Background
Bookout was born on June 30, 1962, in El Dorado, Arkansas, the child of Jerry and Loretta (née Langford) Bookout.
Bookout was born on June 30, 1962, in El Dorado, Arkansas, the child of Jerry and Loretta (née Langford) Bookout.
He graduated from Arkansas State University.
Bookout served as President pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate from 2011 to 2013. The elder Bookout had held the seat from 1973 to 1997, and again from 2003 until his death. Resignation
Bookout resigned from the senate in 2013 after it was discovered that he spent campaign funds on personal expenses.
He was fined $7,000 in two separate actions by the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
Conviction
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. He will not be sentenced until a report by the federal probation office.
The United States attorney"s office, as part of the agreement will not make a sentencing recommendation, for or against an enhanced sentence. Under the agreement Bookout pay about $150,158, though it is not certain who will get the money, the state or contributors.
The crime could carry 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.
Married Sheryl Bookout.