Richie Farmer indicted

[blueboss]

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/former-kentucky-player-richie-farmer-federal-indictment-agriculture-commissioner-042213

[KMSBball]

So sad. I really thought that Richie would become Governor of KY. He sure pi$$ed in his Post Toasties.

Undoubtedly if he's convicted there will be talk about removing his jersey from the rafters at Rupp. I for one would be opposed to that. What he did at UK has little to do with his mistakes after he left. It does, IMO, give credence to putting some years between when a player leaves UK and deciding to hang his jersey in the rafters.

[Rock Hard Ten]

Greed will getcha every time.....it certainly caught Richie......passionate conservative Repub here, but one thing that is an unpardonable sin, with yours truly, is greed......can remember, early on in his tenure, of his hiring relatives......apparently, he felt he could function outside of normal practices......

In Kentucky, if you are a Repub, be assured you will get nailed if you do anything wrong......Richie is a Repub!!!

[akaukswoosh]

He sure pi$$ed in his Post Toasties.

Yep.

[cattails]

If the charges are true I hope they throw the book at him, no different than a common thief

[Genuine Realist]

It wouldn't have happened if Pitino had played him more.

[akaukswoosh]

It wouldn't have happened if Pitino had played him more.

LoL Good one.

[WoodstockCat]

I hate this. The destruction he has caused to his own life, to all those around him and to those he defrauded.

[KeithKSR]

I see no difference in what Farmer did and what the POTUS does; except one costs taxpayers thousands, one millions if not billions.

[BarristerCat]

So sad. I really thought that Richie would become Governor of KY. He sure pi$$ed in his Post Toasties.

A lot of people -- on both sides of the political aisle -- thought he would be Governor. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think it would be naive to believe that the timing of the allegations had nothing to do with political concerns.

[BigBlue92]

Actually Barrister, no. This is all Richie. I am as conservative as anyone on this board, most likely, and pretty involved in KY GOP politics. I agree generally with the theory that KY Republicans have to watch out because they eill be politically targeted. Richie, however, not only s**t his bed, he jumped in it while hollering "hey y'all, watch this!"

There is a huge difference in plain greed, and utter stupidity. Stupidity born of a ridiculous sense of entitlement. There have been many greedy ones - heck, all of them. Richie flat did not care. He would not listen to anyone, either. It is just sad, honestly.

But don't take down his jersey.

[UKHistory]

This might be more barbershop than the premium site, but I have to respond. Keith, have you read the original auditor's report?

It is a pretty damning document. It shows Farmer abused his position and did so in such obvious ways, it was done on the cheap.

Maybe here. Maybe in another thread on barbershop or just private email me, please list unallowable expenses and how Barry has abused his position thus far.

How many relatives has he hired? How many Federal employees has he lied about being on official travel so that he get free rooms for his family. How many unqualified mistresses has he hired?

How many national conferences has the president held in which he has tried to recoup all of the hotel bonus points for his personal use? How many federally purchased gifts has Barry stashed away in the residence?

Now both did have basketball courts installed. One as Secretary of Agriculture misappropriated funds including state employee time. One is the President who has some sort of allowance to modify his home.

Richie made a great salary--most likely more money in year than some of his family could have made in 10. Despite that he abused his position and showed his greed and ignorance.

I agree with Barrister that Farmer's political enemies, knowing #32's popularity, helped encourage this investigation. Poor states like our Commonwealth are riddled with corruption. But Farmer was so brazen and so stupid--even more so after leaving office.

He refused to cut his pay while state employees got furloughed. But he applies for unemployment insurance?

And the worst part about this? As the reporters were gathering evidence and Richie's life was beginning to fall apart, he was lobbying for Mitch's job.

As concerned as I am about Mitch' performance, the thought of Richie running UK athletics is horrifying.

But back to the original concern. Obama's policies might prove to be catastrophic for the country. I certainly oppose his zeal against the second amendment. I criticize the President's inexperience and arrogance in dealing with Congress. But I won't question his ethics in terms of padding his personal accounts based on what I know now.

And regrettably Richie is not in the stratophere of Barry's intelligence. Such a comparison is hard to make except through the most partisan of tinted glasses


I see no difference in what Farmer did and what the POTUS does; except one costs taxpayers thousands, one millions if not billions.

