BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bill Butler
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COVINGTON - Corporex Cos. Chairman Bill Butler has gotten something few other people being investigated by a criminal grand jury get - a chance to present his side.
Mr. Butler asked for the right under an infrequently used rule. Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe signed an order after a five-minute hearing Thursday that forces prosecutors from the state attorney general's office to let jurors see Mr. Butler's side. That took the form of a binder of information provided to jurors later in the day by the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Hydee Hawkins.
Ms. Hawkins said she complied with the judge's order, but wouldn't reveal whether the grand jury examined Mr. Butler's information. In most criminal grand jury proceedings, only the state presents its side of events.
Kenton County prosecutors, who are not working on the Butler investigation but handle more than 600 cases a year before the grand jury, said such a demand happens about five times a year.
"It's unusual but not rare," said Kenton Commonwealth's Attorney Don Buring.
Mr. Butler is under investigation to see whether he broke any laws in winning construction contracts for the $36 million Kenton County courthouse and parking garage.
State rules of criminal procedure allow a defendant to request in writing to be allowed to present evidence to the grand jury. The state then must relay that request.
"The grand jurors may hear evidence for the defendant, but are not required to do so," Rule 5.08 states.
Normally, that evidence comes from a person testifying, not from written documentation.
The investigation, which saw its fourth day of testimony Thursday, will last at least another month. Several witnesses were told to come back Dec. 1.
The attorney general's inquiry already has led to the conviction of Clyde Middleton, who was judge-executive during the bidding. He pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct.
He admitted that he knew it was wrong to share competitors' bids with Mr. Butler at Mr. Middleton's home on April 2, 1996, the night the bids were opened.
Mr. Middleton's plea agreement says Mr. Butler used that confidential information to help win the county contracts.
Mr. Butler and his attorneys have said throughout the process that there was nothing improper about the meeting because the bids were public records, available to anyone. They contend that any mistakes made were on the part of county officials whose job it was to run the process.
His attorneys, William T. Robinson III and Julie McGehee, who appeared at Thursday's hearing, both declined comment.
The state objected to Mr. Butler's request to present his side, but was overruled by Judge Summe.
Grand jurors spent more than five hours Thursday hearing from Deputy Judge-executive George Neack, who was the county's point man on the bidding process.
That testimony from Mr. Neack came on top of about three hours on Monday.
"I'm done, unless I get called back," Mr. Neack said, adding that he wasn't surprised by anything he was asked.
Mr. Butler has accused Mr. Neack of bungling the bidding process and being biased against Corporex. Mr. Neack denies the accusations. Jurors also heard for about 15 minutes from former Corporex spokesman Joe Wind, who testified last month. He declined to comment afterward.
Other county officials and Corporex Senior Vice President Tom Banta, who waited outside the grand jury room throughout the day, were told to come back Dec. 1.
Those scheduled to testify, in addition to Mr. Banta, are Corporex secretary Elva Malott, county Treasurer Ivan Frye and architect Rob Thrun.
One reason proceedings are taking longer than expected is that the grand jury being used is the regular one that meets with Mr. Buring. The hearing of the Corporex case is being squeezed between the normal criminal investigations and other duties.
For instance, the grand jury will hear today from Kenton County Clerk Bill Aylor regarding the Nov. 3 elections. The review is routine, but is required by law.
Ms. Hawkins said other cases she is prosecuting also necessitate the delay.
