FRANKFORT — More than 250 pages of documents have been released to the public relating to what prosecutors say was a bourbon theft ring that operated in central Kentucky for years.
Local media outlets report that the records were unsealed Friday after a Franklin Circuit Court judge ruled that defense attorneys involved in the case did not have a compelling enough reason to prevent public access.
The ruling came more than a month after The Courier-Journal asked the court to make the records public, arguing the media outlet had constitutional and common law rights to access the evidence.
The newly released documents provide in-depth detail on investigations into Gilbert "Toby" Curtsinger, the man prosecutors allege led a nine-member organized crime ring that obtained and sold bourbons, as well as trafficked steroids since 2008.
The Courier-Journal reports that the documents show how multiple buyers allegedly "came into contact with Curtsinger and other members of the group, including one buyer who had agreed to pay $3,000 for nine bottles of Pappy Van Winkle."
