Note the massive curtains to the left and right of the limestone pillar. This location, somewhere in East Tennessee, is purported to be a full two miles underground.
Unknown Location: former East Tennessee limestone mine being repurposed for…?
Category: Bluegrass Conspiracy
I was visited…
I’m almost certain one of the former officials I’ve been researching, writing about and criticizing, came to my hometown last December. He was waiting for me outside a grocery store, leaning on the car next to mine with his arms crossed, with the faintest hint of a smile.
He wished me “Merry Christmas.”
I was carrying a couple bags of groceries that took a few seconds to throw in my trunk. He was gone by the time I slipped behind the wheel.
I knew the experience was out of place, but it wasn’t until a short time later I realized he strongly resembled one of the men I’ve studied in newspaper articles and on websites, trying to piece together the deep and longstanding corruption within the southeast Kentucky justice system.
You don’t expect someone you’ve examined from afar to show up in a Kroger parking lot, waiting for you. He was uncannily fit for his age. His appearance, impeccable. Quite congenial in his greeting, he clearly had no fear coming face to face with me.
I too, exhibited no fear at the time because:
1. off-the-wall stuff has been happening to me for years now, and while I can pick up on it in a second, I’ve become a little desensitized to it and,
2. it just didn’t dawn on me until I left the parking lot who the man appeared to be.
It unnerved me. (I loathe saying that.) I basically put my whole blog on “unpublished” status over it. I’m trying to get the courage to repost all the posts.
Two quotes I have about ‘fear’ on my refrigerator:
- “What you are afraid to do, is a clear indication of the next thing you must do.”
- “Fear is wisdom in the face of danger.”
Any courage you can will my way, I deeply appreciate. Thanks for reading and sticking around.
Kentucky State Police: Betty Carnes “murder” evidence “put in garbage.”
Link to the first of four KSP Open Records files regarding the alleged murder of Betty Carnes: https://www.everybodyhatescharlie.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KSP-Partin-Docs-1.pdf
MAX.
“…it would probably take days and days and days of all the stuff that went on. I know the federal judge back there, when they, with the sheriff and all them, you know, everybody, like you said, there was instant justice. Jimmy Renfro had bodyguards on him. He had a guy named Max, I can’t remember Max’s last name, at the time, that killed four or five people for him, crap like that.
All the judges and everything was all in, all in it. I remember, they had a trial, they had a trial and they went up to Louisville with the trial, and the judge, the federal judge said if he had his way about it, that he would take Bell County and fence it off and make it all one federal prison it was so bad.” (excerpt from 2019 interview with former CIA contractor and colleague of Jim Renfro and John Asher)
“Handy used to have a bodyguard, and it was rumored that Handy ordered him to kill an ex-convict who had served his time and was released from prison and whom Handy felt threatened by. I can’t remember the man’s name, but he drowned in Laurel Lake and it was ruled an accident even though the man had no history of fishing or swimming there.” (confidential source, 2016)
G.M.C. II is allegedly deceased.
1982 CR-24 London KY narcotics trafficking case: search warrants and affidavits
Full file as received from National Archives: https://www.everybodyhatescharlie.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/82-cr-24_Search-Warrants-and-Affidavits.pdf
“Old Bluegrass Conspiracy” flow chart
Exhibit 59 from the Ruben Salinas murder trial
Ruben Salinas, while Hispanic, is not Mexican.
Robert Booth Nichols: “If you don’t ask the questions, how can you know?”
-from Cherie Seymour’s manuscript “The Last Circle”
Allegation: Kentucky State Police and FBI perpetuate fraud by lying about “joint investigation”
Did Special Agent John Gill perjure himself to protect a Commonwealth Attorney’s involvement in drug trafficking?
The following are excerpts from a series of emails and correspondence regarding a records request made to KSP regarding the 1982 trafficking case discussed here: “Organized crime finds a home at Tom Handy’s hotels.”
The twenty seven pages provided by KSP concerning this alleged 11-month investigation were the UORs, or, Uniform Offense Reports from the day of the raids/arrests (September 18, 1982) and UORs from dates following the arrests. There were no documents found concerning this investigation prior to September 18, 1982.
The following are examples of the UORs provided in response to the records request:
Official appeal to the Office of the Attorney General:
Exhibits A and B are the second and third documents above (court transcript and newspaper article showing KSP were supposed to have been involved in investigation for almost a year).
The search warrant that is never served on Tom Handy’s friend:
Tom Handy’s friend who was able to avoid being served the signed search warrant?
