Kentucky lawyer’s gambling played role in theft of $1.2 million. He’ll get 8 years.

A Kentucky lawyer who stole more than $1.2 million from clients and gambled much of it away has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison.

The sentence for Danny P. Butler, 72, of Campbellsville, also included an order to repay $1,293,072 to clients and a Kentucky Bar Association fund.

Butler has surrendered his law license, but had a law office in Green County during the period of the thefts between August 2009 and October 2016.

In some cases, Butler used money he received from clients to pay others and hide thefts, but ultimately stole more than $1.2 million.

During the same period, he had about $1.5 million in gambling losses, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman, the federal prosecutor for the western end of the state.

Butler lost $512,562 in 2011 alone, according to a court record.

Butler used stolen money to finance his gambling habit and an “extravagant lifestyle,” according to the news release.

Butler’s attorney, Elmer J. George, argued for a lower sentence. Butler has health problems, including diabetes, and his wife has cancer, George said in a sentencing memorandum.

George also said that Butler’s actions stemmed from a gambling addiction. A counselor diagnosed Butler’s condition more than a decade ago, George said.

“Like most addicts, (Butler) failed to acknowledge the problem,” George wrote.

The advisory sentencing guideline in the case was 51 months to 63 months, according to court records, but U.S. District Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Butler to 96 months.

Federal judges are not bound by the advisory guidelines and sometimes impose longer sentences based on the circumstances of a case, including the severity of the crime.

Stivers sentenced Butler Thursday in Bowling Green.

Coleman said in a news release that Butler fell short on the solemn duty lawyers have to protect clients’ interests and be trustworthy.

“Danny Butler abandoned these principles and will pay a steep price,” Coleman said.

There is no parole in the federal court system. Inmates can cut 15 percent from their sentence through good behavior, but Butler will have to serve at least 85 percent of the eight years.