Paul Bookout
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Paul Jerry Bookout (born June 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as the President pro tempore of the
Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...
from 2011 to 2013, when he resigned from office. A member of the Democratic Party, Bookout served as an Arkansas Representative from 1999 until 2004 and as an Arkansas Senator from 2006 to 2013. Bookout was convicted of
wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...
in 2014.


Early life and education

Paul Bookout was born on June 30, 1962, in
El Dorado, Arkansas El Dorado ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Arkansas, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city is 17,755. El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...
, to
Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * Jerry (play), a 1914 American play ...
and Loretta (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Langford) Bookout. He graduated from
Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...
.


Political career

Bookout served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2004, when he was elected to fill the seat of his late father, Jerry, who had held the seat from 1973 to 1997, and again from 2003 until his death. Paul Bookout then served in the Arkansas Senate from 2006 until 2013 during which time he also served as the President pro tempore of the Senate from 2011 to 2013.


Criminal investigation and resignation

Bookout resigned as the President pro tempore and as an Arkansas Senator in 2013 after it was discovered he spent campaign funds on personal expenses. On March 11, 2015, Bookout entered a negotiated plea in federal court to a felony mail fraud count for using interstate communications to file a false report in the scheme. On March 2, 2016, he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Brian Miller also ordered Bookout to pay $150,048 in restitution, according to court records. He reported to prison on May 2, 2016. Under the agreement Bookout was ordered to pay about $150,158, though it is not certain who will get the money, the state or contributors. The crime could have carried a sentence up to 20 years. Judge Brian Miller noted he could depart from guidelines, in either direction. The amount he owes is the amount from two campaign cycles studied by prosecutors within the three-year period under which charges could be filed. But he spent far more over the years in a similar manner. Bookout was released from prison on July 17, 2017.


See also

*
List of 2010s American state and local politicians convicted of crimes This list includes American politicians at the state and local levels who have been convicted of felony crimes committed while in office by decade; this list encompasses the 2010s. At the bottom of the article are links to related articles which ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bookout, Paul Jerry 1962 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Baptists 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly 21st-century Baptists American people convicted of fraud Arkansas politicians convicted of crimes Arkansas State University alumni Baptists from Arkansas Businesspeople from Arkansas American funeral directors American hospital administrators Democratic Party Arkansas state senators Living people Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives People from El Dorado, Arkansas Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud Politicians from Jonesboro, Arkansas Presidents pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate 20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly