Previous Story
EXTRA CONTENT: Affidavit sheds new light on developments in Hodge investigation
Posted On 16 Nov 2011
Read the entire affidavit related to this story by clicking here.
Federal investigators are now saying through court documents that disgraced former Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge admitted to planning the Dec. 2009 burglary of his own office, and has not yet paid a cent of the money he stole from county tax accounts despite spending roughly $600 a month on things like soda and potato chips through his prison commissary account.
The revelations are the latest revealed in an affidavit signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Hanly A. Ingram on Sept. 15 filed in an effort to search Hodge’s mother’s home in an effort to find money that may have been taken from county accounts during his term as Sheriff. The affidavit was uncovered as part of a News Journal investigation into the issue.
Hodge entered a guilty plea in May to charges of extortion, conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In exchange for his plea, he received a 15.5-year prison term. He was also ordered to surrender $50,000 to federal authorities and must make restitution in the amount of $64,897 to Whitley County.
Hodge was never formally charged by federal authorities, but instead had been working a deal with prosecutors in advance of an expected indictment.
The most recent affidavit was authored by Todd E. Tremaine, a Special Agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He was the principal investigator in corruption cases against Hodge and his former bookkeeper Vicki Paul.
By piecing together admissions by Paul and Hodge, along with reports from state auditors, investigators estimate $158,017 was stolen from tax fee accounts and a drug and alcohol fund from 2005-2007. More recent audits have bumped the total deficit in the accounts to more than $240,000. A search of Hodge’s home and office on Nov. 8, 2010 turned up no cash.
According to the affidavit, on Sept. 14 of this year, Tremaine spoke to an unnamed informant who was, apparently, a cellmate with Hodge for about a week while he was incarcerated in the Grayson County Detention Center earlier this year. The informant told authorities Hodge was spending large amounts of money with the jail commissary, roughly $300 to $400. He said Hodge had told him he had money hidden in his mother’s safe.
"The CW said Hodge was trying to figure out if he had enough money in the safe to support him in jail (commissary expenses) at the same or similar rate of spending for the next 15.5 years. The CW said Hodge estimated that he had enough money in the safe to do so."
The informant told Tremaine that he once overheard Hodge ask one of his sons on the phone if he had sent a money order to the jail for his commissary account.
The affidavit goes on to say that Hodge told Tremaine, during interviews, that he does not have any significant amount of money stored in any location.
Investigators looked into the issue further and found that Hodge was actually spending around $600 a month out of his commissary account at the Grayson County Detention Center and that the money was being deposited through money orders sent by his mother, Ruth Hodge, his brother, James Hodge, his son, Basil R. Hodge and/or Taylor Landscaping. Taylor landscaping is owned by a known friend and associate of Hodge, Larry Taylor.
Despite his opulent spending through his commissary account, Hodge has yet to pay any of the restitution he was ordered to make, according to the affidavit.
A search warrant was granted under the assumption that some of the money stolen from Sheriff’s Dept. accounts may be hidden in Ruth Hodge’s home, but federal agents failed to find any money or records regarding criminal activity at the residence.
Two outbuildings on her property were also searched to no avail.
2009 Burglary
Also contained in the affidavit are the first alleged admissions by Hodge that he arranged the Dec. 2009 burglary of his own office in the Whitley County Courthouse in an effort to cover his misdeeds. Seventy-eight firearms and numerous narcotics were unaccounted for following the "break in," – evidence that was seized by deputies during Hodge’s eight-year tenure as Sheriff.
Tremaine contends Hodge told him that he asked Doyle "Stanboy" Fritts to do the burglary. Fritts then got another man, Pete Lawson, to actually commit the burglary.
Fritts is currently incarcerated awaiting trial on federal charges of trafficking in Oxycodone, illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is slated to go to trial in early January.
Lawson has numerous prior felony convictions.
Missing guns
Local law enforcement spent weeks trying to track down the 78 firearms either taken or simply missing from Hodge’s office following the burglary.
Some were recovered.
