EX-DEPUTY SENTENCED TO PRISON

Allegedly Told Suspect about DEA Agents

LONDON - The onetime lead sheriff's detective in Harlan County gave the
target of an investigation information about federal drug agents and agreed
to hide assets for the suspect while she was in prison, according to
federal charges.

Roger Dean Hall, 37, also lied to the FBI about having a relationship with
the woman, Edna Harris, according to documents filed in the case against Hall.

U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell yesterday sentenced Hall to serve 15
months in federal prison. He is to report to prison June 22.

Hall pleaded guilty in December to three felonies, but the case was sealed
until recently. It was sealed while he was cooperating with federal
authorities in an investigation, according to documents in his case.

Court files do not show the subject of that investigation. U.S. Attorney
Gregory F. Van Tatenhove and Hall's attorney, Warren Scoville of London,
declined comment, though Scoville said in one court motion that Hall had
"cooperated in the investigation of prominent persons in Harlan County."

There apparently have been no charges filed yet as a result of that
investigation.

Hall has been the subject of keen interest in Harlan County, in part
because of his prominence as a police officer and the son of a longtime
county magistrate, but also because of speculation about what information
he could provide authorities.

Hall was a deputy in Harlan County from March 1991 to December 2003 and was
in charge of drug investigations. Harris had been an informant for him.

One charge against Hall was that he told Harris the location, identity and
vehicle description of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents working
in the Harlan County area, thereby corrupting or impeding an investigation.

Another was that, after Harris was arrested on federal drug charges in
March 2003, Hall "agreed or offered" to conceal some of her property after
she went to prison -- property that the government would have seized.

The third charge was that Hall lied about his relationship with Harris when
questioned by FBI agent Timothy S. Briggs.

Scoville said Hall gave Harris only information about the DEA agents that
he thought was harmless -- the motel where they were staying, which many
people knew anyway. And he agreed to keep a baseball card collection for
her while she was in prison because she'd helped him on cases and was
afraid her family would take it, Scoville said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger West, who prosecuted the case, said some
vehicles also were involved in that concealment charge.

As for lying to the FBI, Scoville said, Hall didn't want his wife to learn
he'd had an affair with Harris.

"Bill Clinton lied to the American people in a federal grand jury and he
got a pension of $200,000 a year. Roger Hall lied about the same subject
because he didn't want his wife to know and he's going to the pen,"
Scoville said.

In court, Hall said only that he was sorry for what he'd done and wanted to
get the case behind him and get on with his education. He is attending
Southeast Community College; he plans to get a degree in drug counseling
and return to Harlan County to help young people, Scoville said.

"He does not feel like he has ever violated the public trust," Scoville said.

But in court yesterday, West told Caldwell that Hall had in fact damaged
public trust in law enforcement and disappointed other officers.

"Obviously, this is not a good day for law enforcement in southeast
Kentucky," West said.

Van Tatenhove said it is demoralizing when a police officer abuses the
public trust, but that he hoped the fact that his office prosecuted the
case would restore trust.

Documents in Hall's case indicate that Harris double-crossed him. She
audiotaped the conversation that led to some of the charges against him,
and apparently turned it over to federal authorities in an attempt to get a
break after she was arrested on drug charges.

Harris died in federal prison of complications from hepatitis in February 2004.

Her husband, Dewayne Harris, was a major drug dealer who figured
prominently in the sensational story of former Harlan County Sheriff Paul
L. Brown-ing Jr., who was killed in March 2002.

After being elected sheriff in the early 1980s, Browning was convicted of
plotting to kill two political enemies and went to prison. With his right
to hold office restored, Browning was campaigning in the 2002 primary
election to try to unseat incumbent Sheriff Steve Duff.

The comeback attempt ended when someone shot Browning in the head and
burned his body in his pickup truck. One person has been charged in the
murder -- Johnny Epperson, who is serving a six-year federal sentence for
helping Dewayne Harris sell cocaine and OxyContin. Dewayne Harris is
serving 22 years.

After Browning's slaying, a videotape surfaced showing Harris giving
Browning a stack of cash. The tape was made at Harris' house in Dayhoit
with his knowledge, but without Browning's.

On the tape, Browning talked about how he would arrest some drug dealers
but protect others if elected sheriff. His family says he was investigating
drugs and public corruption, but others think he was taking a payoff.

Scoville said Hall had absolutely no involvement in the Browning murder and
no knowledge of it.