[BarristerCat]

Actually Barrister, no. This is all Richie. I am as conservative as anyone on this board, most likely, and pretty involved in KY GOP politics. I agree generally with the theory that KY Republicans have to watch out because they eill be politically targeted. Richie, however, not only s**t his bed, he jumped in it while hollering "hey y'all, watch this!"

There is a huge difference in plain greed, and utter stupidity. Stupidity born of a ridiculous sense of entitlement. There have been many greedy ones - heck, all of them. Richie flat did not care. He would not listen to anyone, either. It is just sad, honestly.

But don't take down his jersey.

I said the timing. I wasn't talking about the underlying acts. I understand that Richie put himself in this position. I'm not trying to big time you (because I am not big time), but I probably have a better understanding of what happened than anyone on this board -- and my understanding doesn't come through the lens of KY GOP politics.

[UKHistory]

Barrister,

I thought there was merit to your position. I am even more intrigued now. I think there are a lot of corrupt politicians in Frankfort. David Williams a shining example of horrible leadership.

[CitizenBBN]

A lot of people -- on both sides of the political aisle -- thought he would be Governor. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think it would be naive to believe that the timing of the allegations had nothing to do with political concerns.

I'm not defending Richie, I despise graft and corruption, but anyone who thinks this is beyond the pale of what happens routinely in state and federal government is being naive. This is penny ante stuff.

His mistake was to do it directly. You don't take a laptop from the office to your house. You write a book, and a lobbyist or industry CEO buys 10,000 copies of it, and you in turn make sure to push those contracts a certain way. Nothing can be proven well enough to get an indictment, and you swear on a stack of bibles you would never compromise the integrity of your office.


Here's what I find interesting: a UK player who graduated 20 years ago is indicted for something that has nothing to do with basketball and it's national news. A UNC faculty member attests to 20 years of outright academic fraud and NCAA violations and no one mentions it.

[UKHistory]

Citizen: Preach on Brother! I love you to death.

The line between legal and illegal is the writing on a piece of paper. Richie's nickel and dime ways make him an easy target.

There is graft and abuse at all levels. I have got no use for it. But it is there GSA really hurt the image of the Federal government. Not that our image was pristine before.

It is how you do it. The ties between corporate America, K Street lobbyists and elected officials are strong. They with revolving doors.

[JimUK]

I see no difference in what Farmer did and what the POTUS does; except one costs taxpayers thousands, one millions if not billions.

No kiddin.......

[catsroar]

If this thread is going to get political (as in D v. R), I wish it would be moved to the outer boards.

[LakeCat]

I'm not defending Richie, I despise graft and corruption, but anyone who thinks this is beyond the pale of what happens routinely in state and federal government is being naive. This is penny ante stuff.

His mistake was to do it directly. You don't take a laptop from the office to your house. You write a book, and a lobbyist or industry CEO buys 10,000 copies of it, and you in turn make sure to push those contracts a certain way. Nothing can be proven well enough to get an indictment, and you swear on a stack of bibles you would never compromise the integrity of your office.


Here's what I find interesting: a UK player who graduated 20 years ago is indicted for something that has nothing to do with basketball and it's national news. A UNC faculty member attests to 20 years of outright academic fraud and NCAA violations and no one mentions it.

This times 1,000. I was a prosecutor for 20 years and pretty hard core. Richie was stupid and he has paid a high price for the few thousands he benefitted. But could you imagine if a few former governors and other state wide office holders got the same scrutiny Richie did?? This is overkill and I bet there are a few in Frankfort who will regret this precedence being set.

[CitizenBBN]

This times 1,000. I was a prosecutor for 20 years and pretty hard core. Richie was stupid and he has paid a high price for the few thousands he benefitted. But could you imagine if a few former governors and other state wide office holders got the same scrutiny Richie did?? This is overkill and I bet there are a few in Frankfort who will regret this precedence being set.

More than half of them would be under indictment, easy. As you well know since you were in far better position than I to see how it really works.

Richie cheated small time stuff, but stuff that had an easily followed paper trail. You cheat in ways that don't have any paper trail, can't be proven b/c it's all opinion and conjecture. "Plausible deniability" is the name of the game.

[Rock Hard Ten]

Just take the highway contracts and work backwards......the trails would lead to some interesting ends