According to the affidavit, Hodge has informed investigators that Taylor "ultimately received the firearms that were allegedly stolen from the Whitley SO in December of 2009."
Taylor is a former chief deputy at the Whitley County Jail where he worked for his father, Jerry Taylor, who was the former Jailer.
State charges
State charges are still pending against Hodge despite his deal with federal authorities. He was indicted by a Whitley County Grand Jury last November on 21 felony counts – 18 for violations of public trust and three for tampering with physical evidence.
He is due to make an appearance on the charges in Whitley Circuit Court on Dec. 12.
One Comment
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
The comments by Hodge’s supporters are unbelievable, Stanboy made his own decision to help Hodge. The county will never see the stolen money and the only recourse is for Hodge to plead guilty when he faces the Commonwealth’s charges. Theft is theft and when you plan a robbery/burglary on your own office you have but one motive and that is to cover up your crimes. Hodge should be on the “World’s Dumbest Crooks” TV show because he is one of the dumbest people I’ve ever read about or heard about. I’ve never had the displeasure of meeting him but he got what he deserved. I think that Jesse and Still His Friend really need to read the law and fully understand how hurt the citizens of this county. People paid the wrong tax amount and had to scrape up extra money when they really didn’t need to. And then Hodge, Vicki and Kendra split it 3 ways, they all need to serve time.
To quote a famous character in cartoon history: Charlie Brown would read this story and comments and say, GOOD GRIEF! The comments on here are astounding, support for a man that ruined so many lives and now sits in jail watching TV eating junk food. He left his clerk and lawyer hanging out to dry, he stole your money, he bought drugs with YOUR money, he extorted money from offenders that were promised reduced charges. When law enforcement officers break the law then there isn’t any law, just the right for survival. The weak will suffer. His son Robbie supplanted him by sending him money every month, where does a penniless man with no means of support get this kind of money. He must have hoarded it away at his mothers house. He also has a source of funds from some wealthy person, or the person received a big payout with the help of a bogus lawsuit. I hope that Hodge is held accountable for his crimes and his victims are able to overcome the trumped charges. Forward Jaimaica, lets i
Money Laundery,is the best way to hide money and get tax breaks ,good ole business pals do it all the time.Smart move except if the bad boys get caught.
he owes this county hundreds of thousands of dollars. he needs to lay off the pop and cigarettes and pay what he owes!
Me either! I don’t think Stanboy would ever do anything illegal like that ever!
Wow you support this crook?? What is wrong with you? THis guy is sitting in jail eating chips and drinking soda?? what the heck and all on the taxpayers buck too. I thought jail was supposed to be uncomfortable…looks like a big fat santa to me…New state slogan should be…Welcome to ky….have you bribed your local official lately??
i dont belive stanboy had anything to do with this stuff yes maybe they did sell drugs but this stuff about robbery is bogus i lived right beside them and not never once seen any guns being brought into the homes of any of them larwence is just trying to find someone to blame the stuff on to get hisself out of trouble at times the fritts boys can act stupid nut i dont think they are stupid enough to robb a sheriffs dept
i dont belive stanboy had anything to do with this stuff yes maybe they did sell drugs but this stuff about robbery is bogus i lived right beside them and not never once seen any guns being brought into the homes of any of them larwence is just trying to find someone to blame the stuff on to get hisself out of trouble at times the fritts boys can act stupid nut i dont think they are stupid enough to robb a sheriffs dept
MY GOD!…the man is in jail….what more do you blood sucking people want. YES he done some illegal things…he is spending his time behind bars. You do the crime, you pay the time. It’s simple as that!
OMG!! Look at how fat Hodge is now. Can you imagine what he will look like after he does his prison term??? He won’t fit through the door. OH, and he was getting Stanboy to do his dirty work and busting him at the same time. Shame shame same on you Lawrence. Your family must be SO proud. You have disgraced Whitley County for 8 years. Hopefully our new Sheriff can get it back to the way it once was…before you screwed it up. Keep on eating those chips and drinking those pops. Maybe you’ll die of a heart attack and the taxpayers won’t have to pay for the prison to keep your sorry ass. That would save a TON of money.