Rich White Man Goes to Prison for Money Crimes

Not so long ago, Richie Farmer was an untouchable. A University of Kentucky basketball star, wealthy and popular, elected and re-elected to state office despite severe moral and intellectual handicaps, on the fast track to the Governor's Mansion, he was the epitome of white male privilege in the Commonwealth.

But he's going to prison on financial charges.

It gives me hope that Jaime Dimon may someday actually pay for his crimes.

Greg Kocher at the Herald:

Former University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer was sentenced Tuesday to 27 months in prison for misusing state resources during his tenure as Kentucky's agriculture commissioner.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ordered Farmer to pay $120,500 in restitution, with $105,500 going to the state and $15,000 going to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

Farmer, 44, a guard for the 1991-92 UK team dubbed "The Unforgettables" for their gutsy play, had pleaded guilty in September to two counts of misappropriating government resources while overseeing the Agriculture Department. Farmer, a Republican, was agriculture commissioner from 2004 to 2011.

No, this wasn't quiet and subtle account-shifting. This was theft of public money on so blatant and public a scale that it was common knowledge among state workers, whose legendary cynicism was inadequate to the occasion.

Sure, they knew Reeeeetchie was a mental and moral midget with an ego only UK basketball stardom can build, but his blind arrogance left them breathless.

Prosecutors alleged that Farmer had created political jobs for close friends who performed little or no work. Those employees allegedly ran personal errands for Farmer, including building a basketball court at his home in Frankfort and chauffeuring his dog, while being paid by the state.

The indictment alleged that Farmer took a variety of state property, including electronic equipment, guns, knives, refrigerators and filing cabinets. Farmer's extended family stayed in hotel rooms that were paid for by the state during the Kentucky State Fair in 2009 and 2010, the indictment alleged.

Farmer also faced a 42-count charge brought by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. Those charges included misuse of state employees, misuse of state resources, improper use of grants and improper use of Kentucky Proud marketing funds.

Those are kind euphemisms for behavior like giving his pregnant mistress a six-figure "job" with no actual work responsibilities.

Farmer will probably get a nice rest in some minimum-security federal country club, but if Kentuckians really want to punish him - and puncture a nice big hole in the roundball worship that so distorts our politics - there's one easy way to do that.

The judge took note of Farmer's basketball triumphs and said: "Nothing I'm saying today should take away from those accomplishments."

Van Tatenhove then added his two cents' worth on whether Farmer's retired jersey should still hang from the Rupp Arena rafters. Some people have questioned whether a uniform honoring a soon-to-be federal prison inmate should still hang there.

Van Tatenhove left no doubt about his opinion, saying it "should remain hanging from now until eternity."

 Unfortunately, it will.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/01/14/3033479/farmer-sentenced-to-more-than.html#storylink=cpy

Farmer Plea Deal Opens Door to Widespread Theft from Taxpayers

18 months of likely probation plus restitution and fines amounting to a fraction of what he actually stole? That's an invitation to every half-wit crook in state government to steal everything you can.

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

Former Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer has entered into agreements with federal and state prosecutors, and the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, that would resolve all charges against him, his attorney said Thursday in a news release.

If the courts and ethics commission approve, the former University of Kentucky basketball star will plead guilty to two counts and receive a sentence in federal court in the range of 21 to 27 months, Frankfort attorney J. Guthrie True said in the release.

Farmer also will agree to pay restitution and an ethics fine totaling $125,000 and will receive a concurrent one-year sentence in state court, True said.

Farmer treated his elected position like a blank check and the state employees assigned to his department like personal servants. He deserves years in a maximum security prison and millions of dollars in crippling punitive fines.

What he did was just an exaggerated version of what elected officials in Kentucky have been getting away with for two hundred and twenty-one years. Which is exactly why Farmer's punishment must be so terrifyingly severe that it will finally start detering these motherfuckers.

