Richard A. Turner (born January 12, 1935) is an American politician from the commonwealth of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He served in the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

as a Republican from 1976 to 1978 and 1980 to 1997. Turner was caught in the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

investigation of Kentucky

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

industry called

Operation Boptrot Operation Boptrot, also referred to as Boptrot, was an investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into corruption among the Kentucky General Assembly, the Commonwealth's legislature. The operation was highly successful ...

. He was convicted of filing a fake campaign finance report.

Career

Prior to entering politics, Richard Turner studied at Tompkinsville High School where upon graduating then served and enlisted in the military as a Staff Sergeant in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

as an instructor. Upon honorably completing his military service, he enrolled at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

from 1958 to 1962, where he majored in history. After completing his bachelor's degree, he went on to teach in a one-room schoolhouse less than five miles from where he was born. Turner was elected to the House of Representatives in 1976, succeeding Carl Bowles as a representor of the state of Kentucky. After being succeeded by Buel Guy, he later started work at the Modern Woodmen of America, doing so currently along with managing and tending to his farmland.

Personal life

Turner resides in

Tompkinsville, Kentucky Tompkinsville is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky, Monroe County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was nam ...

, with his spouse Brenda Turner. He is an active member of the Free Masons and spends his time with family and friends while being an active member of Fairview Baptist Church.

References

Living people Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 1935 births People from Monroe County, Kentucky Kentucky politicians convicted of crimes Operation Boptrot 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly {{Kentucky-politician-stub