Operation Boptrot

Last updated

Operation Boptrot, also referred to as Boptrot, was an investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into corruption among the Kentucky General Assembly, the Commonwealth's legislature. The operation was highly successful, with the investigation culminating in several indictments in 1992, leading to the conviction of more than a dozen legislators between 1992 and 1995. The investigation also led to reform legislation being passed in 1993.

Contents

Operation

The sting, dubbed Operation Boptrot, involved legislators who accepted bribes and other illegal inducements to support horse-racing legislation in Kentucky. The FBI's original targets were the Business, Organization, and Professions Committees (the "BOP" in Boptrot) in the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate. Those two committees oversaw state laws regulating horse racing (the "trot"). The exposé was especially notable for revealing how cheaply the legislators were willing to sell their votes.

Convictions

Legislators convicted as a result of Operation Boptrot included:

  1. Senator John Hall (D) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges.
  2. Representative Clay Crupper (D) pleaded guilty to charges of interstate travel in aid of racketeering and resigned. He was fined $10,000 in 1992. [1]
  3. Representative Ronny Layman (R) was indicted in 1992 on charges of conspiracy to commit extortion and making false statements to the FBI. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months of home detention and community service. [2]
  4. Representative Jerry Bronger (D) was indicted in 1992 and later pleaded guilty to charges that he accepted $2,000 in exchange for blocking legislation that would hurt harness racing. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison. [3]
  5. Senator Helen Garrett (D) was charged in 1992 with taking a $2,000 bribe from a track in exchange for helping pass legislation. She pleaded guilty and received four years' probation.
  6. Representative Tom O'Dell Smith (R) was convicted in Operation Crabgrass, an offshoot of BOPTROT.
  7. House Speaker Don Blandford (D) was convicted after a trial on charges of extortion, racketeering and lying. He was sentenced to 64 months in prison and was fined $10,000. [4] [5]
  8. Senator David LeMaster (D) was indicted in 1993, and acquitted of extortion and racketeering, but convicted of lying. He was sentenced to a year in prison and fined $30,000, but served just one day after resigning from the legislature. [6]
  9. Representative Richard Turner (R) pleaded guilty to a 1993 charge that he filed a false campaign finance report. [7] [8]
  10. Senator Art Schmidt (R) pleaded guilty to a 1993 indictment for withholding the fact that he took a cash payment from another senator tied to Operation BopTrot. He was sentenced to probation and fined $2,500. [9]
  11. Senator Virgil Pearman (D) pleaded guilty after 1993 indictment charging that he took an illegal $3,000 campaign contribution. He was sentenced to three months in a halfway house, probation and was fined $5,000. [10]
  12. Representative Bill Strong (R) pleaded guilty after 1993 indictment charges that he took an illegal $3,000 campaign contribution and did not deposit the money into his campaign fund. He was sentenced to three months in a halfway house, probation and was fined $3,000.
  13. Senator Patti Weaver (D) pleaded guilty after 1993 indictment charging that she was promised help finding a job in exchange for support of legislation. She was sentenced to weekend incarceration, probation and community service and was fined $10,000. [11] [12]
  14. Senator Landon Sexton (R) pleaded guilty after 1994 indictment charging that he took an illegal $5,000 cash campaign contribution. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive weekends in jail, home detention for two months and probation for two years. In addition he was fined $5,000. [13]
  15. Senator John D. Rogers (R), then the Minority Leader in the Kentucky Senate, was sentenced in 1994 to 42 months in prison after conviction on charges of extortion, conspiracy, attempted extortion, mail fraud and lying to the FBI. [14]

Others convicted as a result of Operation Boptrot included:

  1. Lobbyist John W. "Jay" Spurrier, the "dean of the Frankfort lobbyist corps" [15]
  2. Former representative Bill McBee (D) of Boone County, was sentenced to a 15-month prison term for bribery and corruption. [16]
  3. Bruce Wilkinson, the nephew of then-Governor Wallace Wilkinson (D), who was serving as the governor's appointments secretary, was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and fined of $20,000, the amount of a bribe he was convicted of taking. Governor Wilkinson was investigated, but not charged. [17] [18] [19] [20]
  4. Buel Guy (D) aide to Don Blandford and former legislator pled guilty to lying to the FBI. [21]
  5. Jockeys' Guild Inc.
  6. George L. Atkins
  7. Bradley Shannon

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abscam</span> FBI sting operation

Abscam, sometimes written ABSCAM, was a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members from both chambers of the United States Congress and others for bribery and corruption. The two-year investigation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property and corruption of prominent business people, but later evolved into a corruption investigation. The FBI was aided by the United States Department of Justice and convict Mel Weinberg in videotaping politicians accepting bribes from a fictitious Arabian company in return for various political favors.

