Governor's office accused of ordering contract be rigged

Date: Jun 1, 2007

RE: Upcoming Governor's Race

Date: Jun 1, 2007

Anonymous wrote:

To the previous poster. Wow! what can you say. You can read right through your Phony statements. Try and brush over adultery,casino gambling. I'm glad Bill clintion was your Hero. Here is a good lesson for you next time you post. Try and memorize the Ten Commandments. Let us know how you do????

If you actually read the bible, Bill Clinton will have an easier time getting through the pearly gates that George W. Bush, the bible touting hypocrite, ever will. I don't recall seeing Casino Gambling mentioned in the Ten Commandments, but if you have a problem with Casino Gambling, we also need to shut down Churchill Downs, Keenland and all the other race tracks, all Off-Track Betting facilities, the Kentucky State lottery, Bingo parlors, and more - hey, gambling is gambling.

I don't frequent casinos, but I'll take Casino Gambling over Bush's wagering the lives of our kids for his and his friend's personal gain any day of the week.

Date: Jun 1, 2007

President Clinton is a choir boy compared to the big hypocrite George Bush. Bush sent our brave troops to war and cut the taxes of the richat the same time. In the fifth year of the war he realizes he can't perform as Commander-in-Chief and he appoints a War CZAR who is a three star General who is now telling the four star Generals how to run the war. Bush has caused the world to hate us. When Clinton was President we were respected as one of the best nations in the World. This is without question the worst Administration in our history with the likes of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Rove-Delay-Libby-Cunningham-Kerik(nominated to be Homeland Security CZAR only to discover about his bad past)-Attorney General Gonzales and we could go on and on. Our country is in deep trouble and one and a half more years with Bush-Cheney is a nightmare. I wish we still had President Clinton in the White House.

Date: Jun 1, 2007

Hey I did read the bible and Gambling is not right under any Circumstances, when our hero Wallace willikinson was Gov the Lottery was going to save Education, the only thing that happened is the Democrats put it in the General Fund and built baseball fields in Pike County.

Give me a Break, Justifing one sin over another is no better than the folks committing them.

Date: Jun 2, 2007

Anonymous wrote:

Hey I did read the bible and Gambling is not right under any Circumstances, when our hero Wallace willikinson was Gov the Lottery was going to save Education, the only thing that happened is the Democrats put it in the General Fund and built baseball fields in Pike County.

Give me a Break, Justifing one sin over another is no better than the folks committing them.

And sitting in judgement all the time and acting like God is an act of sin as well. Some of you Republicans are so jealous of the Clintons that you are obsessed with hate and continually want to persecute them. Example......While President Clinton was being impeached for having an affair, Newt Gingerich, Speaker of the House was one of his biggest critics. He lambasted Clinton. At the same time Gingerich was having an affair with his secretary. He later divorce his wife and married his secretary. He had done his first wife the same way when he told her he was filing divorce at the same time she was recovering from cancer surgery. You people don't look at the mote in your eyes but you sure look for the speck of sand in those you hate. Hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite. That is exactly what Christ was talking about when he told the men who were going to stone the aldultress woman. " You without sin cast the first stone."

Religion is harmed very much by fanatics who try to impose their beliefs on others. Intolerance creates injustice, slavery, and war. In the name of many religions we don't have the Grace of Christ being taught, we have the message of hate for those who are different than we are.

Date: Jun 4, 2007

I believe it is time to sweep Fletcher out of Frankfort along with his band of thugs. He has pardoned enough wrong doers and while he claims he went to Frankfort to clean up a mess, he and his henchmen have created a much bigger one. Whitley County Republicans are a soft touch in giving money to that breed of greed. With all the poverty and people with need around us they keep pumping their cash into the basket of corruption.

Date: Jun 4, 2007

Anonymous wrote:
I believe it is time to sweep Fletcher out of Frankfort along with his band of thugs. He has pardoned enough wrong doers and while he claims he went to Frankfort to clean up a mess, he and his henchmen have created a much bigger one. Whitley County Republicans are a soft touch in giving money to that breed of greed. With all the poverty and people with need around us they keep pumping their cash into the basket of corruption.

The funny thing is these people are the untimate hypocrites, and actually think that showing up and being seen at church on Sunday morning cleans their souls and makes them appear "Christian Like". They are leeches, and the thievery they pull on the people of this area - some they call their friends - is definately seen by a greater power above. These people should all be thinking about that.

If they are not Christians, and they certainly don't live their real lives as such, then they are probably not too worried about their shady land deals, their dirty money, their letting drug dealers walk the streets, their treatment of others, and of their future judgement day.

