Monday, October 15, 2012

#MOSen: Why Isn't Webster Design, Inc., Listed on Claire McCaskill's Financial Disclosure?

Note: I posted the Missouri Secretary of State documents for Webster Design, Inc., to Scribd because the links to them below were not working reliably. I've updated the links below to use the Scribd documents instead of the unreliable links to the Missouri SoS website.

The image above is from page 16 of Claire McCaskill's most recent Personal Financial Disclosure which is available on OpenSecrets.org. Webster Design, Inc., is not listed on McCaskill's disclosure. Nor could I find Webster Design on any of her prior year disclosure forms.

McCaskill's husband, Joseph Shepard, along with Kenneth M. Vitor and William Obrock were the original three board members of Webster Design. According to CorporationWiki.com, Joseph Shepard is still a shareholder in Webster Design:


If that's the case, then why isn't Webster Design, Inc. listed on Claire McCaskill's disclosure form?

A Brief History of Webster Design, Inc

I took a look at Webster Design's filings with the Secretary of State. Joanna W. Owen is the current registered agent of the company. She is also the registered agent for Crestwood Building Associates, Inc., Missouri Fund 2012 VII LLC, and Missouri Fund 2012 VIII LLC. Webster Design has filed over thirty documents with the state of Missouri dating back to 1987 when the company was founded. Here are some of the highlights from the documents:





  • On 5/26/2009 Webster Design filed a "Statement of Correction" to amend their 2009 annual report. The correction added Damon Femmer of 103 W. Lockwood, Suite 218, as an officer of the company because they were required to add a licensed architect. Femmer had been with the company for a number of years, serving on its board and, at one point, as its president. Since the mailing and principal place of business are located next door in Suite 219, this implies that there's some collaboration between the people in those two suites.
  • On 4/29/2010 the board of directors of Webster Design has been reduced to just one member: Bill Luchini. Vitor is still the registered agent. Femmer is Vice-President. I'll speculate that Luchini purchased a controlling stake in the company by this point.
  • On 2/14/2012 Webster Design filed another "Statement of Correction". This one amends their 2011 annual report to add Damon Femmer as Vice President.
  • On 4/2/2012 Webster Design moved from 103 W. Lockwood to 763 S. New Ballas Rd, Suite 300. They also changed their registered agent from Kenneth Vitor to Joanna W. Owen.


Questions for Claire McCaskill

Earlier this month, I asked: why Isn't Capstone Development Listed on Claire McCaskill's Financial Disclosure? Given Shepard's early and active involvement with Webster Design, Inc. as well as the fact that CorporationWiki.com has identified him as a shareholder, it stands to reason that he has an equity stake in Webster Design, Inc. Why isn't Webster Design, Inc. reported on Claire McCaskill's financial disclosure forms?

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