TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Kentucky Bosses, Politicos' Indictments Dismissed
The campaign-finance indictments of Ky. Democratic
Gov. Paul Patton's two top aides and two Teamsters bosses were controversially
dismissed Jun. 3 by Ky. Circuit Judge William Trude, Jr. The four
are: Skipper Martin, Patton's chief of staff and 1995 campaign manager;
Danny Ross, Patton's labor liaison who ran a pro-Patton campaign for the
Teamsters and the AFL-CIO between stints on Patton's state payroll; Lon
Fields, ex-boss of Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville, where Ross ran
the campaign; and Robert Winstead, secretary-treasurer of Local 89 and
recording secretary of the Teamsters' state council, through which the
national union paid for Ross' campaign work. A special grand jury indicted
the four for allegedly violating campaign finance laws by secretly arranging
the Teamsters' employment of Ross for pro-Patton efforts in the 1995 election,
in which Patton beat Republican Larry Forgy by 21,560 votes, 2.2 percent
of the total. Patton is up for reelection this year.
Trude held that the campaign finance laws used for the indictments were so vague and broad that they invaded the First Amendment rights. Forgy, who is considering a run for the Ky. Supreme Court this fall, said "There's no exoneration in dismissal on a technicality by an unknown East Kentucky judge." On Jun. 11, Ky. Democratic Atty. Gen. Ben Chandler appealed Trude's ruling. [Courier-Journal 6/5 & 12/99]
In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
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Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and extremism in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
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