If these people's parents knew what they raised and how they conduct their lives, they would be ashamed of their kids. If they have passed and are with God above, then they see everything they are doing and all the people they are hurting, and that is an even bigger shame.

Date: Jun 6, 2007

Let's get back to the Topic.

The Web Site Poll here clearly shows a lead for Beshear, not surprised. Some powerful republicans worked publicly against Fletcher in this area, these are folks who Fletcher HAS to have in his camp or he is in deep trouble. The amount of votes Northup & Harper got in this area was massive. The Republican Leadership better reel these key folks in fast or Fletcher is toast in this area.

The Leadership better drop the Ego game and make peace or Beshear is gonna CLEAN house!

Date: Jun 8, 2007

I wish Senator Williams would run for Governor in the future. He has done so much for our area, and is a fine man. I think he would make an excellent Governor, and I don't agree with some of the comments I have heard from several local republican family members, their friends and several local republican politicans who talk about Mr. Williams behind his back. They act like his friend and supporter to his face, but talk about him at meetings, local bars and restaurants just because he stands up against current Governor Mr. Fletcher. We need more people like Senator Williams who won't tolerate the corruption that goes on in Frankfort and in areas like our Whitley County.

Date: Jun 8, 2007

Senator Williams will stand like a granite of strength in the history books of the future because of his tremendeous intelligence, deep sense of compassion, integrity, and eternal compassion for both his first wife and his much younger second wife. He is a model for all of us on his moral discipline and his outstretched hand to foster and inspire bipartisan cooperation.

I understand he does not really want to have the Exposition Center in Corbin named in his honor, but the pressure is building that he should honor all of the people in our area by having his brilliant name on the buiilding. That is what I call humility and sacrifice that all of us should strive to follow.

Hats off to the man of this century in Kentucky, and we are only in the 7th year of this century.

Date: Jun 8, 2007

Word is on the streets of corbin that the new EXPO Center will be named after former Mayor Amos Miller? Is this true? Has anybody heard this also?

Date: Jun 8, 2007

I hope some part of the new Convention Center will be named after former Mayor Nelson E. "Amos" Miller. I have heard that the floor of the Center will be named the Miller Floor. Since Transportaion Secretary William Nighbert is involved in Highway work I hope they will change the name of "Cumberland Falls Highway" to "Pardon Nighbert Right Away". I have also heard the Center will be named after State Senator David Williams because of his rich history in bringing people together in a spirit of cooperation and teamwork.

Date: Jun 26, 2007

Governor's office accused of ordering contract be rigged

DEPOSITION: EX-ADVISER DIRECTED OFFICIALS AT TRANSPORTATION

By John Stamper

Frankfort -- A directive to have Transportation Cabinet officials illegally rig a bridge design contract came from Gov. Ernie Fletcher's office, according to a deposition filed yesterday by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission

Dave Disponett, a former unpaid adviser to Fletcher, told state Highway Commissioner Marc Williams to steer the engineering contract to a company represented by Lexington lobbyist Scott Crosbie, according to a November 2006 deposition by former state Highway Engineer Sam Beverage.

In his testimony, Beverage said he instructed underlings to funnel the contract for two Harrison County bridges to an engineering firm called DLZ after being ordered to do so by Williams.

Beverage said Williams told him he had been asked to help DLZ by Disponett, who had an office in the Capitol at the time, and Crosbie, a lobbyist for DLZ.

Other documents released yesterday contend that Crosbie and at least two officials with DLZ met with Fletcher in his office after complaining to Disponett and others that they were not receiving contracts from the state. Crosbie described the gathering as an "introduction meeting," according to a summary of an interview with Crosbie released by the ethics commission.

After meeting with Fletcher, Crosbie and his clients had lunch with Disponett. Crosbie said he never asked Disponett or Williams to "throw" state contracts to DLZ, according to the summary of his testimony. Crosbie repeated that claim in an interview yesterday.

After the lunch, Disponett told Williams that DLZ "wanted the Harrison County, twin bridges contract," according to a summary of Disponett's testimony.

Disponett declined to be interviewed for this article. Williams was traveling and unavailable for comment, said cabinet spokesman Doug Hogan. He has previously said he expects to be cleared of any charges.

Fletcher press secretary Jodi Whitaker said yesterday that the governor's office referred the matter to Kentucky State Police in June 2005, three months after members of a contract selection committee told the cabinet's Office of Inspector General that they had illegally favored DLZ at the request of their superiors. Despite the alleged favoritism, DLZ did not get the contract.

