BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Clyde Middleton
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COVINGTON -- Just a week before Clyde Middleton expected to go before voters for the final triumph in his storied political career, Kenton County's former judge-executive will go before a judge today and
make his plea.
No one expected this for the 70-year-old Fort Mitchell man who served two decades in the Kentucky Senate, more than seven years in the county's top job and helped make Republicans a force in Northern Kentucky.
What everybody expected was for Mr. Middleton to make one final campaign. They saw a third term that would end in retirement with him taking his place as Northern Kentucky's elder statesman.
His fall has all the twists of one of the plays he and his wife, Mary, loved to watch. An after-hours meeting in 1996 with a developer seeking county business proved to be the mistake that brought down his dynasty.
In literary terms, it's a tragedy. This time, though, Mr. Middleton isn't in the audience. He's playing the lead and, according to sources, is expected to plead guilty today to a charge of official misconduct.
And as the play goes on, friends and colleagues wonder how this fate befell Mr. Middleton and praise a man they still greatly respect.
"I think it's hurting him more than he shows on the outside," said Deputy Judge-executive George Neack, his top aide.
A recent trip to the county offices, more than seven months since Mr. Middleton's resignation, still seemed weird, said Fort Mitchell City Administrator Bill Goetz.
Mr. Goetz said he considers Mr. Middleton a friend even though they clashed over city-county consolidation issues.
"It just seemed strange going down there and not seeing Clyde there," he said. "You don't wish it on anyone."
Mr. Middleton's style was to leave the details to his appointees. Although a major part of the job is being the county's chief administrator, he seemed to enjoy the political and ceremonial roles most.
"That was his forte," Mr. Neack said.
Mr. Middleton would give the oath of office to police officers and county officials, leading them in Kentucky's obscure pledge that requires the person making it to say they haven't fought a duel with deadly weapons. Mr. Middleton, maybe the only person in the state who had it memorized, smiled every time.
Relishing the job's fun parts didn't mean the judge-executive, a Naval Academy graduate, wasn't paying attention, Mr. Neack said. Especially to memorandums.
"He'd find a misspelled word in five seconds," Mr. Neack said.
Today's court hearings aren't expected to take much longer.
Mr. Middleton's troubled year started on Jan. 20 with an abruptly called announcement that he was pulling out of the race for county judge because of a heart condition.
Later that week came the release of the news that Corporex Cos. Chairman Bill Butler and Mr. Middleton had met on the night of April 2, 1996 -- the same day that bids for county construction projects were opened.
During the meeting, Mr. Butler got to review competitors' proposals. Later, Mr. Butler said he took his opponents' proposals with him that night, copied them and returned them to Mr. Middleton's home.
Corporex, which ultimately won the construction contracts for a courthouse and parking garage, and Mr. Butler say there was nothing improper about the meeting because the bids were available to anyone at the time.
The county maintains only basic details, such as price and general drawings, were available. The rest was to be confidential until a contractor was chosen.
Mr. Neack, who has denied allegations by Corporex that he was prejudiced against the company, said he was shocked when Mr. Middleton told him of the meeting.
"He would have been the last person that I would have thought would have done it," Mr. Neack said.
Fort Mitchell's Mr. Goetz said he wasn't as surprised.
"He was very close to the corporate sector," Mr. Goetz said. "I think he probably let his friendship get in the way of good judgment."
Mr. Middleton called the meeting a mistake a month later when he announced his resignation. He admitted to violating the county's procurement code.
The resignation came as the county settled a lawsuit with the two losing bidders. Friends filled the fiscal courtroom for meetings on successive nights -- the first when the resignation was supposed to take place and the second when it actually did.
In casting the final vote of his career, he said: "I'm sure this whole issue is not over. I bid you a fond farewell and vote aye."
It wasn't over, and won't be even after today. More details involving Mr. Middleton will be coming out, said County Attorney Garry Edmondson.
Ever since the settlement with the two losing bidders, investigators from the Kentucky Attorney General's public corruption unit had been studying courthouse files and interviewing officials about the 1996 bids.
On Oct. 8 of this year, subpoenas were issued. County officials are to appear Wednesday before a Kenton County grand jury. The subpoenas were titled, "In Re: Investigation of Clyde Middleton."
Mr. Edmondson said the grand jury will be investigating potential wrongdoing by Corporex officials and employees.
Corporex officials have repeatedly said they did nothing wrong in the bidding process.
