Yesterday the news broke of major indictments in Clay County over an alleged massive vote-buying scheme.

Russell Cletus Maricle, Douglas C. Adams, Charles Wayne Jones, William E. Stivers (aka Al Man), Freddy W. Thompson, Paul E. Bishop, William B. Morris (aka Bart) and Debra L. Morris (aka Debbie) were all indicted in various counts of vote buying, vote fraud, suborning perjury, racketeering, mail fraud, extortion and much, much more.

So, we thought it’d be fun for you to take a look at the 23-page indictment:

CLICK FOR INDICTMENT (PDF)

Totally delicious reading. It’s why we both love and feel shame for Kentucky all at the same time.

Highlights:

1. As part of the scheme to defraud, the defendants participated with others in the May 2004 primary election in pooling funds for the purpose of buying votes.

2. As part of the scheme to defraud, the defendants instructed election officers to buy votes and to mark voters or present tickets to voters for purposes of identifying voters who had sold their votes.

3. As part of the scheme to defraud, the defendants instructed election officers to assist the voters who sold their votes and to destroy voter assistance forms which may have resulted so as to not report the number of people they assisted at the voting polls as required by law.

4. As part of the scheme to defraud the defendants assisted in the preparation of an election report that falsely reported as valid fraudulent vote totals in the county to the Kentucky Secretary of State and the Kentucky Board of Elections.

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On or about a date in September 2004, in Clay County, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, and elsewhere, Charles Wayne Jones and William E. Stivers did knowingly affect interstate commerce by extortion, that is, the defendants attempted to obtain money not due them or their office, in the amount of $1,000 from CWL, a candidate for city council, induced by wrongful use and threat of use of fear and economic harm, and under color of official right.

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On or about May 2, 2007, continuing through on or about May 17, 2007, in Clay County, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, Russell Cletus Maricle and William E. Stivers, aka Al Man, aided and abetted by each other, did corruptly endeavor to influence, obstruct, and impede the due administration of justice by communicating and instructing a witness, WW, to testify falsely before a federal grand jury in Lexington, Kentucky, while a grand jury investigation in the Eastern District of Kentucky was pending, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503 and 2.

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4. It was part of the conspiracy that WW serve as the Democrat election judge in the Manchester Precinct. It was further part of the conspiracy that CW serve as the Republican election judge in the Manchester Precinct. Both WW and CW were instructed by Defendants Freddy W. Thompson and Charles Wayne Jones to tell voters that when they had pushed a button labeled “Vote” that their votes had been cast, when, in fact, that function merely provided a review screen of the voter’s selections in each race, and that the further step of pushing the “Cast Ballot” button was required. This review screen gave the voter the opportunity to change any candidate selections prior to casting the ballot.

5. It was part of the conspiracy that when the misled voters left the voting booth after pushing the “Vote” button, WW and/or CW entered the booth, changed their votes to candidates selected in part by Defendant Russell Cletus Maricle and cast the ballot by pushing the “Cast Ballot” button.

Now, to stop this mess in every Kentucky county in which it occurs.