Judge delays highway bid-tampering trial
Bill Nighbert (left) and Leonard Lawson
The federal trial of three men charged in a highway bid-tampering case has been delayed until June 23.
U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves postponed the trial of road contractor Leonard Lawson, former state transportation secretary Bill Nighbert and Lawson employee Brian Billings to allow defense attorneys more time to prepare their case. The trial had been scheduled for April 28.
On Monday, Reeves granted a motion by defense attorneys to move the trial from Frankfort to Covington. Reeves noted that nearly half of the residents in Franklin County worked for either the state or local government and had likely heard of the case.
Lawson and Nighbert have been charged with conspiring to tamper with more than $130 million in road contracts during former Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s administration. The indictment alleges that Lawson paid cash to a transportation employee for internal cost estimates on road projects that Lawson’s road construction companies were set to bid on, giving Lawson an edge over competitors.
Billings has been charged with obstruction of justice. All three have pleaded not guilty.
- John Stamper
About the Author: John Stamper is the accountability editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Monticello, Ky., he has been with the Herald-Leader in a variety of roles since graduating from Western Kentucky University in 2000. Reach him at jstamper@herald-leader.com
Kelsey | Mar 3, 2009 | Reply
lock them all up.
curt | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
My question is, how many of our state politicians are involved in this? My guess vertually every congressman in Kentucky has had their hands “greased” by these three guys. I can remember years ago that the only way got a job in the Kentucky Department of Highways was if you were of the right party and then you paid these polical hacks and they forwarded the money on to these politicians (gangsters) and they politicians received their freebes from the construction companies. My take on this situation is, they’ll walk free!
weak case | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
Why isn’t Rummage, the man who actually took the bribes and sold the information, on trial? I’ve never seen a weaker case than that against Nighbert. It should be laughed out of court. The whole case is built on supposition and conjecture, and no proof has been shown that his consulting job was really a front for a bribe from Lawson. I don’t expect the case against Nighbert to survive the customary motion to dismiss after the prosecution puts on its case. And I’ve never seen a public servant as unfairly maligned in the press as Nighbert.
Jim Anderson Stivers | Mar 4, 2009 | Reply
The federal trial of three men charged in a highway bid-tampering case has been delayed until June 23.
As expected. What is the plan, as always when it involved people in the public eye?
Delay, Delay, Delay, hoping that all the publicity around the issue fade with time.
That is the way the big guys do it.
You and I…if we got caught with our ARMS AROUND THE COOKIE JAR…we would have been in prision months ago. If these guys are guilty and even with political desirability what you have read . . . it
is TRUE.
VIVA LE AMERICAN JUSTICE FOR ‘BIG SHOTS’
Jim | Oct 12, 2009 | Reply
There may be more to this story. Not only the bribery but now there is word on the street that they may not have met the quality atandards of the contract. If true, it’s a great scam. Let’s see…You get inside bid info, your the only bidder, you know that the contract will be approved if not much more than 7% above estimates, you do inferior work, you re-bid in a few years when the road needs repair, and again, your the only bidder w/ inside info….SWEET!!!! Another way that the state allows this to happen (it’s subtle): By placing tight completion dates on projects, it discourages competition by eliminating potential bidders because they can’t meet the time frame. The best way to deal w/ this is to put the guilty in jail, levy a large fine, and, most importantly, ban all Lawson family affiliated companies from the bidding process for some appropriate time into the future. Taxpayers deserve competitive bidding and fairness in the use of their tax dollars. Kentuckians should be watching this scam closely.