State Police Lt. Phil Crumpton said last night that his agency presented evidence regarding the case to Franklin County Attorney Rick Sparks some time ago. Sparks declined to prosecute, Crumpton said.

Beverage has since provided officials with new information regarding the case on at least two occasions, the latest of which was earlier this month, when he submitted to a taped interview with Franklin County Commonwealth's Attorney Larry Cleveland. The interview was a condition of a plea deal Beverage struck with Cleveland, who was prosecuting Beverage on a perjury charge for allegedly lying to a special grand jury investigating the hiring practices of Fletcher's administration.

Cleveland confirmed that Beverage spoke about the Harrison County bridges project and said he provided "credible" evidence regarding possible bid rigging in the Transportation Cabinet. That testimony has been referred to Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who is reviewing the matter.

Meanwhile, Beverage submitted to an interview late last year with an investigator for the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. Beverage has since settled ethics charges related to the Harrison County bridges project and agreed to cooperate with an ongoing investigation of Williams' involvement.

The documents released yesterday lay out the ethics commission's case against Williams, who is scheduled to appear before the commission in early August.

Ethics commission documents also suggest that Transportation Cabinet Secretary Bill Nighbert stymied an internal investigation of the matter.

Inspector General David Ray referred his findings to the ethics commission, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FBI in June 2005, saying in a letter to the commission's general counsel, John Steffen, that "I believe that this investigation has been stopped by Acting Secretary Nighbert".

Ray's investigators had attempted to interview Williams about the Harrison County projects, but he declined, citing the concerns of other employees about the interrogation methods used by the investigators. Hogan confirmed yesterday that Nighbert had given Williams permission to decline the interview, but said Nighbert never tried to block Ray's inquiry.

Hogan said Nighbert routinely tells employees who serve on contract selection committees to report any attempts to influence their vote to himself or the inspector general. The five-member committees are supposed to rank proposals based on a company's ability to perform the work at the best price.

The ethics commission has previously settled charges relating to the Harrison County bridges project with Beverage and Deputy State Highway Engineer David Jones. Both admitted to ethics violations and agreed to pay fines over their roles in directing two members of the bridge contract selection committee to change their rankings of DLZ.

Date: Aug 16, 2007

VOTE BESHEAR

GOVERNOR!!!

Date: Aug 17, 2007

Did you see the ads the Fletcher group are going to run with phony photos of Steve Beshear? That is a good example of the kind of campaign the Fletcher-Nighbert team use in a total dishonest way.

They have Beshear holding a glass of wine standing at a gambling table in a Cassino depicting him as a gambler. Remember, Beshear wants to have the people decide about Cassino gambling, not a group of backroom political bosses. This is the same thing Fletcher supported several months ago, but when he saw the deep trouble his campaign is in he decided he needed to make gambling the issue.

What about integrity? Does that matter to us? What about pardoning cronies when they violate the rules and law? Does that matter to us? What about picking contractors and favoring bid projects to them? Does that matter to us?

What about misleading and false campaign ads that provide phony photos that have been concockted to make lie about an opponent? Does that matter to us?

Wake up and get going and let's sweep this lousy administration out of office!

Date: Aug 18, 2007

This kind of Conduct from the Fletcher Administration is very ugly. But hold on, according to the News Journal Editor were all suppose to support these Phonies. We as Republicans need to stand up and support Steve Beshear for Governor of Kentucky.

It's time to send these phonies who wear their Hard Hat's back to the House!
Time for a Change!!!!!

Date: Aug 19, 2007

I was disheartened that the Fletcher campaign would use such deceptive photos on their literature.

How low will that group go to fool the people of Kentucky? I am glad the people of Kentucky have found out about this dirty tactic they are going to use.

I thought Fletcher said he "was going to bring respect and integrity back to the leadership of Kentucky". What a big lie we just swallowed when we elelcted him.

I knew when he pardoned all his "guilty political hacks" we were in trouble.

Date: Aug 21, 2007

Fletcher appointed Burley foley to Judge Exec in Whitley Co. After he and his Fiscal Court put our County in the worst Financial situation in it's History.

We are still paying a 1% payroll Tax because of their Mismanagement!!
Now looks like Fletcher's Grand Appointee was Arrested Friday Evening.

People need to wake up in Whitley Co. and Vote the Fletcher-Nighbert Gang out in November.

Date: Aug 22, 2007

I believe that Fletcher's gambling commercials will be very effective in the election. The DEM's have made a mistake campaigning on gambling.