Kentucky Repugs: Setting an Unethical Record

Kentucky politics may be irredeemably corrupt, but at least we don't subscribe to the "look forward, not back" school of failing to hold former elected officials at all accountable.

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

Former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer was charged Monday with 42 counts of violating the state ethics law, the most ever issued against an individual by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.

SNIP
The charges against Farmer, a popular University of Kentucky basketball player in the 1990s, included misuse of state employees, misuse of state resources, improper use of grants and improper use of "Kentucky Proud" marketing funds.

Most of the charges stem from an investigation by State Auditor Adam Edelen last year that said a "toxic culture of entitlement" permeated the agriculture department under Farmer. The report found that Farmer had state workers build a basketball court in his back yard, take him hunting and shopping, mow his yard and chauffeur his dog between Frankfort and Louisville during the State Fair — all while on the clock.

He also used an extravagant 2008 convention for fellow agriculture commissioners from Southern states to stock his own gun rack and bar, at least partially at taxpayer expense, the audit found.

The ethics commission also made a few new allegations Monday. Farmer and his sister, Rhonda Monroe, face three counts of breaking ethics laws for allegedly conspiring to submit false records to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, where Monroe is the assistant executive director. The expense records allowed Farmer to collect inappropriate payments from his 2007 re-election campaign.

Brammer waits until the 11th graf to mention that Reetchie is a repug. Just two years the pride of the Kentucky Republican Party. Chosen for the GOP gubernatorial ticket to overcome the extreme unpopularity of Senate President David Williams. Long considered a lock for governor.

This is the face of the Kentucky Republican Party: corrupt shmuck Ritchie Farmer. Not Jamie Comer. Ritchie Farmer.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/03/18/2562888/richie-farmer-charged-with-42.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/03/18/2562888/richie-farmer-charged-with-42.html#storylink=cpy

"Toxic Culture of Entitlement"

The first thing you need to know is that former Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ritchie Farmer is mentally deficient. That's not an insult. That's a fact.

The second thing is that his obvious retardation did not stop Kentuckians from voting him into one of the most powerful statewide offices. Twice. All they cared about was his being a hometown boy who played on a championship UK basketball team.

The third thing is that literally nothing will come of the audit report that reveals widespread corruption and illegality on Reetchie's part. He will not go to jail, he will not pay any fines beyond returning all the stuff he stole, Kentucky will not turn the Commissioner of Agriculture into an appointed position the way it is in civilized states, and record-breaking corruption in the Agriculture Department will continue - albeit more circumspectly.

Joe Sonka at Leo's Fat Lip:

This morning, Kentucky State Auditor Adam Edelen released the findings of his special examination into Richie Farmer’s handling of the Department of Agriculture during his term, which he says shows “a toxic culture of entitlement and self-dealing at Kentucky taxpayers’ expense.”

Edelen will be referring the report to the Kentucky Attorney General, Executive Branch Ethics Commission, IRS, Kentucky Department of Revenue, Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Personnel Board.

“The law makes no distinction between icons and the rest of us, and neither do I,” Edelen said. “The report paints a clear picture of an administration that had no qualms about treating taxpayer resources as its own. The former commissioner had state employees on state time take him hunting and shopping, mow his yard, build a basketballw makes no distinction between icons and the rest of us, and neither do I,” Edelen said. “The report paints a clear picture of an administration that had no qualms about treating taxpayer resources as its own. The former commissioner had state employees on state time take him hunting and shopping, mow his yard, build a basketball court in his backyard, and even chauffer his dog. He showered himself with gifts and office equipment and rewarded friends with jobs. These are just some of the documented abuses that should outrage every Kentuckian."

The highlights:

SNIP

Richie signed the timesheets of his girlfriend/mistress because his chief of staff refused to do so/couldn’t substantiate any work she did

A former executive director and former director told staff to delay action against a grain dealer because it was during an election year and could cause a negative political outcome for the former commissioner.

A $1.65 million fuel-testing lab that was projected to test 20,000 samples a year has not met its goal and lost the state more than $744,000 in fiscal year 2011.

