Janet Patton

Lexington

I cover bourbon & craft beer, hemp & agriculture, horses & horse sports for the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. Drinking, eating & gambling really are my beats.

Featured in: Favicon

kentucky.com Favicon

msn.com

yahoo.com (+9) Favicon

aol.com

nydailynews.com Favicon

usnews.com Favicon

flipboard.com Favicon

seattletimes.com Favicon

miamiherald.com Favicon

washingtontimes.com + 103 more

Articles

KY judge freezes Lexington Blue owner’s assets. He insists he’s being ‘vilified’

4 days ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

A Kentucky judge on Monday froze the assets of the owner of the failed roofing company Lexington Blue, days after the owner said he was being “demonized and vilified.”Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who described the company as a Ponzi scheme, sued Lexington Blue and owner Brad Pagel on May 30. The suit came came days after the Herald-Leader reported how homeowners had paid thousands for roofing repairs that never happened before Pagel shuttered his company and disappeared.
How much did Summit at Fritz Farm sell for? More than Hamburg Pavilion

4 days ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroomHendricks Commercial Properties purchased The Summit for $137 million. The sale price surpassed the 2024 Hamburg Pavilion sale of $135 million. The deal included retail and dining areas but excluded hotel and vacant parcels. The sale price for The Summit at Fritz Farm at the corner of Man o’ War and Nicholasville Road has been recorded.
Kentucky attorney general files suit against Lexington Blue and its owner

1 week ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman on Friday filed a civil lawsuit against failed roofing company Lexington Blue and owner Brad Pagel. Coleman’s office filed the lawsuit in Fayette County, just days after the Herald-Leader published a comprehensive investigative project that featured homeowners saying Pagel’s company defrauded them of thousands of dollars in deposits for roofing repairs never done.
Bourbon veteran fired by Garrard County snapped by another Kentucky distillery

1 week ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

Franklin County distillery Whiskey Thief Distilling Co., which is known for its straight-from-the-barrel thieving and tasting experience, announced it has hired bourbon industry veteran Lisa Roper Wicker as director of distilling. “Lisa is someone we’ve known for a while, and are excited to bring her to Whiskey Thief to grow distilling, both in production quantity and quality, and be part of the team to develop the future of the brand,” Whiskey Thief owner Walter Zausch said in a statement.
Lexington Blue owner operated ‘a cult’ of fraud, intimidation, employees say

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Janet Patton

The owner of Lexington Blue, the roofing company accused of defrauding homeowners and insurance companies, ran his firm as a cult of personality. Brad Pagel encouraged employees to take psychedelic drugs, lectured them for hours about his own metaphysical beliefs and cheated them out of money, say several former workers interviewed by the Herald-Leader.
Lexington Blue owner operated ‘a cult’ of fraud, intimidation, employees say

1 week ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroomLexington Blue abruptly shut down amid fraud claims and lawsuits from customers. Employees describe Brad Pagel’s leadership as cult-like, coercive and manipulative. Kentucky AG investigates allegations of deception, unpaid work and withheld refunds. The owner of Lexington Blue, the roofing company accused of defrauding homeowners and insurance companies, ran his firm as a cult of personality.
Lexington Blue job candidate threatened by ‘unhinged’ owner after Reddit post

1 week ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

In August 2024, a year-old Reddit social media post titled “Lexington Red (Flags): Lexington Blue & The Strangest Day of Training in My Life” grabbed the attention of Brad Pagel, owner of Lexington Blue. An anonymous poster discussed Pagel and detailed “an incredibly strange orientation at his company” in the summer of 2017. Pagel lectured the trainees on “the Rothschild family, the Illuminati, the ‘New World Order,’ his weight loss and his Tinder profile,” the Reddit poster said.
‘Organized crime’: Homeowners say roofing company Lexington Blue conned them

1 week ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

Customers and former employees of the failed roofing company Lexington Blue say the business and its owner committed widespread insurance fraud by stealing thousands of dollars in deposits with no intention of fixing roofs. And sometimes, crews would cause to the homes themselves., former workers said.
Buffalo Trace, Chris Stapleton, Pappy Van Winkle team up for tornado relief

2 weeks ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton

Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort has put together an online benefit for the victims of Kentucky’s spring storms. The “Pour it Forward for Kentucky” charity fundraiser will support storm relief efforts, including for victims of the May 17 tornadoes, as well as other severe storms and historic flooding earlier this year.
Downtown Lexington hotel renovation update: New $58.5 million face lift proposed

2 weeks ago | kentucky.com | Janet Patton |Kendall Staton

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroomDevelopers replaced a $66M Hyatt remodel with a revised $58.5M proposal. State tourism officials granted preliminary tax incentives to the new plan. Renovations may begin in 2024 and finish by 2027 under the Procaccianti Group. Plans to renovate a major downtown Lexington hotel are getting a revision of their own.