Ramona Cunningham made $89,153 in workday withdrawals from casino cash machines over a three-year period during which roughly $1.5 million in taxpayer money was misspent at the job-training agency she headed, federal court records allege.

The records, evidence in last month's CIETC trial, show 411 withdrawals between July 9, 2003, and March 21, 2006.

Federal authorities last month cited on-the-clock gambling - and lies on government time sheets - as evidence of Cunningham's role in a plot by former officials at the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium to funnel government job-training money into the pockets of agency executives.

Cunningham, the lone CIETC defendant left to face trial, faces 30 allegations of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

But the primary challenge for federal prosecutors remains getting her into court.

Lawyers for Cunningham, the U.S. government, The Des Moines Register and freedom-of-information advocates are slated to meet this morning for a hearing to determine whether Cunningham is mentally ready to stand trial.

The former CIETC director has been ordered to be there.

Court records show the hearing will include telephone testimony from at least one Louisiana psychiatrist who treated Cunningham after an Oct. 16 suicide attempt. Defense attorney Bill Kutmus, however, has filed papers to keep secret all information about Cunningham's mental health.

Kutmus, in an interview this week, said gambling is irrelevant to Cunningham's case, and "I'm not going to bring it up at all." He argued in court documents, however, that public revelation of other aspects of Cunningham's mental history "would indelibly impact on her psyche. The result would overwhelm her to the extent that she could not effectively defend herself, thus denying her a fair trial."

Iowa journalists see it differently.

The Register and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, which includes most of the state's larger news organizations, filed court papers Thursday asking to keep the hearing open. Documents say central Iowa reporters "would be prejudiced directly, substantially and irreparably" if information from the hearing is restricted.

Lawyers interviewed this week said mental competency hearings, most common in cases that involve violent crimes by psychotic defendants, are relatively rare in federal court.

Experts say there's a presumption of openness in such hearings, although medical documents seldom are made public. Judges can make further allowances when specific testimony could damage a defendant's mental health.

"I think the normal practice in most cases would be open hearings," said Polk County District Judge Don Nickerson, who was U.S. attorney in Des Moines from 1994 through 2001. "But it really depends."

"Certainly, the standard is to have the hearing open unless there's a reason to do something else," said Des Moines defense attorney Keith Rigg. "For example, say a psychologist said that 'if "X" fact was disclosed publicly, it's my professional opinion that this person would commit suicide.' ... In that case, that's when you really have to look at 'OK, what is the public interest in disclosure of that fact versus the possibility of harm to the individual?' "

The ultimate decision will be made by U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt.

Federal law says Cunningham faces a three-pronged test to get the hearing closed to public view: She must show that there is a "substantial probability" of irreparable damage, that there's a substantial probability that other ways of dealing with that harm would be ineffective, and that closure would be an effective solution.

If Cunningham is found competent for trial, it remains uncertain where or when the case will be heard.

Last month's trial, moved to Davenport because of concerns about publicity in Des Moines, ended in a mixed verdict for federal prosecutors: Former CIETC accountant Karen Tesdell was convicted of conspiracy and 28 additional fraud charges. Jane Barto, former deputy director of Iowa Workforce Development, was acquitted of conspiracy but found guilty of obstructing the CIETC investigation. Former CIETC board member Dan Albritton, who has acknowledged a romantic relationship with Cunningham, was found not guilty of conspiracy.

Two other CIETC officials - former board Chairman Archie Brooks and former Chief Operating Officer John Bargman - await sentencing under plea agreements they made to avoid trial.