Ex-security guard pleads guilty to aiding Kentucky bourbon theft

By Steve Bittenbender LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - A former security guard at a Kentucky distillery pleaded guilty on Friday to a misdemeanor charge under a deal with prosecutors and has agreed to testify against others accused in the theft of rare bourbons and other expensive whiskeys, prosecutors said. Leslie Wright, 34, was indicted in May on a felony charge of complicity to receiving stolen property valued at more than $10,000, accused of taking $800 to look the other way while thieves stole 11 stainless steel barrels of spirits from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. Prosecutors say a group of people who knew each other through softball formed a theft ring that had been stealing whiskey for at least seven years, making off with liquor from the Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey distilleries valued at more than $100,000. Wright pleaded guilty in Franklin County court to facilitation to receive stolen property worth more than $10,000, a misdemeanor, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Zach Becker said. Wright could be sentenced to up to 12 months on the misdemeanor charge. He was facing up to 10 years in prison on the felony, according to court documents. According to a plea agreement entered into court, Wright twice facilitated thefts from Buffalo Trace, where prosecutors say she was approached by a worker who said he would give her money if she allowed him to take scrap metal barrels from the distillery. Nine other people have been charged in the conspiracy. Two have agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors. The group relied on workers at the distilleries to aid in their thefts, prosecutors have said. At least one of the barrels contained Eagle Rare, a 17-year-old bourbon worth about $500 a gallon, and the group is also accused of taking bottles of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle, which can cost more than $1,000 each on the secondary market. Bourbon is a $3 billion industry in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association. The state produces 95 percent of the world's bourbon supply. (Reporting by Steve Bittenbender; Editing by David Bailey and Frances Kerry)