Date: Aug 22, 2007

I believe that alot of Fletchers political appointees have severely wounded his campaign. Some have been indicted and some have been arrested. (Local Area)
Whitley Co. Maybe not? We will have to wait and see what the polls are reflecting shortly.

Date: Aug 22, 2007

Anonymous wrote:

I was disheartened that the Fletcher campaign would use such deceptive photos on their literature.

How low will that group go to fool the people of Kentucky? I am glad the people of Kentucky have found out about this dirty tactic they are going to use.

I thought Fletcher said he "was going to bring respect and integrity back to the leadership of Kentucky". What a big lie we just swallowed when we elelcted him.

I knew when he pardoned all his "guilty political hacks" we were in trouble.

BYE BYE ERNIE BYE BYE !!!!!!!!!

Date: Aug 23, 2007

I agree that Fletcher will have problems with his idictment and the indictments of the people around him. However, my point is that gambling is not a good point to campaign on nor will staking Ky's future on gambling be wise for the people.

Date: Aug 23, 2007

That is a good point. I agree. A very weak campaign plank.

If Brashear wins will the Gov Office work with Whitley and Knox?

Date: Aug 23, 2007

I doubt it would be a good thing for whitley and Knox to loose Fletcher. I would like to hear what some Brasher supporters have to say about this.

Date: Aug 23, 2007

Fletcher appointed Burley Foley to Whitley Judge Executive after knowingly He(Foley) with other members of the Fiscal Court run up the worst financial burden in its history to the tune of almost 18 million Debt.

Then In order to get out the their own mismanagement they slapped a 1% payroll Tax in your face. Is this Responsible management on Foley-and Fletcher?

But the Previous Poster thinks in his mind that Fletcher has done great?

Look what has happened! Maybe this poster if they live in Whitley Co. would like to donate more of their check to the Local County government.

This was Fletcher's choice for Whitley County Judge?????

Date: Aug 23, 2007

Laurel, Knox, Pulaski, etc. had occup tax and maybe Whitley should have had it long ago. I do not know the extent of the Whitley debt and just how much was due to mis-management and how much might have been due to not having enacted an occup tax when they should have years ago.

I am not previous poster but it looks like that poster was just commenting on the one before which was mine. It sounds like you know quite a bit about Fletcher so I assume that you also know quite a bit about Brashear.

That is why I asked if Brasher would work with Whitley and Knox. Can you comment on that? From what I have seen this area was ignored for 30 years by the Democrats.

Date: Aug 23, 2007

Anonymous wrote:

Laurel, Knox, Pulaski, etc. had occup tax and maybe Whitley should have had it long ago. I do not know the extent of the Whitley debt and just how much was due to mis-management and how much might have been due to not having enacted an occup tax when they should have years ago.

I am not previous poster but it looks like that poster was just commenting on the one before which was mine. It sounds like you know quite a bit about Fletcher so I assume that you also know quite a bit about Brashear.

That is why I asked if Brasher would work with Whitley and Knox. Can you comment on that? From what I have seen this area was ignored for 30 years by the Democrats.

Steve Beshear and Dan Mongiardo both spent considerable time here during the Primary, and both are very aware of the opportunities we have to strengthen our economic base. They are also aware that our Technology Center and the original Exposition Center projects were born during the Gov. Patton administrations. State Senator Mongiardo is most interested in being involved in the growth and expansion of Southeastern Kentucky.

When Governor Fletcher gave a political speech last week at the Chamber of Commerce Luncheon I fully expected the Corbin Chamber of Commerce to also extend an opportunity for Democratic nominee Steve Breshear to speak.

I wrote the President of the Corbin Chamber and he informed me that all the meetings the rest of the year have scheduled speakers. I have been a member of the Chamber of Commerce in many different cities and states, and during a Governor or Senate race, the Chamber affords equal time to the candidate of each party. That doesn't happen here.

We will be announcing very soon an event for Steve Beshear to speak to the voters of our area. It will be announced in the local newspapers and on radio.

Steve Beshear was Lieutenant Governor when Martha Layne Collins was Governor, and the two of them did a great job in Economic Development. Steve Beshear will bring to his staff and Administration good people who don't have to be pardoned. He will also have a solid, unified relationship with his Lieutenant Governor.

We need a change in Frankfort and I am confident the Beshear-Mongiardo team will be good for Independents, Democrats, and Republicans. He wants to respresent all of us with integrity, competence, and a vision for the future.

(These are my personal opinions)

Bob Terrell, Sr.

-- Edited by Bob Terrell at 20:10, 2007-08-23