On June 16, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared away the last obstacle to the trial of four men who allegedly violated Ky. campaign spending limits. The High Court refused to hear their appeal to throw out the indictment that the Paul Patton campaign and the Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters illegally coordinated their campaigns in the 1995 gubernatorial election.
But Patton is still governor until midnight, Dec. 8. And his spokesman, Rusty Cheuvront, did not rule out a pardon of the four: Patton’s chief of staff and frmr. campaign mgr., Andrew “Skipper” Martin, organized labor liaison Danny Ross, frmr. Local 89 president Lon Fields, and his lieutenant, Robert Winstead. “The Governor is not actively considering any pardons that he may issue as he nears the end of his term,” said the Patton spokesman.
Attny. General Ben Chandler said he would move as quickly as possible to set a trial date of the four, who are accused of circumventing contribution limits by arranging for the Teamsters to pay the salary of Ross, then working for the Patton campaign. [Louisville Courier-Journal, 6/17/03]