Harn back with family after prison

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Chris Harn, the mastermind of the 2002 Breeders' Cup pick six scandal, has been living in the Lexington area with his wife and child after being released from federal prison early in the spring, his lawyer said Monday.

Harn, a former computer programmer who was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his role in the pick six scandal, was released from a federal prison near Lexington on March 12 after serving 10 1/2 months of his full sentence. Since then, Harn, now 31, has reunited with his wife, Mercedes, and his daughter, Camille, according to his lawyer, Daniel Conti.

"They're back to being a family," Conti said.

Harn declined a request through his lawyer to speak directly to a reporter. Although Conti declined to provide specific details about Harn's activities since his release, Conti did say that Harn has done some "computer consulting work."

"I know, everyone laughs when I say that," Conti said. "But it's just website design and stuff like that."

Harn's father also lives in the Lexington area. His wife, a native of Peru, returned to South America prior to Harn's sentencing in March 2003, but returned when Harn was released, Conti said.

Harn was a senior programmer at Autotote, North America's largest bet-processing company, when he manipulated a ticket on the 2002 Breeders' Cup pick six. The ticket, placed through an account-wagering system at Catskill Off-Track Betting Company, would have netted $3.1 million. Two weeks after the Breeders' Cup, he pleaded guilty in a deal with federal prosecutors that entailed testifying against two of his former college roommates about their help in the crime and a separate counterfeit ticket-cashing scheme.

Harn is the only one of the three pick six perpetrators to have been released. Glen DaSilva, sentenced to two years in prison, is scheduled to be released from a federal prison in New York on Nov. 6, according to the Bureau of Prisons. The other perpetrator, Derrick Davis, sentenced to three years, is set to be released Jan. 5 from a federal prison in Baltimore.

Davis and DaSilva got longer sentences than Harn because Harn was the first to cooperate with prosecutors. DaSilva and Davis also both tested positive for cocaine during the investigation into the incident and agreed to enter drug-rehabilitation programs while in prison. Participation in the programs carried the possibility of reduced sentences.