Lieutenant Kristine Lafoe, the only female defendant so far in USA v McQueen et al, the Fayette jail inmate abuse scandal, had good reason to steer clear from the official misdeeds of which she is accused.
At the very least, she should have known better than to ignore the warnings of whistleblower Cpl. John Vest, who said in sworn testimony he reported cases of excessive force against inmates up his chain of command. Lafoe was in charge of the intake area of the jail when Vest worked there.
Kristine Albaugh Lafoe is the daughter of former Fayette County Chief Deputy Sheriff Joe Albaugh. Mr. Albaugh assisted in the indictment and conviction of former Sheriff Lonas Taulbee, who did hard time for theft and malfeasance after getting caught stuffing cash in the ceiling of his office.
When Albaugh ran for sheriff himself in 1998, he told Ace Magazine "I came forward with great danger to myself and my family."
Lafoe's trial starts August 18 and Vest is suing the city of Lexington for millions of dollars for trying to shut him up when he put himself and his family in danger.
An interesting side note is that Lonas Taulbee's daughter is Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator Renee True, who ran on a gubernatorial slate last year with the ethically challenged Steve Henry.
