Two former Fletcher officials settle with ethics panel
FRANKFORT — Two former officials under Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s administration have agreed to pay fines relating to the 2005 state hiring investigation.
The Executive Branch Ethics Commission approved the settlements between James Adams and Dan Druen on Friday. Under the settlement agreements, Adams has agreed to pay $1,000. Druen agreed to a $2,500 fine.
Adams and Druen were both employed by the Transportation Cabinet during the Fletcher administration. Adams was the former deputy secretary of the cabinet. Druen was the cabinet’s administrative services commissioner. Adams and Druen could not be reached for comment.
The commission had filed charges against Druen in 2006 and Adams in 2007. The charges say that there was “probable cause” to think Druen and Adams violated personnel laws and the public interest by seeking to hire allies of Fletcher and demote or transfer Democrats from protected merit system jobs.
More than a dozen officials of the Fletcher administration were charged by a Franklin County grand jury for violating the state personnel laws. In August 2005, Fletcher issued a broad pardon for everyone involved except himself. Fletcher was later indicted on three misdemeanor charges but they were dismissed in a settlement agreement with then-Attorney General Greg Stumbo.
In their agreements, Druen and Adams said they didn’t know their actions were in violation of state law, but they recognized that the allegations, if proven, could result in a finding that each man had violated the law.
Adams has already paid his fine. Druen has 10 days to pay his fine.
Charges against two other former Fletcher officials connected with the hiring scandal remain. Dick Murgatroyd, former deputy chief of staff for Fletcher, and Basil Turbyfill, former director of the Governor’s Office of Personnel and Efficiency, still face ethics charges.
– Beth Musgrave
Filed Under: State Government
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What kind of fine for Jonathan Miller for violating hiring laws? It’s good to be a dimmocrat in old kentucky.
Shiksas for Johnny
Wow, what big fines. $1000.00 and $2000.00. Such little fines??????
The Ethics Commission is a joke. So it is okay to fire merit employees, transfer them across the state, make their life miserable, hire others without regard to merit employees and get slapped with a small fine that will probably be paid by the Republican Party? Way to go Ethics Commission – good deterrent. The Commissioner should have held hearings so the Commonwealth could find the “unvarnished truth” behind the whole matter.
Here is an idea: Abolish the Ethics Commission and fire all the members of it. And save money.
Harold, the ethics commission IS a joke, because 99.9% of the ethics violations in this state have occurred under Democrat governors and have gone unpunished. Oh, I forgot, that is okay with you, because the good ole boys like Stumbo can get away with murder, but how dare you Republicans jaywalk! The hypocrisy makes me Wanna Puke!
Philip50:
Ok, put you money where you mouth is. What did Stumbo do to violate Executive Branch Ethics?
Hmmm…. waiting.
If you say the investigation of Fletcher, that was his duty under the law as Attorney General.
Harold, name me ONE merit employee who was not on probation who was fired for political reasons during the Fletcher administration. You can’t. So STFU.
And if the “transfer across the state” employee that you’re referring to is who I think it is, he should have been fired and himself prosecuted for violations of KRS 18A. For years he told prospective employees at his highway district office that they had to be “the right religion,” meaning they had to be Democrats, before they would be hired.
If Stumbo had a duty to investigate, then didn’t Attorney General Steve Beshear have a duty to investigate the personnel actions of Gov. John Y. Brown? Huh? Oh, Democrats don’t investigate Democrats in this state, they only investigate Republicans.
Having said all that, I believe Druen was the only real bad actor in all this and he deserves everything he gets and more. The whole “hit list” was his idea. And I would remind you that all the challenged personnel actions took place before Nighbert became secretary.
Nighbert did his fair share too. If I recall he threatened to slap a lady, retaliated against her (a merit employee) and cost the state $500,000 in a settlement.
How do you respond to that?
As far as something 30 years ago under JY Brown, get real. If you want to talk about Patton, Fletcher and Beshear, at least that is recent.
Wrong again, Harold. He said that he might have done something 30 years ago. Hardly a threat.
And I am talking about Beshear. He was AG when Brown was blatantly violating state merit laws, yet he failed to investigate or prosecute. And for him to run on a campaign against the alleged personnel violations of the Fletcher administration was hypocritical, given his own past as AG.
Well, get used to Beshear, because he will be re-elected. The Republicans have no one to run and the Democrats won’t run against a sitting governor. Steve Beshear will be a two term governor.
Harold- Get off the Kool-Aid brother. There is no way ol’ Stevie is going to win a second term in this State. No how and no way. Don’t count on the Dems not challenging him either. The Democrats are ripe to eat their own…..both here in KY and Nationally.
Keep on with the predictions of Republican ascendacy. We love fairy tales. No party is more infested with fairies and the tales they tell than the Republican’ts
There are no Democrats that will run against Beshear and the Republicans don’t have anyone besides Richie Farmer – who will be doomed the first time he gives a speech. Who are the R’s going run? Larry Forgy? Ernie Fletcher? Steve Nunn? David Williams?
Unless there is a major scandal, Beshear will be re-elected.
If anyone disagrees (Chris et al.) then offer up candidates. Since you can’t, then Beshear wins by default.
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