FRANKFORT — With tears streaming down his face and his voice cracking with emotion, Gov. Paul Patton admitted Friday that he had “an inappropriate personal relationship” with nursing home operator Tina Conner and begged the forgiveness of his family and Kentuckians.

Tears stream Gov. Paul Patton's face as he pauses during a news conference Friday. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke) | ZOOM |

        “I apologize to the people of Kentucky for my failure as a person. I have already apologized to Judi (his wife) and my family. I'm also sorry that I initially denied mistakes I made in my private life,” Mr. Patton said at a news conference that had to be moved to the auditorium of the Kentucky History Center to handle the crowd.

        After struggling through the five-minute confession, Mr. Patton embraced four family members - son Chris, daughter Nicki, stepdaughter Bambi Todd and sister Jo Stanfill. He did not take questions.

        Judi Patton was not there. She went home Friday morning to Pike County to stay with her two sisters. “She wanted to be with her family,” said Rusty Cheuvront, Mr. Patton's spokesman.

        Efforts by the Courier-Journal to contact Mrs. Conner on Friday were unsuccessful. She told WHAS-TV in Louisville, “Well, of course, I feel deeply saddened that so many people have been hurt, and I'm glad that the governor has finally had the courage to admit what I've said all along to be true. But I feel this does not in any way justify the harm that he's caused to me, my family and my business, and especially to the residents and employees and their families at Birchtree,” her nursing home.

Tina Conner

        Mr. Patton's statement wrapped up an extraordinary week of events that grew out of Mrs. Conner's accusation that she had a two-year sexual relationship with Mr. Patton.

        In a lawsuit filed against Mr. Patton on Wednesday, Mrs. Conner said he bestowed favors on her until she terminated the relationship, then retaliated by having state inspectors crack down on her Hickman County nursing home.

        Mr. Patton denied using his powers of office to harm Mrs. Conner. “Under no circumstances have I or anyone under my direct control tried to punish Mrs. Conner,” he said.

        He pledged to fully cooperate with an investigation of Mrs. Conner's allegations by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.

Gov. Patton, back to camera, is hugged by family members after the news conference. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke) | ZOOM |

        Mrs. Conner's charges were first broadcast Tuesday by WHAS-TV. In that report, and in a statement issued by his office that day, Mr. Patton denied a sexual relationship with Mrs. Conner.

        Mr. Patton said Friday that he lied to protect family and friends.

        “Realizing the impact this would have on Judi and the rest of my family and friends, my first response was to deny my unfaithfulness to Judi,” he said. “I was wrong. The denial was another mistake.”

        At the end of his statement, Mr. Patton tried - but failed - to compose himself as he vowed to carry out his responsibilities through the remaining 14 months of his term.

        Top administration officials who watched Mr. Patton struggle were somber, and many declined to comment afterward. But Cabinet Secretary Crit Luallen said: “He's ready to move forward. And the people that work with him are ready to move forward.”

        Even political foes were sympathetic. House Republican Leader Jeff Hoover of Jamestown said, “Obviously he is a very broken person who appeared at least to be remorseful for what he did.”

        Cindy Stone, chairwoman of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, said earlier this week that her board would review Mrs. Conner's allegations.

        Barbara Hadley Smith, press secretary for Attorney General Ben Chandler, said Friday that no decision has been made on whether to open a criminal investigation.

        The office of Gregory Van Tatenhove, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, declined to respond to questions.

        Mr. Patton said he learned Sunday night that Mrs. Conner's allegations had been revealed to a reporter and would become part of a lawsuit. He said he expected the questions Monday afternoon when he was interviewed at Bowman Field by WHAS-TV about the claims and denied having a sexual relationship with Mrs. Conner.

        Early Tuesday, the television station began running promotions of a story it would broadcast at 6 p.m. Mr. Patton released a statement just before the broadcast in which he acknowledged knowing Mrs. Conner but denying “any inappropriate contact” with her. The statement called Mrs. Conner's charges “acts of desperation from a nursing home operator whose facility has been decertified for numerous health and safety violations and who faces foreclosures and bankruptcy.”

        On Wednesday, after accepting an award in Louisville for his maternal and child health initiatives and getting two standing ovations from a largely female crowd, Patton held a news conference at which he referred to his earlier denial, but he declined to repeat it. And he introduced officials of the Cabinet for Health Services who said that matters involving Conner's nursing home had been dealt with routinely.

        Wednesday afternoon, Mrs. Conner filed her lawsuit. She said in an interview with the Courier-Journal that day that a lawyer for Mr. Patton had offered her lawyer a settlement to block the suit and that she rejected the offer. Lawyers for Mr. Patton denied that any offer had been authorized.

        On Thursday, the Courier-Journal reported that a Transportation Cabinet official said he was pressured in 2000 to recommend Mrs. Conner's application for a special designation to help her get state and federal contracts.

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