Former state Sen. Paul Bookout pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to a mail-fraud charge, admitting that he converted about $150,000 in contributions for his 2010 and 2012 re-election campaigns to his personal use.
Bookout, 52, a Democrat from Jonesboro, was elected to the state Senate in 2006 to represent Senate District 14, replacing his late father, Jerry Bookout. He was then re-elected twice and served as president pro tempore of the Senate in 2011 and 2012. He resigned in 2013 after the Arkansas Ethics Commission fined him for improperly spending campaign money.
In a statement released to reporters a few hours after his plea hearing, Bookout said: "I want to sincerely apologize to my family, my former constituents and the people of Arkansas. I have cooperated with both state and federal prosecutors throughout this process. My plea today reflects my acceptance of responsibility. I plan to work with all of my ability to make this right with my family, my former constituents and my community."
Attorney Bill Stanley of Jonesboro, who represented Bookout before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller in Little Rock, said afterward that Bookout has already repaid contributors to his most recent campaign, and that amount -- once formally tallied -- will be deducted from the total he will owe in restitution at sentencing.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris, standing in after the recusal of U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer, a former state legislator, said in a news release that Bookout deposited campaign contributions for both the 2010 and 2012 elections into two bank accounts. Harris said that between May 2009 and December 2012, donations totaling $126,500 were deposited into one of those accounts. Between March 2012 and July 2013, donations totaling $62,750 were deposited into the second account.
According to the charging document, Bookout unlawfully made payments totaling $150,048.12 from those accounts between May 2009 and July 2013 for personal items and expenses, including clothing for himself and family members, a sound system that was installed in his home, golf clubs, country club pro-shop expenses, sporting goods, liquor, household furnishings, tanning sessions, manicures and travel expenses unrelated to the campaigns.
Miller hasn't yet scheduled a sentencing date, at which Bookout faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, though federal sentencing guidelines typically suggest less than the maximum.
Harris said Bookout lied on monthly campaign contribution and expenditure reports that he was required to file with the secretary of state's office during his re-election campaigns, by claiming that the illegal payments were legitimate campaign expenses.
The mail-fraud count to which Bookout pleaded guilty concerns the mailing of a fraudulent contribution and expenditure report to the secretary of state's office on Dec. 28, 2012.
The charging document notes that under Arkansas Code Annotated 7-6-203(g)(1), "a candidate shall not take any campaign funds as personal income." The document further notes that campaign funds may not be used to pay personal expenses, including food and supplies for day-to-day consumption and maintenance of the candidate's personal residence, clothing for political or personal functions, and payments on behalf of a candidate's home or family.
During the 2010 and 2012 elections, candidates were required to itemize all single campaign expenditures exceeding $100. In the reports to the secretary of state's office, candidates also were required to list all expenditures by category, including advertising, direct mail, office supplies, rent, travel, entertainment and telephone. Candidates also were required to report the total of all nonitemized expenditures.
According to the court document, personal expenditures made between May 2009 and December 2012 from Bookout's first campaign account totaled $111,520.14, and personal expenditures made from the other account between March 2012 and July 2013 totaled $38,527.98. It said the monthly reports prepared, signed and filed by Bookout claimed the expenditures constituted campaign expenses.
Bookout hand-delivered some of the reports to the secretary of state's office, while he faxed others on their due dates from Craighead County, and then later mailed them, the charging document states.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Arkansas State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tricia Harris and Jack McQuary, in his capacity as a special assistant U.S. attorney and a special prosecutor for the state.
The state Ethics Commission fined Bookout $4,000 last year for violations of state ethics laws in 2010, after fining him $8,000 for violations in 2012.
The $4,000 fine settled a complaint filed by conservative blogger and accountant Jason Tolbert of Benton, who accused Bookout of failing to itemize his final distribution of more than $25,000 in campaign surplus funds, failing to file reports disclosing expenditures he made using $15,800 in carry-over funds he retained from the 2010 election cycle, and failing to itemize all single expenditures exceeding $100.
On Dec. 30, 2013, then-Republican Lt. Gov Mark Darr of Springdale agreed to pay an $11,000 fine to the commission for violating ethics laws and regulations, including making personal use of $31,572 of his campaign funds. That was the single largest fine levied by the commission in more than 20 years of operations. The violations in that case were uncovered by liberal blogger and attorney Matt Campbell of Little Rock, who filed a complaint.
Bookout had tried to plead guilty on at least three occasions in recent weeks, but bad weather hampered his efforts to drive back and forth from Jonesboro to the federal courthouse in Little Rock.
Metro on 03/12/2015