Roughly half the department’s employees had permanently assigned take-home vehicles. Many of the employees were not justified in having state vehicles.

There’s lots more detailed in the report. 41 findings and 126 recommendations. Many issues surrounding the reporting of taxable benefits to the IRS and Kentucky Department of Revenue. So you’ll likely want to read it all.

And it wasn't just money. There were casualties. Barefoot and Progressive before the audit report cam out:

It seems like Richie Farmer’s time as Ag. Commissioner, with its lavish parties and missing rifles, is going to continue providing fodder for Herald-Leader investigative journalists well into the next decade. Here’s the hilarity in today’s paper:

A distant relative of former Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer worked in the Department of Agriculture for nearly five years as an amusement ride inspector despite never receiving certification to do the work.

George “Doug” Begley worked from July 1, 2007, to March 12 inspecting amusement park rides in Eastern Kentucky, according to documents obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader under the state’s Open Records Act.

Documents in Begley’s personnel file show he voluntarily accepted a demotion to the department’s fuel-testing division in March after Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who took office in January, discovered that Begley never received his certification.

There’s something comical about the pettiness of cousin George Doug not getting a certification that would have probably been easy for him to get and that the state would have paid for. Richie Farmer’s corruption was mostly just laughs. Well, until somebody lost a foot.

A Louisville teen’s feet were severed after she was hurt on a ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in 2007. The park closed in 2009.

Begley, who worked out of Breathitt County and inspected rides in that area, could not be reached for comment.

B&P also rejects the compliments being showered on Ritchie's successor for requesting the audit and acting expeditiously to implement recommended changes.

I get the strong sense that Jamie Comer is, if not encouraging these stories, at least rooting for them because they show a lack of continuity between the two Republicans. Next to Richie Farmer, he looks like a high-minded reformer. But make no mistake, Jamie Comer is a right-wing son of a bitch who voted against felon re-enfranchisement, against providing HPV vaccinations to girls, and against equal pay for equal work for women when he was a state rep. Expect him to run for something fancier in 2014 or 2015 on his record of cleaning up Richie Farmer’s mess and expect a lot of Democrats to talk about how he’s a good man.

Yes, of course Ritchie's a republican.

Richie Farmer: Even Dumber Than He Is Corrupt

Corrupt or stupid? With former Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ritchie Farmer, it's hard to tell. Filling your agency with idiot friends holding no-show jobs is more corrupt than stupid, but giving some of those jobs to extramarital girlfriends who can't keep their mouths shut is more stupid than corrupt.

This, however, is not just stupid, but a level of stupid that overwhelms even the monster levels of corruption.

From the Courier:

Former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer applied for unemployment benefits after his term of office ended Jan. 1, The Courier-Journal has learned.

SNIP

As agriculture commissioner, a position he held eight years, Farmer earned $110,346 when his term ended. But Kentucky unemployment compensation law lists “a public elected official” among the types of employment not eligible for benefits.

And state officials said they could not remember a previous instance when an elected state official had applied for unemployment benefits.

Farmer did not return numerous phone messages seeking comment on this story.

Crit Luallen, whose two terms as state auditor also ended Jan. 1, said it never occurred to her to apply for unemployment.

“That law is meant to serve people who are terminated from their employment by their employer …” Luallen said.

And elected official, Luallen said, “takes the job for a limited and expected amount of time. You couldn’t possibly claim that it was circumstances beyond your control that caused you to end up in that situation.”

After the election, we all thought Ritchie would "retire" into some nice cushy seven-figure no-work "job" with some of his Big Coal or Big Ag pals. Neither of those corporate criminals are squeamish about corruption.

But this level of stupid may make Ritchie toxic even with them.

Where Repug Stupidity Meets Repug Arrogance and Corruption in Kentucky

Oh, the entertainment we denied ourselves by rejecting Ritchie Farmer as our new Lieutenant Governor.

