CRESTVIEW HILLS — Northern Kentucky can't stop talking about A. William “Bill” Erpenbeck.

        At country clubs and courthouses, in restaurants and bars, at grocery stores and around water coolers, the besieged former head of a troubled building company is a hot topic.

        “You can't go anywhere, you can't talk to anybody, without Bill Erpenbeck's name coming up,” said Florence lawyer Burr Travis, who described Mr. Erpenbeck as a “mild acquaintance.”

        “People are fascinated by it,” Mr. Travis said. “I just hope that the allegations are untrue because they hurt so many people and businesses throughout Northern Kentucky.”

        The story of Mr. Erpenbeck has elements that titillate — the handsome and popular businessman who spent money on lavish parties, exotic cruises, a $1.3 million house and luxury cars is now under investigation by the FBI. The home-building company he founded in 1993 but no longer leads has laid off most of its workers. His life has been forever changed.

        Covington City Solicitor John Jay Fossett said he hears mention of Mr. Erpenbeck “just about everywhere” — city hall, Covington restaurants, even his Fort Thomas neighborhood.

        “It's one of those stories that just carries a lot of interest because of what is involved,” said Mr. Fossett, a former journalist.

        But there is also a great deal of sorrow in the tale.

        Hundreds of home owners who have purchased Erpenbeck-built homes are touched by the scandal.

        Dozens of local contractors who worked for the Erpenbeck company have not been paid and have hired lawyers to recover their money. Most of the employees at the Erpenbeck Co., which a year ago employed about 100 people, have been laid off.

        Two of the top executives at Peoples Bank of Northern Kentucky in Crestview Hills — President and CEO John Finnan and Executive Vice President Marc Menne — have resigned because of their business dealings with Mr. Erpenbeck.

        Without the permission or knowledge of the bank's board of directors, the executives had a side business with Mr. Erpenbeck, buying model homes from him and then leasing them back to the company.

        Board members were concerned about the appearance of a conflict of interest because the Erpenbeck Co. not only owes the bank $6 million but is also being investigated for allegedly cashing up to $15 million in checks at the bank that were made out not to the Erpenbeck Co. but to other financial institutions.

        And finally there is the Erpenbeck name besmirched, a family that has been in the construction and home building business locally since the 1920s.

        “People are talking about it, but they are not reveling it,” said Jim Willman, owner of Heavenly Ham in Florence and a member of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau.

        “The whole community seems to be focused on it, and most people are just in shock,” Mr. Willman said. “There is a lot of concern for the people involved, especially the home owners and the small subcontractors, people who are going to lose $30,000 or $40,000 and can't afford to do so.”

        There are at least some people who seem to be staying away from conversation about Mr. Erpenbeck.

        Restaurant owner Tommy Behle said he expected to hear more from the customers at his popular Behle Street restaurants in Covington and Fort Mitchell.

        “But it hasn't come as much as I thought,” he said.

        Erlanger lawyer Kevin Murphy is a member of Summit Country Club in Crestview Hills, the same club where Mr. Erpenbeck belongs.

        Mr. Murphy said people there are talking about the situation, “but there is more of a sadness to the conversation other than just pure gossip.”

        “But everybody is talking about it,” he said. “It's almost a part of daily life in Northern Kentucky, people asking if you heard the latest with Bill Erpenbeck.”

        Mr. Murphy said he was eating dinner last week at The Syndicate restaurant in Newport when he overhead people talking about it.

        “I understand the interest in the story. I just hope people wait until the facts come out before any finger pointing begins, but I also know that is going to happen,” he said.

Many Catholics demand disclosure
Cardinal: New solution sought
Cleveland bishop calls for prayer and fidelity
Men say church knew of sex abuse decades ago
Landlords angered by mini-riot damage
Oxford grads take prizes
Warren Co. roads taking on orange hue
Woman leaps out of moving vehicle
BRONSON: Death row
CROWLEY: Erpenbeck gossip has sad undertone
Some Good News
You Asked For It
Authorities concerned about rise in dogfighting
Boone looks to its past
Both parties court growing new bloc of Hispanic voters
City's 'just a few prayers' from healing
Domestic violence funds pulled
Indiana 'warriors' slammed
Mine-safety system has mixed reviews
Money worries clog sewer project
Renovation gives police more space
School-funding report author sues
Tot has just cuts, bruises in 30-foot fall
Traficant skipping primary
Walk circle, seek self
Kentucky A.M. report
Tristate A.M. report