Z&M Enterprises

In the course of investigating a possible credit card fraud scheme involving Lithuanian nationals, Kansas City, Kan., police arrested a 52-year-old man for possession of child pornography.

Michael P. Gallagher was arrested and charged Friday with three child pornography counts, police said Wednesday.

At the time of his arrest Gallagher was on parole for a 1988 conviction of aggravated sodomy in Johnson County. He now faces a possible revocation of parole.

Gallagher remained in the Wyandotte County jail Wednesday on $100,000 bond.

Before the arrest, detectives were investigating a tip from Z&M Enterprises, an Internet company who reported that dozens of shipments had gone to a Kansas City, Kan., address. What was peculiar, police said, was that all of the shipments were addressed to different people who had used different credit card numbers.

Last Thursday, police went to Gallagher's mobile home in the 100 block of Ruby Avenue in southeastern Kansas City, Kan., and found Gallagher, along with many watches, electric shavers, razors, boots and other items, mostly in their original boxes. They also found computers and documents listing the names of Lithuanian nationals somehow involved with Gallagher, and they found child pornography.

One of those listed, 21-year-old Eduardus Stankus, was arrested Monday and charged with 29 misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a financial card. He was being held Wednesday on $25,000 bond. His brother, Henrikas Stankus, 23, of Chicago, also faces the same 29 charges. He had not been arrested as of Wednesday, police said.

The older brother drives a cab in Chicago and has ready access to credit card numbers, Police Detective Ron Kaminski said. The numbers were sent to the younger brother, Kaminski said, who purchased merchandise to sell on the black market in Lithuania.

Over the weekend police found a purple backpack filled with illegally purchased items in a locker at the Greyhound bus station in Kansas City.

The younger Stankus told police he planned to leave for Lithuania on Monday, Kaminski said.

Kaminski said Gallagher told them that he represented himself to Lithuanian students as an ambassador to Lithuania. He also told Kaminski that he had helped at least 43 young adults come to the Kansas City area to attend college during the last year. He assisted them in finding jobs, and he fed them, Kaminski said.

Gallagher also allowed the students to use his computer. So far, only Eduardus Stankus and his brother have been linked to the credit card fraud scheme, Kaminski said.

The idea to recruit Lithuanian students apparently began in June 2000, Kaminski said, when a Lithuanian student's ice cream truck broke down in front of Gallagher's trailer.

The investigation into both the pornography and credit card fraud continued Wednesday. Police and prosecutors said that more charges could be filed.