A registered lobbyist at the Iowa Legislature is pleading guilty to felony extortion charges in Muscatine County. Fifty-one-year old Mary Katheryn Moravek of Mechanicsville could get five years in the slammer and a $7,500 fine when sentenced next month.
Moravek was charged last November with threatening to extort a million bucks from Muscatine-based Iowans for Tax Relief and its chairman, David Stanley. Authorities say she had threatened to make false accusations against the group. According to its Web site, Moravek is listed as an appointed board member of the Iowa Commission of Person with Disabilities. Her two-year term ends this coming June 30th.
By Phil Roberts, Davenport