Former Westar executive Lake asks federal judge to order destruction of arrest records

Former Westar exec seeks destruction of records

WICHITA, Kan. — A former Westar Energy executive once accused of looting the Kansas utility wants his arrest records erased now that the charges have been dismissed.

Douglas Lake of New Canaan, Conn., was a top strategy officer at the Topeka-based company when he and then-CEO David Wittig were charged in 2003 with conspiring to inflate their compensation.

Their first trial ended in a hung jury, and their convictions in a second trial were overturned. Last month, federal prosecutors dropped the charges altogether as Wittig and Lake awaited a third trial.

Lake filed papers Wednesday in Topeka asking U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson to order the destruction of all fingerprints, photographs and records of the case in any Justice Department databases.