Brentwood horse trainer being sued

BRENTWOOD — A local horse trainer was named in a Massachusetts lawsuit alleging he helped lure a Massachusetts man's horse to Kentucky to be bred.

Robert Turner of LM Turner Stables at 250 Pickpocket Road is the trainer named in the suit, which is currently in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.

Peabody, Mass., attorney Joseph Provanzano filed the suit in late 2010 against Turner and Bridgette Parker of Parkerview Farm in Versailles, Ky.

Provanzano owns a horse named Mild Emotion, a "world class three gaited saddle horse that won multiple national titles" up until suffering a serious eye injury while being boarded at Turner's stables in 2006, according to the suit.

"Mild Emotion had a long future as a three gaited show horse and could have continued to win prize money," the suit states.

Provanzano alleges in the suit that Turner convinced him to send Mild Emotion to Parker's farm in Kentucky for the animal's surgery and recovery.

However, during Mild Emotion's time at the farm, the horse was impregnated three times and Provanzano claims it was without his permission and Turner and Parker reaped the benefits of it.

According to the lawsuit, Turner suggested to Provanzano that Mild Emotion be bred but he told him that he wasn't interested.

Provanzano reiterated this point with a letter to Turner and Parker in March 2007.

"I will not change my mind — the answer is and remains — NO!" Provanzano wrote in the letter.

"Defendant Turner was acting for his own account and the account of Defendant Parker with respect to suggesting that Mild Emotion be bred to make babies that could be sold for profit," the suit states. "Defendant Turner was also seeking to train the babies since an untrained horse has very little value. As a world class three gaited horse, Mild Emotion's babies are potentially worth a substantial amount of money."

Provanzano learned of Mild Emotion's first foal, Sandra's Dream, after his boarding expenses went up. He paid the boarding expenses "under protest" because Turner and Parker threatened to sell Mild Emotion if the invoices weren't paid, the suit alleges.

Soon after, another foal, Joy's Boy was born.

U.S. Marshals to Auction KY Horse Farm and Condo That Belonged to ...

Washington – Hillcrest Farm, a 160-acre property in Georgetown, Ky., will be auctioned by a U.S. Marshals contractor at 6 p.m. Friday. The auction date coincides with the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event taking place in nearby Lexington, Ky., to make the opportunity more readily available to out-of-town visitors.

The property, valued at approximately $3 million, has been forfeited to the government as part of a sentence against Shirley Cunningham, one of two former attorneys who were found guilty of fraud in 2009. Cunningham and William Gallion were found to have kept more than $94 million of a $200 million Fen-Phen diet pill settlement they had reached on behalf of 440 class-action lawsuit clients they represented. Cunningham is serving time in a federal prison in Mississippi with a scheduled release date in 2025. Gallion is housed in a federal prison in Louisiana with a scheduled release date in 2029.

The auction will take place on the Hillcrest Farm property at 1447 Lexington Road (US 25), Georgetown, Ky. The property is located three miles from the Kentucky Horse Park and just outside Georgetown city limits. The farm includes four homes, three barns and 40 stalls.

In addition to Hillcrest Farm, a two-bedroom, 2 ½-bath, 1,568-square-foot condominium located at 369 West Vine Street, #2102, in downtown Lexington will be on the auction block during the Friday sale. The condo is valued at approximately $266 thousand.

Proceeds from the auction will be deposited into the U.S. Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture fund to compensate victims of Cunningham and Gallion’s crimes.

The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for managing and selling seized and forfeited properties acquired by federal criminals through illegal activities. Proceeds generated from asset sales are used to compensate victims, supplement funding for law enforcement initiatives and support community programs.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at  http://www.usmarshals.gov .

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