Paul Bookout

Early life and education

Bookout was born on June 30, 1962 in El Dorado to Jerry and Loretta (Langford) Bookout. He graduated from Arkansas State University.

Political career

Bookout served as President pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate from 2011-13. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, elected to fill the term of his late father, Jerry, in the senate in 2006. The elder Bookout had held the seat from 1973-97, 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. 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.