From the Courier:

State Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer hired his girlfriend as a “special assistant” in his department during the waning days of the 2011 gubernatorial campaign, in which he was a candidate for lieutenant governor.

According to the state Personnel Cabinet, Stephanie L. Sandmann was hired as a non-merit employee in the Department of Agriculture, to start work on Oct. 31, and is earning $5,000 a month, equal to $60,000 a year.

Department spokesman Bill Clary said that Farmer, 42, who is going through a divorce, declined to be interviewed on the matter.

Sandmann didn’t return a phone call Thursday afternoon to Farmer’s administrative offices.

But Senate President David Williams, Farmer’s running mate, confirmed Thursday that Sandmann is Farmer’s girlfriend and said he had no idea Farmer had put her on the state’s payroll eight days before the Nov. 8 election. He said he met her while on the campaign trail with Farmer.

“She told me she worked for a gynecologist,” said Williams, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor.

According to her state personnel file, the 38-year-old Sandmann didn’t apply for a specific job but said she was willing to work only in Frankfort.

Non-merit employees aren’t required to pass civil-service tests and can be hired or fired at the discretion of elected officials and their top aides.

The non-merit ranks are long-standing favorite places for elected officials to stash friends, idiot nephews and campaign contributors, although most such appointments are made years, rather than days, before the end of one's term.

Ritchie Farmer is known to be dimwitted, but surely even he knew he was leaving office. Which suggests that there may be something to the rumor that the new repug Ag Commish is going to hire Ritchie as a special assistant himself.

State Rep. Jamie Comer of Tompkinsville was elected agriculture commissioner last week and will take over in January for Farmer, who couldn’t seek a third term because of constitutional limits. Asked if Sandmann would be retained in his administration, Comer said only that his office will handle hiring differently.

“Obviously, I’m not commissioner yet and won’t be until January,” he said. “But I can assure you that changes will be made, and hiring of qualified personnel will be my No. 1 priority.”

Clary said he didn’t know what Sandmann’s duties are in the department and had never met her.

“I don’t even know who you are talking about,” he said when first contacted. “We have 260-something employees. I don’t know them all.”

In a second conversation, however, he confirmed that Sandmann was on the payroll, reiterated that he didn’t know what her duties are and added, “The department doesn’t have anything to say about this.”

When asked if he had seen her at work, Clary said, “I don’t work in the same building. … You have exhausted my knowledge of this subject.”

Farmer’s estranged wife, Rebecca Ann, filed suit in Franklin Circuit Court on April 5 to dissolve the couple’s 13-year marriage. The case is scheduled for trial Tuesday.

That case, which promises to be nasty if not explosive, was postponed from its original pre-election date to two days before Thanksgiving, and has now been postponed again until two days before New Year's.

Sandman is also seeking a divorce.

According to records in Jefferson Circuit Court, she filed for divorce against her husband, Stephen Sandmann, in August. An order finalizing that divorce was entered Oct. 19 but is being challenged.

In the last days of the campaign, Farmer and Sandmann were often seen on the campaign trail together, including election night at the Republican Party celebration at the Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel in Lexington.

When asked if Sandmann was on the clock while attending campaign events around the state, Clary said: “I don’t have anything to say on this subject.”

Sandmann’s application for the Agriculture Department position said her last job was as a receptionist at a Louisville doctor’s office that provides gynecologic and obstetric care.

Before that, she worked as a title clerk for a title insurance company, as a real estate agent, a mortgage processor and a cellular phone saleswoman, according to the application.

Farmer, a former University of Kentucky basketball star and a high school legend in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, burst onto Kentucky’s political scene in 2003 with his first campaign for agriculture commissioner. He was re-elected in 2007 and was the Republicans’ leading vote getter that year.

But don't worry about us getting bored. Among the seven state elected officials is always at least one determined to embarass the Commonwealth. Taking bets now on which one it will be and how soon the idiocy will hit the papers.