Operation Tennessee Waltz was a sting operation set up by federal and state law enforcement agents, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The operation led to the arrest of seven Tennessee state lawmakers and two men identified as "bagmen" in the indictment on the morning of May 26, 2005, on bribery charges. The FBI and TBI followed these arrests with an additional arrest of two county commissioners, one from Hamilton County, and the other a member of the prominent Hooks family of Memphis. Investigators also arrested a former county administrator.

Donald Joseph Blandford is an American retired politician in the state of Kentucky. A Democrat, he was a longtime Kentucky state legislator and served as Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives until his indictment and conviction for bribery.

The presidency of Ronald Reagan was marked by numerous scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any president of the United States.

Kathryn Inez Bowers was an American Democratic politician and member of the Tennessee General Assembly who left office after being implicated in the Tennessee Waltz corruption scandal.

The Alaska political corruption probe refers to a 2003 to 2010 widespread investigation by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service into political corruption of nine then-current or former Alaskan state lawmakers, as well as Republican US Representative Don Young and then-US Senator, Republican Ted Stevens. Sometimes referred to as "The Corrupt Bastards Club" or the "Operation Polar Pen", the investigation focused on the oil industry, fisheries and for-profit prison industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dianne Wilkerson</span> American politician

Dianne Wilkerson is a convicted felon and former Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate, representing the 2nd Suffolk District from 1993 to 2008 as the first African American female to serve in the chamber.

Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into political corruption in New Jersey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2014.

Corruption in Illinois has been a problem from the earliest history of the state. Electoral fraud in Illinois pre-dates the territory's admission to the Union in 1818. Illinois had the third most federal criminal convictions for public corruption between 1976 and 2012, behind New York and California. A study published by the University of Illinois Chicago in 2022 ranked Illinois as the second most corrupt state in the nation, with 4 out of the last 11 governors serving time in prison.

Landon Carter Sexton is an American politician, and a former Republican member of the Kentucky Senate. He lives in Pine Knot, Kentucky, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Lost Trust</span> FBI investigation into the South Carolina General Assembly

Operation Lost Trust was the name of an FBI investigation into the South Carolina General Assembly from 1989 to 1999. By the end of the investigation, seventeen members of the South Carolina General Assembly were arrested for bribery, extortion, or drug use. Operation Lost Trust is often considered the greatest political scandal in the history of the state of South Carolina. It directly influenced the passing of South Carolina's Ethics Reform Act of 1991, and led to the restructuring of the state government in 1993. In its wake, the once-dominant South Carolina Democratic Party was weakened as a political party, and the Republican Party emerged as a viable political entity in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Smith (Kentucky politician)</span> American politician

Tom O'Dell Smith is an American politician who has served as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 86th House district since January 2021. His district includes Knox County and part of Laurel County. He previously represented the district from 1991 to 1993, but he resigned following his conviction of extortion. He served 27 months in prison.

References

  1. ↑ Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky (June 10, 1992). "Farm, tobacco advocate Clay Crupper resigns in wake of indictment". newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky (July 30, 1995). "Jan, 7, 1992, an investigation's climax". newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Bob Heleringer (October 5, 2016). "Heleringer | Farewell to two friends". courier-journal.com.
  4. ↑ Don Blandford Resigns House Seat; (Middlesboro) Daily News; May 4, 1993
  5. ↑ 33 F.3d 685: United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Donald J. Blandford, Defendant-appellant
  6. ↑ "FindLaw's United States Sixth Circuit case and opinions".
  7. ↑ "Kentucky New Era - Google News Archive Search".
  8. ↑ "Lies, bribes and videotape. - Free Online Library".
  9. ↑ Ayres, B. Drummond Jr. (19 September 1993). "With Leaders Leaving Office for Jail, Kentucky Works to Refurbish Image". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky (December 4, 1993). "Pearman pleads guilty to failing to report donation". newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Benassi, Mike (1994). "Kentucky General Assembly Membership: 1948 Through 1992".
  12. ↑ "Former humana executive gets probation jail time for bribing kentucky lawmaker". modernhealthcare.com. March 13, 1995.
  13. ↑ Loftus, Tom (April 21, 1994). "Sexton gets weekend jail, $5,000 fine for fraud in BOPTROT". The Courier-Journal (Metro ed.). Louisville, Kentucky. p. 8.
  14. ↑ "FindLaw's United States Sixth Circuit case and opinions".
  15. ↑ Al Cross and Tom Loftus, Lies, bribes and videotape, National Conference of State Legislators, 1993
  16. ↑ "United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Donald J. Blandford, Defendant-appellant, 33 F.3d 685 (6th Cir. 1994)".
  17. ↑ Al Cross and Tom Loftus, Lies, bribes and videotape, National Conference of State Legislators, 1993
  18. ↑ "Kentucky New Era - Google News Archive Search".
  19. ↑ O'Malley, Mimi (2011-05-03). It Happened in Kentucky, 2nd. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9780762768851.
  20. ↑ "Kentucky New Era - Google News Archive Search".
  21. ↑ Al Cross and Tom Loftus, Lies, bribes and videotape, National Conference of State Legislators, 1993
Sources
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.