A few hours past midnight Oct. 6, Fort Mitchell police pulled over Tommy Behle and arrested him on a drunken driving charge.

        Police had clocked the well-known Covington restaurateur at 47 mph in a 25-mph speed zone, according to the arrest report.

        Later that day, finance records show, Mr. Behle contributed $1,000 to the cam paign of Bill Crockett — the supervising prosecutor in the Kenton County Attorney's Office. Mr. Crockett is running for Kenton County commonwealth attorney against incumbent Don Buring.

        Mr. Behle's contribution did not become public until Monday, when it appeared in campaign finance reports filed with the state. Though Mr. Crockett says the timing of the contribution and its recent disclosure are coincidence, Mr. Buring says his challenger is showing poor judgment for accepting the money and it should be returned.

        “There are those who believe that money, not justice, controls how cases are handled,” Mr. Buring said.

        “Prosecutors need to dispel that belief rather than enforce it, because it is destructive to the whole justice system. What Crockett did was reinforce it.”

        Mr. Crockett said he broke no law or ethical code in taking the money and does not plan to return it. Mr. Buring is a Democrat fighting to retain his post in what has become a majority Republican county.

        “Mr. Buring has used poor judgment in attacking a contributor of my campaign,” he said. “The fact that my opponent is making it an issue is absolutely absurd.”

        Besides, said campaign treasurer Brandon Voelker, the personal check is dated Oct. 1, five days before the DUI arrest. And Mr. Crockett, who has been on leave from the county attorney's office since Oct. 6, did not handle Mr. Behle's case.

        Mr. Behle did not return calls or respond to messages left with employees and family members. Employees said he is out of town.

        Mr. Behle, 47, owns the Behle Street Cafe in the RiverCenter complex in downtown Covington. His restaurant, down the street from the courthouse, is a favorite haunt of politicians.

        He is so well known that the county judge initially assigned to his case recused himself. Mr. Behle even has a connection with Mr. Buring; he employed two of Mr. Buring's children at the restaurant, and Mr. Buring says he eats there often.

        Mr. Crockett's office also is not handling the case; a judge and prosecutor from outside Kenton County will handle it.

        Mr. Behle was arrested at least one other time, in 1997, under suspicion of driving under the in fluence.

        Court documents show Mr. Behle then was stopped by police in Fort Mitchell. In that case, too, the judge assigned to the case recused himself.

        But Mr. Crockett's office did not. The DUI charge was dismissed and Mr. Behle pleaded guilty to careless driving. He paid a $100 fine and court costs.

        Mr. Crockett's boss then and now, Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson, said Thursday that Mr. Behle's 1997 DUI charge was dropped because the breath-testing equipment was not working properly, not because of any favoritism.

        It is unclear whether Mr. Crockett, who would have been supervising all cases, had handled the case directly. Mr. Crockett said he does not remember.

        Mr. Crockett said he didn't recuse himself from the 1997 case because he wasn't running for any office at the time.

        “When there is a campaign going on, it is best to recuse yourself to avoid any ethical impropriety,” he said.

        The $1,000 check was written Oct. 1 and received by Mr. Crock ett's campaign treasurer Oct. 6, but did not appear on the subsequent finance report, due in Frankfort Oct. 11

        The treasurer, Mr. Voelker, said that by the time he received that check, he had already “closed the books” for that reporting period. Mr. Behle's contribution appeared on a campaign finance report due in Frankfort on Monday.

        State elections officials said such reporting delays are common.

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