Election Fraud Cases

Chester Jones and Sherman Neace

Chester Jones and Sherman Neace pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a vote-buying scheme masterminded by the two men during the 2008 election. Jones was running for the Perry County School Board and also served as chairman of the county Democrat Party executive committee. Neace, a former county judge-executive, was running for magistrate. The pair accepted $7,500 from the Kentucky Democrat Party to fund get-out-the-vote efforts, but instead used the money to buy the votes of 75 Perry County voters for $100 apiece. Both men pleaded guilty to mail-fraud charges for mailing false campaign-spending documents to state agencies to cover up their illegal activity. Jones was sentenced to one year in prison, and Neace was sentenced to three years of probation, serving the first six months in home confinement.

Source: https://herit.ag/3iM4vMU, bit.ly/2fiEzWY, bit.ly/2eoz1Ne

R. Cletus Maricle, Douglas Adams, Freddy Thompson, Stanley Bowling, Charles Jones, William Stivers, William Morris, and Debra Morris

Eight defendants (including a former circuit judge, a former school superintendent, a county clerk, a magistrate, and a former Democratic election commissioner) were convicted of vote-buying, mail fraud, extortion, and money laundering for checking lists of voters to identify those who would take bribes and for organizing people to drive them to the polls, where complicit precinct workers made sure they voted correctly and gave them a ticket to redeem for payment. After a lengthy appeals process, and after all 8 had served 40 months in prison, their sentences were reduced to: William Morris - five years, six months; Debra Morris - three years, four months; Stanley Bowling - five years, six months; Maricle, Stivers, Adams - 100 days' home incarceration, two years' supervised release; Freddy Thompson - two years' supervised release. Charles Jones has not yet been sentenced.

Source: bit.ly/2fdA29C, bit.ly/2eezHBr, https://herit.ag/3zHOMpi

Kenny Ray Bowen and Billy Street

Kenny Ray Bowen and Billy Street both pleaded guilty to two counts of voter fraud in connection with their involvement in a vote-buying scheme surrounding the 2007 Benton County election. They were the last of 16 individuals who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of voter fraud in an elaborate electioneering operation. Both men were sentenced to five years, with four-and-a-half years suspended, six months to serve under house arrest, and four-and-a-half years under post-release supervision. Bowen and Street were also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l3BSxt, https://herit.ag/3xbrEh0

Jasper Buggs, Sr., James Bullock, and Ronnie Wilkerson

Jasper Buggs, Sr., James Bullock, and Ronnie Wilkerson pleaded guilty to voter fraud charges in connection with their involvement in a vote-buying scheme surrounding the 2007 Benton County election. Buggs pleaded guilty to two counts of voter fraud, Bullock pleaded guilty to five counts of voter fraud, and Wilkerson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud. All three men were sentenced to five years, with four years suspended and one year to serve under house arrest on each count, all the counts to run concurrently. They were also sentenced to four years of post-release supervision and were ordered to pay a $1,000 fine to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund.

Source: https://herit.ag/3zMygV3 , https://herit.ag/2VbUjFu

Jerry Huck Childers, Cooper Epps, David Massey, Arnold Rooker, Sr., and Stanley Maurice Warren

Jerry Huck Childers, Cooper Epps, David Massey, Arnold Rooker, Sr., and Stanley Maurice Warren all pleaded guilty to voter fraud charges in connection with their involvement in a vote-buying scheme surrounding the 2007 Benton County election. They were part of ring of 16 individuals who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of voter fraud in an elaborate electioneering operation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rBsVgh , https://herit.ag/2TBA9US , https://herit.ag/3f22pr8

Tate King, Henry Massey, and Lillie Jean Norton

Benton County supervisor Tate King was convicted of committing voter fraud after he paid people to vote for him in the 2007 primary and runoff elections. Eleven others who were also under investigation in connection with this matter have also either pleaded guilty or been convicted. He was sentenced to one year in prison, two years on house arrest, and two years of supervised release, in addition to a $5,000 fine. Norton received three years' supervised probation, and Massey received one year of house arrest and two years of supervised release.

