letters involving the five people are related.

FBI agents searched Chapman’s west-side house and removed items around Feb. 8, according to a neighbor.

The FBI said it had a “lawful presence” at several residences in the Wichita area around Feb. 8.

Wichita lawyer Steve Joseph has said that his west-side business office and four other people’s west-side houses were searched on Feb. 8. The FBI, he said, confiscated from his office a pillowcase with $22,000 in cash and jewelry. One of the people whose house was searched brought the pillowcase to his business, Joseph said.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Rodney Steven also has been wiretapped, fed letter says."