Ethics agency fines Tim Longmeyer $5,000 for bribery scheme

Former Kentucky Personnel Secretary Tim Longmeyer must pay a $5,000 civil fine after settling 45 counts of ethics violations with the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, officials said Monday.

Far more serious criminal penalties await Longmeyer, who used his position to arrange for kickbacks from a contractor. He is scheduled to report to federal prison Dec. 7 for a 70-month sentence. He also must pay a $203,500 criminal fine.

Longmeyer was secretary of the Personnel Cabinet under former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and worked for a few months as the top deputy to his son, Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear. He pleaded guilty in April to receiving $203,500 in cash and illegal campaign contributions from Lexington consulting company MC Squared in 2014 and 2015.

In a separate investigation, the Ethics Commission charged Longmeyer with the MC Squared bribery scheme; with failing to report the bribes on his 2014 and 2015 personal-finance disclosure reports; and with an unrelated offense, from 2011 to 2015, in which Longmeyer used Personnel Cabinet employees under his supervision, on state time, to collect political donations from their cabinet colleagues for gubernatorial and judicial candidates.

This story was originally published November 14, 2016 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Ethics agency fines Tim Longmeyer $5,000 for bribery scheme."