Uncle of Former Rutherford County Sheriff Pleads Guilty

The uncle of former Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold pleaded guilty in federal court for his part in the JailCigs case.
John Vanderveer pleaded guilty in a Nashville federal courtroom to one count of witness tampering Monday.
Arnold pleaded guilty on January 18th to wire fraud, honest services fraud and extortion. Joe Russell entered a guilty plea just two days later to the same charges as Arnold.
Each count in which they entered guilty pleas could carry a 20-year prison sentence each and hefty fines. Sentencing will take place at a later time.
The trio was facing a 14-count indictment stemming from an unauthorized plan to sell e-cigarettes to Rutherford County jail inmates through a company co-owned by Russell and Vanderveer, in which Arnold invested.