Moonshine, cases of ammunition and more in whistleblower suit against indicted coroner

Three former deputy coroners say in a whistleblower lawsuit that they saw Scott County Coroner John Goble break the law and regulations before he terminated their employment.

Beginning in early 2017, Andrew Tackett, Tom Purvis and Mark Sutton allege that they began witnessing “serious issues of misconduct, ethical violations, violations of state coroner regulations, official document falsification, and other potential crimes being committed” by Goble. As a result of their disclosures and subsequent retaliation, the three allege they were subject to reprisal in violation of the Kentucky Whistleblower Act.

The complaint was filed Friday in Scott Circuit Court. Goble had no immediate comment.

Goble was indicted in June on charges of receiving stolen property, abuse of public trust, trafficking in a controlled substance and two counts of official misconduct. A state trooper and a retired state police colonel were indicted along with Goble.

Although he was indicted, Goble remains in office as coroner and is up for re-election in November.

The suit says Tackett was present in September 2017 when “Goble falsified information given to the Scott County sheriff related to an official fatal accident investigation.”

In October 2017, Sutton and Tackett alleged they they personally witnessed Goble “take narcotics from a death scene investigation which were never destroyed.”

Tackett also alleges that he personally witnessed Goble remove narcotics from a scene on Nov. 25, 2017.

The complaint says Goble asked Sutton and Tackett to unload from the coroner’s vehicle “what turned out to be cases of ammunition.” Purvis saw the ammunition being stored in the coroner’s office. Later, Tackett saw Goble give the ammunition stored in the coroner’s basement to an unknown person. (When the indictment was returned, state police said more than $40,000 in ammunition was unlawfully removed from the state police supply branch in Frankfort.)

The three former deputy coroners say they witnessed Goble “using official vehicles to transport illegal moonshine throughout the county.” The suit says Goble “would often present moonshine to Scott County residents while reminding them that an election was approaching.”

All three former deputy coroners say they also witnessed multiple regulations being violated “such as blood samples stored in the regular refrigerator with food and alcohol.”

Other violations included falsification of death certificates. For example, the suit says, Goble informed his deputies that “he would label most causes of death as ‘heart attack’ because the heart always stops working when a person dies, and it was less paperwork ... than preparing a report on the actual case or contributing cause of death.”

Tackett, Purvis and Sutton reported the alleged misconduct, ethical and policy violations and possible criminal activity to Scott County Judge-Executive George Lusby and the county attorney. The county attorney referred the reports to the state attorney general’s office and Kentucky State Police.

Goble became aware of the reports to the county attorney and put a mounted shotgun in the county coroner’s vehicle. The three deputy coroners were placed on administrative leave beginning Jan. 4.

Tackett, Purvis and Sutton met with state police investigators to provide facts related to their reports originally made to the judge-executive. While these meetings occurred, Goble attempted to terminate the mandated training certification course for Tackett and Purvis, the complaint says.

Goble was indicted on June 7. The suit says Goble “effectively terminated” the employment of Tackett, Purvis and Sutton in the weeks after the indictment. Scott Fiscal Court is also named as a defendant.

The three former deputies seek a trial by jury, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees.