By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - A state ethics panel Tuesday charged that Gov. Paul Patton did official favors for a former mistress, putting her on the lottery board and helping one of her companies.

Patton has acknowledged the affair with Tina Conner but has consistently denied misusing his office. He said Tuesday he would "vigorously defend" himself against the allegations.

ETHICS CHARGES

The ethics charges filed against Gov. Paul Patton on Tuesday: Count 1 - That in July or August 1999, Patton used or tried to use his official position to influence the decision to create a position for a Transportation Cabinet employee, Monty Clark, and to promote Clark into the newly created position. This was done at the specific request of Tina Conner, with whom Patton was involved in a sexual relationship. Count 2 - That from February to July 2000, Patton used or tried to use his influence to ensure that Tina Conner's new construction company, ST Construction LLC, was granted certification by the Transportation Cabinet as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. State employees in the Transportation Cabinet's Office of Minority Affairs, which oversees the DBE program, were pressured by the governor, or those the governor directed, to approve ST Construction for certification, when ST Construction would otherwise not have been certified. Count 3 - That before Dec. 28, 2000, Patton used or tried to use his official position to appoint Tina Conner as a member of the Kentucky Lottery Corp. board of directors. Count 4 - That in or about April to August 2000, Patton used or tried to use his official position to appoint Seth Conner to a position on the Agricultural Development Board when Patton was involved or thought he was involved in a sexual relationship with Seth Conner's wife, Tina Conner.

The Executive Branch Ethics Commission, which has only civil jurisdiction, issued four charges. It said it found "probable cause" to believe that Patton "used or attempted to use his official position" in ways that posed a conflict between his personal life and public duties.

If upheld after a hearing, the maximum penalty it could impose on Patton would be a $5,000 fine and a public reprimand on each count, commission Chairman Joseph Helm and general counsel Boyce Crocker said.

In its order, the commission alleged that Patton intervened to get a construction company owned by Conner and her husband, Seth Conner, certified as a "disadvantaged business enterprise." That would entitle the company, ST Construction, to preferential treatment from the Transportation Cabinet as a highway subcontractor. No state contract was awarded, according to the administration.

Patton's defense has been that Conner was treated like any other constituent. Patton said he asked Transportation Secretary James Codell III to take a look at ST Construction's application but that he never ordered Codell to have it approved.

The commission also alleged that Patton influenced a decision by the Transportation Cabinet's vehicle-enforcement division to promote an officer, Monty Clark, with whom Tina Conner was friendly.

The cabinet's inspector general reached a similar conclusion in a report issued March 5. The report said Patton's inquiry on Clark's behalf spurred the division commander to create a sergeant's slot that eventually went to Clark in 1999.

Patton said he did not remember making the call but would not deny it. Clark later was demoted.

The two other counts allege that it was because of the affair that Tina Conner was appointed to the Kentucky Lottery Corp. board of directors and Seth Conner was appointed to the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board. The Conners have since divorced.

The commission said nothing about Tina Conner's allegation that Patton retaliated against her after their affair by turning state regulators loose on a nursing home she owned in Clinton. She eventually lost the nursing home, Birchtree Healthcare, in bankruptcy.

Patton read a brief statement to reporters and declined to take questions. The ethics commission "has merely initiated a hearing," he said. "I will vigorously defend myself against these allegations. As I have said before, I have made mistakes in my private life, but I have not abused my office. I am confident that when the commission's hearing is completed, that fact will be clear to the citizens of Kentucky."

Patton's attorney, Sheryl Snyder of Louisville, could not be reached for comment.

Tina Conner told WHAS-TV in Louisville she had been "truthful about my involvement in all of these matters to the ethics commission and to the public."

Patton's affair became public in September when Conner disclosed it in interviews with WHAS-TV. Patton initially denied it, then gave a tearful confession on statewide television. The governor and first lady Judi Patton have only rarely appeared together since.

Conner filed a sued Patton charging sexual harassment, which a judge later dismissed. Some other charges in her suit - outrageous conduct and intentionally inflicting emotional distress - are pending in Franklin County Circuit Court.

Under the state ethics law, Patton has 20 days to respond to the charges. He can present evidence to a hearing officer who then would make a recommendation to the ethics commission.

Helm and Crocker said the commission functions like a grand jury in issuing charges. It also sits as a judge once a hearing officer has done his work.

Patton's actions also are being investigated by Kentucky Attorney General Ben Chandler and a U.S. attorney.

Helm said the state commission, a small agency with a single full-time investigator, conducted more than 100 interviews but never talked to Patton.