He has friends in interesting places:
Exhibits E and F: under oath, FBI Agent John Gill conceals Tom Handy as the owner of the hotel where so much drug activity took place the judge called the hotel “the headquarters” of the drug ring:
and here, another opportunity to give the very pertinent information that a Commonwealth Attorney owned the hotel:
Daniel Cameron, Tom Handy and Mitch McConnell: can two bad apples spoil the third?
Daniel Cameron, the Attorney General whose office received the above records request appeal, is now running for Kentucky governor. He has been endorsed by Tom Handy and is a close friend (and former legal counsel) of Mitch McConnell (see video about McConnell’s involvement with this very drug ring here.)
Knox and Laurel Counties Kentucky: where criminals are commended and the innocent are condemned
The following was submitted by guest JurisDoctorate as a response to the article, “Rooted in corruption: the early days of Tom Handy, former Commonwealth Attorney of Knox, Laurel counties.” Eloquent and eye-opening, I decided the comment deserves its own dedicated page on this blog.
The most horrifying aspect of the entire kangaroo court system in Knox/Laurel Counties, is that Tom Handy railroaded defendants for over two decades and got away with it. The number of convictions overturned by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the Kentucky Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals — convictions procured by Tom Handy’s office between the late 1970s and the late 1990s — is both bewildering and disturbing. Just as the OP documented and outlined in the above story, many convictions were overturned due to egregious due process violations, fabricated or altered evidence, perjury on the part of the Commonwealth’s witnesses, failure to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense (“Brady” violations), jury tampering, and blatant lies told by Tom Handy, Jimmy Phelps, Johnny Phelps, KSP troopers and other agents for the Commonwealth, while under oath. Any other prosecutor in any other jurisdiction would almost certainly have been disbarred for prosecutorial misconduct and prosecuted for repeatedly perpetrating fraud upon the judiciary in order to railroad criminal defendants of whom the Commonwealth knew were innocent. If the 27th Judicial Circuit (Knox & Laurel Counties) is not the most corrupt and nepotistic jurisdiction in the entire country, I would be hard-pressed to conceive of a scenario where corruption was more abundant.
Tom Handy’s tenure as Commonwealth’s Attorney and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney is only the tiny tip of the proverbial iceberg. Laurel County now has a jailer who, since being elected into office, has made several millions of dollars by selling electronic cigarettes to inmates. Jailer Jamie Mosley owns Crossbar Electronic Cigarettes, a very lucrative company that manufactures and sells special safety designed electronic cigarettes to jails and prisons throughout the United States. That fact is not problematic in and of itself — it’s the manner in which Jailer Mosley founded and established his multimillion dollar business. Indeed, he started by selling his patented e-cigs to the inmates at the Laurel County Jail — the same jail he was elected to supervise and operate.
Federal and state laws are very clear that a genuine conflict of interest ensues when an elected jailer — who is paid by the county fiscal court — conducts business in a manner where financial gain is being obtained by way of the jailer’s official office. It’s double dipping first and foremost — running a profitable business while conducting the duties for which he is being paid by the good taxpayers. It would be no different than a KSP trooper working as security personnel for a business while on the clock at the KSP post. So, when this conflict of interest came to light and taxpayers began making inquiries into the legal and ethical standpoints of the matter, guess what Jailer Mosley posits to alleviate himself of criminal culpability and malfeasance of office? He did what any good Laurel County politician would do — he told a bold face lie, stating that it was his wife, not he, who owned and operated Crossbar Cigarettes.
By selling e-cigs for a couple of years to the inmates of the jail he was elected to supervise, as well as other county jails in Kentucky, Jamie Mosley’s entrepreneurship paid off and he was able to build the company into the very successful multimillion dollar business it is today. In 2018 alone, for instance, CrossBar profited more than $3.5 million bucks. And he built his foundation while being paid by the taxpayers of Laurel County. Incredibly, he continues to get away with it.
I should also mention the elected Sheriff of Laurel County, Mr. John Root. A more corrupt sheriff there has never been. Sheriff Root likewise profits while on the taxpayers’ dime. For example, he allows several local businesses in Laurel County to own and operate illegal gambling machines, AKA “poker machines”… for a modest fee of course. Proprietors of these small stores are given very clear directives regarding the financial arrangement for being allowed to operate. The Sheriff’s office hosts fundraisers and benefit events throughout the year for a colorful variety of “good causes.” Store owners who operate these poker machines are strongly encouraged to be forthcoming with modest donations to these good causes. In turn, they receive promises that law enforcement will turn a blind eye to the illegal gambling and will not make on-duty appearances at the businesses just as long as the riffraff doesn’t get out of hand. No obvious drug trafficking in the parking lot; no prostitutes being obvious with their goods and services; no public drunkenness to a degree where fights start breaking out; and, of course, free coffee and donuts for the boys in blue. After all, these officers are promoting “good causes” in the community.