Source: https://herit.ag/3yarVSD, https://herit.ag/3rEwDWv , https://herit.ag/372H5gX

Larry "Tip" Massey

Larry "Tip" Massey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit voter fraud in connection with his involvement in a 2007 Benton County election vote-buying scheme. He was sentenced to five years in prison, although three of those years were suspended. He will serve two years in prison and another two under supervised probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rGpEwm

Deborah Ramirez

A California resident was convicted of illegally circulating a ballot petition for USA Consultants in an effort to legalize gambling in Ohio. Furthermore, Ramirez paid Ohio voters to sign their names on empty ballots. Over half the signatures on the petition were invalid. Ramirez was sentenced to 120 days in prison and three years of community control.

Source: https://herit.ag/37iNPYp, https://herit.ag/3f4Fagf

Robert Madon

Robert Madon, a former mayor of Pineville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to buy votes in his November 2006 election. He used his son to pay voters $10_$20 to cast absentee ballots for him in the election, even paying one woman $50 to leave town after her absentee ballot was refused when she told town officials she would not be out of town on Election Day. He was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison, two years of supervised release, and fined $4,000.

Source: https://herit.ag/3i9HEvX, bit.ly/2sADmlQ, https://herit.ag/3l22nDF

Brent Madon

Brent Madon, of Pineville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to buy votes after he paid voters $10_$20 to vote for his father, a candidate for Pineville mayor in the November 2006 election, using absentee ballots. He was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, the first six months of which were spent in home confinement.

Source: https://herit.ag/3f4EZl5, bit.ly/2sADmlQ, https://herit.ag/3BOI42A

Clint Moffitt and Ada Tucker

Clint Moffitt, candidate for Benton County Sheriff, and Ada Tucker were convicted of conspiracy to commit voter fraud in the 2007 primary and runoff elections. Tucker was sentenced to five years, with the first year in prison, second year under house arrest, and three years under supervised release. Moffitt received two years in prison, one under house arrest, and two years of supervised release. Both were ordered to pay $5,000 in fines.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rETQYM, https://herit.ag/374fSuw

Charles Powell, Sheila Thomas, Jesse Lewis, Kelvin Ellis, and Yvette Johnson

East Saint Louis City precinct committeemen Charles Powell, Sheila Thomas, Jesse Lewis, and Kelvin Ellis, as well as precinct worker Yvette Johnson, were convicted for conspiracy to commit election fraud after participating in vote-buying activities in the 2004 election, including submitting budgets that would allow city funds to pay voters to vote for Democratic candidates. Powell was sentenced to 21 months in prison; Thomas was sentenced to 18 months in prison, $400 in fines, and two years' supervised release; Johnson was sentenced to two years' probation with the first five months in monitored home confinement; Lewis was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years' supervised release, and $200 in fines; Ellis was sentenced to a 4.5 year prison sentence for election fraud and assorted criminal offenses, including running a prostitution ring out of city hall and threatening to kill a federal witness.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l9XAjo, https://herit.ag/3i8YTxu

Fred Clinton Johnson

An eastern Kentucky county magistrate, Johnson was convicted of buying votes in the 2002 primary. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison and forced to pay $10,000 in fines.

Source: https://herit.ag/3y8oXhr, bit.ly/2ueJnYp

Donald "Champ" Maze

Donald Maze pleaded guilty to paying four different people at least $100 each for their vote in the Democrat primary for Bath County Attorney. He was sentenced to 21 months in jail, followed by two years of supervised release and 200 hours of community service. Additionally, he was assessed a $50,000 fine.

Source: bit.ly/2ue1MoD, https://herit.ag/3krMMN8, https://herit.ag/3x7rp6S

Walter Bascom Shrout

Bath County Judge-Executive Walter Bascom Shrout was convicted of conspiracy to buy votes. He was also found guilty of obstruction of justice and making false statements to a federal agent. He was ordered to resign and was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Source: https://herit.ag/3f28WCg, bit.ly/2ue1MoD, https://herit.ag/373gCzV