Former KY deputy judge-executive indicted for felony theft, official misconduct
A former deputy judge-executive is Kentucky was indicted Friday on charges of felony theft and official misconduct, according to Attorney General Russell Coleman.
Joseph Ender, 40, is the former deputy judge-executive of Oldham County. Ender was hired by the Oldham County Fiscal Court in March 2024, but fired this summer after he shared a recording of a closed-door meeting with other officials. The move was a breach of trust with his supervisor, Oldham County Judge-Executive David Voegele.
Ender is charged with theft of services of more than $10,000 and first-degree official misconduct, according to Coleman’s office.
The former public official allegedly diverted Oldham County Road Department equipment and employees to complete work on his private property, according to Coleman’s office. The attorney general’s Department of Criminal Investigations looked into the allegations.
The theft of services charge is a class C felony when more than $10,000 is involved in the alleged theft. Terms of imprisonment for a class C felony conviction in Kentucky run from 5 to 10 years.
The official misconduct charge is a misdemeanor, according to Coleman’s office.
Ender is scheduled to be arraigned in Oldham Circuit Court Thursday, Jan. 8 according to court records.
Details of termination lawsuit
Ender filed a whistleblower act lawsuit against the fiscal court in September, claiming Voegele unlawfully retaliated against him by firing him over a breach of trust. The lawsuit claims Ender suffered humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety and increased stress from the termination. He’s seeking unspecified compensation for the damages and a jury trial.
The former deputy judge-executive was fired July 1, a little more than a month after he participated in a closed-door meeting with Voegele, fiscal court magistrates and Western Hospitality Partners, a real estate development company that builds large-scale data centers. The company previously applied to build a 240-acre hyperscale data center in the county, but it couldn’t build on the proposed property because of its agriculture zoning designation, according to the lawsuit.
The meeting took place May 22, and the attendees collaborated to find a new direction for the data center. The lawsuit alleges Western Hospitality agreed to withdraw its application and launch a positive marketing campaign in exchange for promises, like favorable legislation, to ensure the project could move forward.
Ender believed some of the promises between Western Hospitality and the fiscal court were illegal, and he shared a recording of the meeting with state Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, who represents Oldham County. Ender eventually sent his complaint and the meeting’s recording to the attorney general’s office June 18, according to the lawsuit.
Six days later, Voegele asked Ender to sign an affidavit of non-recording regarding the meeting. The lawsuit says Ender told Voegele he wouldn’t sign because he shared a copy of the recording with Tichenor and the attorney general’s office having suspected bribery, collusion or official misconduct.
Voegele described Ender’s actions as a “complete betrayal of my trust” and said he had “no choice but to let you go down with the ship,” the lawsuit reads. Two days later, Ender was placed on involuntary leave with pay before being fired July 1.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the fiscal court denied all of Ender’s allegations.
After the meeting with Western Hospitality, clips began to circulate on social media. Court documents say officials began investigating the leak, suspecting there was an illegal “bug” planted in the fiscal court building.
Ender did not cooperate with the investigation, which caused concern regarding his trustworthiness, court documents say. He also did not tell the fiscal court he shared the recording of the meeting prior to his termination and didn’t disclose his actions until after he was fired.
“It was Ender’s failure to cooperate with a legitimate investigation into a possible ‘bug’ that led to his termination, not any protected activity,” court documents say.
The fiscal court has requested the case be partially dismissed, according to court documents. A judge has not made a ruling on the request, and there is no scheduled court date for the lawsuit.