These rules apply equally to poker rooms and cockfighting establishments. However, Sheriff Root has recently drawn unwanted attention from some of the more prominent animal rights organizations such as SHARK (SHOWING ANIMALS RESPECT AND KINDNESS), a group which is very active in investigating and trying to shut down venues where cockfights are held, as well as taking steps to have the venue owners arrested and prosecuted. Check out YouTube by searching for the keywords “SHARK,” “Supersheriff John Root” and “Cockfighting.” This group has put a rather intense spotlight on much of the corruption occurring in Laurel County.
To cover even a scintilla of the nepotism, cronyism and public corruption occurring in Laurel and Knox Counties, I would need to pen several chapters of a robust manuscript. Some occurrences are so baffling to believe that they sound like works of fiction. Moreover, I’m so paranoid posting this reply that I have taken steps to spoof my IP address and encrypt all my internet traffic by routing it through a foreign VPN server.
The politicians in the 27th Judicial Circuit would do well to employ caution in their everyday dealings and crookery. I recall that several years ago, Clay County, Kentucky, was knee-deep in political corruption and kangaroo court practices. Most people believed those powerful men could not be touched by the law. On July 9, 2009, the Clay County Circuit Court Judge, Cletus Maricle, Clay County School Superintendent Doug Adams, Clay County Clerk Freddy W. Thompson, and Clay County election officer William Stivers, as well as other Clay County officials, were named in a 13-count federal indictment. The indictment included Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) charges relating to a county-wide vote-buying scheme which allegedly occurred from 2002 until 2007. The four aforementioned officials, as well as other defendants, were ultimately convicted of the charges per a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s office. Although the sentences handed down did not result in prison time, the ordeal ruined the men in the political arena.
Like the officials in Laurel County, the Clay County politicians were being far too bold and arrogant in their corrupt schemes. Their collective disregard for discreteness ultimately led to their demise. I’m no fortune teller, clairvoyant or divine seer, but I have a hunch that several of the top elected officials in Laurel County will likewise be named in a federal indictment sometime within the next two years. Good riddance is my position on it.
In true accord, I hope they get railroaded.
-JD
Full article from The Gleaner here
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113872092/
and here
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113872163/
Johnny Bizzack: a possible link between Melanie Flynn, Rebecca Moore, and Betty Carnes?
Update: I believe this obituary may reference John Bizzack Sr., father of John W. Bizzack. More ties between the Bizzack name and the rats’ nest in southeastern Kentucky will be documented in a future post.
More evidence surfaces of ties between Sally Denton’s Bluegrass Conspiracy players to southeast Kentucky: Johnny Bizzack, former Lexington police detective long suspected of helping to cover up the disappearance of Melanie Flynn and the death of Rebecca Moore, has at least one link to Knox County:
Johnny Bizzack, Charles Hopper, Walter Hopper Jr., and H.M. Callihan…
Never mind six degrees of separation, John Bizzack’s name alongside Knox County’s Charles Hopper and Walter Hopper Jr. of funeral home fame downright startled me, especially given the rumor that Betty Carnes had been seen with Charles at a Cincinnati night club before her murder, Charles’ own mysterious death before Delmar Partin’s trial, and the cloud of suspicion that’s followed Johnny Bizzack since Sally Denton zeroed in on his behavior in the Flynn and Moore cases. You may also remember when I questioned George Nichols. medical examiner, about the autopsy report not matching Betty Carnes, he said Walter Hopper, the coroner, was the one who contacted him to retrieve Betty’s body, except Walter Hopper was not the coroner at the time.
H.M. Callihan was in business with Jimmy Renfro around the same time as Melanie Flynn’s disappearance and Bizzack’s acquaintance with these notable Knox Countians:
Remember what the CIA contractor I interviewed about Vance Mills, James Renfro and the cocaine trafficking going on in southeast Kentucky said?
I’ll never forget, Johnny Asher said to me one day, ‘We got it figured out back here. You kill a hog, we could never figure out how to get paid when he squeals. But we learned how to use every part of that hog when we’d kill him. But we could never figure our how to get paid for the squeal.’ I couldn’t figure that out for a long time. What in the heck does he mean by that?
“Then they had offered me, ‘If you ever die, we’ll give you a free funeral. If any of your friends ever die, we’ll give them free funerals.’ Well that’s almost unheard of. That’s real southern hospitality they showed me at the start. I didn’t know they was gonna take these people and stuff them full of guns and drugs and network them through the whole country. That’s what they got caught for. And they didn’t get jail for it! What you are dealing with, it’s pretty serious stuff.”