All Entries in the "Jack Conway" Category

Prosecutors warn of layoffs, furloughs if budgets are cut again

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — The state’s prosecutors warned lawmakers Tuesday that they will have to layoff or furlough workers under Gov. Steve Beshear’s proposed two-year state budget.

“We’ve got two options — layoffs or furloughs,” said Chris Cohron, the Commonwealth Attorney for Warren County and legislative chair for the state’s commonwealth attorney association.

Beshear has proposed a cut of 2.2 percent to the state’s commonwealth and county attorneys. That’s less than the 8.4 percent cut he has proposed for most state agencies for the first year of the two-year budget. Under Beshear’s proposal, the agencies would generally receive the same amount in the second year of the budget.

Cohron and John Estill, the Mason County attorney, told a House budget review subcommittee on Tuesday that more than 95 percent of their budgets are spent on workers. Any cuts will mean a reduction in hours for current employees through furloughs or layoffs.

Stumbo proposes moving prescription drug monitoring to attorney general

By Jack Brammer
jbrammer@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — House Speaker Greg Stumbo hopes to crack down on doctors who overprescribe pain medications by moving the statewide prescription monitoring system to a law-enforcement agency.

Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said Wednesday that he soon will file a bill to transfer the state’s Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting System from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to Attorney General Jack Conway’s office.

“I think the system would be more effective if a law-enforcement agency administered it,” he said.

Stumbo has faulted the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure for not doing enough to go after doctors who over-prescribe narcotics in a state where drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for some age groups. The board should use data from KASPER to identify doctors who prescribe too many scheduled narcotics, he said.

Re-elected Attorney General Jack Conway

Attorney General Jack Conway, who lost a bitter 2010 U.S. Senate race to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, took the stage at the Frankfort Convention Center to the pounding beat of Chumbawumba’s Tubthumper – “I get knocked down, but I get up again … ”

Conway derided attempts to frame the attorney general race into a national race and said Kentucky voters saw what it means to be a state attorney general.

“You watch what Steve Beshear and I are about to do together!” Conway said, highlighting plans to ramp up a fight against illegal prescription pill distribution.

Conway touted his office as an advocate for Kentuckians against oil, gas and pharmaceutical companies and said, “a lot of people have wanted to write my political obituary … But rumors of my demise are woefully premature.”

Conway – national Democrats vs. KY Democrats

It was just a year ago Attorney General Jack Conway experienced Kentuckians’ preference for Republicans over Democrats in Federal elections when he lost to Rand Paul in the U.S. Senate race.

While noting his re-election race against Republican challenger Todd P’Pool is not decided, he said Democrats were doing better in Statewide races this fall because Kentuckians, “can walk and chew gum at the same time” and recognize a difference between national Democrats and Kentucky Democrats.

Conway said he was proud of his re-election campaign and that he had not, “run a single negative ad,” and focused on his record, “that merits re-election.”

Administrator of troubled home pleads guilty to tax, exploitation charges

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — The former administrator of a now-shuttered personal care home admitted that he stole $300,000 intended for disabled residents and used some of that money to buy trucks for himself.

James “Chum” Tackett, 69, of Jenkins, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Letcher Circuit Court to theft, exploitation and tax evasion charges. Tackett was expected to go to trial on those charges on Tuesday. As part of his guilty plea, Tackett admitted that he took more than $300,000 from mentally ill and disabled residents at the facility.

Golden Years was shut down by Attorney General Jack Conway’s office and state health authorities this fall because of ongoing concerns about the nonprofit’s financial health and poor living conditions in the Letcher County home.

According to a release from Conway’s office, Tackett admitted that he stole more than $300,000 and used residents’ money to buy a GMC Hummer, a Chevrolet Silverado, a Ford F-150 and a Suzuki XL-7. About $60,000 of the $300,000 was stolen from one Golden Years resident, Conway’s office said.

Candidates for attorney general promise to wield power in different ways

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — The two men seeking Kentucky’s top law enforcement job on Nov. 8 say they would wield the power offered by one of state government’s most important positions in dramatically different ways.

If re-elected, Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway says he will continue prosecuting Medicaid fraud, rooting out possible improprieties in for-profit colleges, busting child pornographers and working with law enforcement to eradicate prescription drug abuse.

Republican challenger Todd P’Pool, the Hopkins County attorney, says he wants to strengthen the office’s public corruption unit and create a “federalism unit” inside the agency to challenge expansion of the federal government’s reach.

In particular, P’Pool says he is running because Conway has not done enough to fight burdensome federal regulation of the coal industry and did not join a lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of a federal overhaul of health insurance.

Aside from their contrasting platforms, the two candidates have spent much of their time slinging insults and questioning the others’ prosecutorial independence.

Conway says politics will not influence election complaints

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway said Thursday that a complaint filed against fellow Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s campaign is being treated in the same manner as all election complaints.

The Republican Party of Kentucky alleged that member’s of Beshear’s administration have illegally pressured rank-and-file state employees for campaign contributions and have filed complaints against Beshear’s campaign with several oversight bodies, including Conway’s office. Democrats say the allegation is baseless.

“I can assure and have assured the people of Kentucky that the referrals that have been made to my office will be handled in accordance with law enforcement protocol,” Conway told the Lexington Herald-Leader editorial board on Thursday. “We’re handling it in a non-political way.”

Conway declined to give the status of the investigation of the complaint against Beshear.

Beshear faces Republican David Williams and independent Gatewood Galbraith in the Nov. 8 general election. Conway faces Republican Todd P’Pool.

Beshear, Conway and Stumbo announce plans to battle prescription drug abuse

By Beth Musgrave and Jack Brammer
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

Three of Kentucky’s top official unveiled a trio of new initiatives Thursday to crack down on doctors who over-prescribe pain medications.

Gov. Steve Beshear, Attorney General Jack Conway and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, Democrats who have each served as attorney general, said the initiatives would help medical licensure boards detect suspicious prescribing habits of health care providers.

“It’s not the drug dealers that are killing our kids, it’s the drug-dealing doctors,” Stumbo said on Thursday.

Beshear said he will appoint an advisory group of doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists to develop guidelines and criteria to help the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure use data from the state’s prescription monitoring system to flag suspicious prescribing activity.

Conway launches two new TV ads

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Attorney General Jack Conway launched his first television advertisements of the general election campaign this week.

The two 30-second ads will run in major media markets beginning Wednesday.

The advertisements focus on Conway’s past accomplishments as the state’s top law enforcement officer. The advertisements do not mention Conway’s opponent, Republican Todd P’Pool, who has run two television advertisements so far this fall.

One 30-second ad touts Conway’s fiscal responsibility, noting that he has cut his own salary and cut his staff over the past three years. The second 30-second ad focuses on Conway’s creation of a cyber crimes unit, which targets child pornography online.

P’Pool wins award for child support; wants automated payments

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@hearld-leader.com

FRANKFORT — The Republican candidate for attorney general won an award Tuesday for outstanding performance in collecting child support payments during his tenure as Hopkins County Attorney.

Todd P’Pool, who faces incumbent Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway in the Nov. 8 general election, received the award Tuesday at a ceremony in Frankfort. P’Pool also received outstanding service awards for child support collection in 2009 and 2010.

If elected attorney general, P’Pool said he would push for changes in the way child support is collected to make it easier for parents to pay support. Currently, there is no option for automatic payment using debit or credit cards.