Office of the Attorney General
Former Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Pleads Guilty to Vote Buying Conspiracy

Attorney General Jack Conway, United States Attorney of the Eastern District, Kerry B. Harvey, and FBI Special Agent in Charge, Perrye Turner, jointly announce the guilty plea today of former Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Arch Turner for his role in a vote buying conspiracy.  The charges against Turner are the result of a joint investigation by General Conway’s Department of Criminal Investigations and the FBI.

Turner, 66, pled guilty in federal court to conspiracy to buy votes and admitted that during the spring of 2010 he provided money to individuals to buy votes for candidates in the May 2010 Primary Election in Breathitt County.  Turner acknowledged he distributed the money at a meeting he arranged with a group of people.

According to his plea agreement, Turner also received money from an individual to be used for vote buying.

A total of 11 people have entered guilty pleas or been convicted in federal court of vote buying related charges stemming from Breathitt County’s 2010 Primary Election.  Former Breathitt County Sheriff John Turner pled guilty last month in federal court to conspiracy to buy votes.

Arch Turner is scheduled to appear for sentencing on October 24, 2012. He faces a maximum of five years in prison. However, the court must consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the applicable Federal statutes before imposing a sentence.