Former Kentucky prosecutor admits seeking meth and sex from defendants he helped
A former felony prosecutor in Eastern Kentucky has admitted soliciting sex and methamphetamine from people and using his authority to help them in court.
Scott Blair, who resigned as commonwealth’s attorney for Perry County after he was arrested April 12, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in London to a charge of honest services wire fraud.
The charge means he deprived the citizens of Perry County of the honest services he owed them as an elected official, and used electronic communication to further the crime.
Blair, 52, acknowledged in court that he used Facebook to send someone a message in July 2021 pledging he wouldn’t push to have the person’s probation revoked and solicited a sex act from the person.
In a later message, Blair told the person, “You should know I watch out for you . . .,” according to an affidavit from Zachary Bryson, an FBI task force officer who investigated the case.
The charging document against Blair said there were a number of instances in which he used his position to recommend probation or participation in drug treatment programs for defendants — rather than prison time — or refrained from pursuing parole violations “in exchange for methamphetamine, the procurement of methamphetamine, and sex acts.”
It cited an example in which Blair had a defendant pick up meth for him and deliver it a number of times.
Court records show the person received a suspended sentence and unsupervised probation even though he had multiple felony offenses, according to the charge.
Blair’s case moved from arrest to conviction very quickly. Asked about that, Blair’s attorney, Ned Pillersdorf, pointed to the strength of the case.
The initial complaint by Bryson indicated multiple witnesses had provided information about Blair allegedly soliciting meth or sex from people.
Bryson also got access to Blair’s Facebook account through a search warrant. The search turned up numerous messages about Blair requesting sex or meth from people in exchange for using his office to help them, Bryson said.
Blair told U.S. Magistrate Judge Hanly A. Ingram during the hearing that he was “quite confident” the government could prove the charges.
Blair said he is addicted to meth and feels great contrition over his conduct.
He resigned as commonwealth’s attorney soon after being arrested, and said Friday in court that he will give up his law license voluntarily and take steps to remove his name from the ballot.
Blair took office as commonwealth’s attorney in 2019 and was unopposed for another term this year.
“At the end of the day, this is a textbook example of how methamphetamine corrupts your judgment,” Pillersdorf said.
The charge against Blair is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but Blair’s sentence will likely be less than that under advisory guidelines.
Ingram said he would recommend that U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier accept Blair’s guilty plea.
