Report: Mayor led covert effort to block Copeland, Lydian re-election bids
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, March 28, 2017, 11:44 p.m. (Added quote from mayor, Wednesday, 4 p.m.) — Bardstown Mayor John Royalty led an effort to discredit Bardstown Councilwoman Kecia Copeland and Councilman Francis Lydian in a plan investigators say illustrate how he abused his authority as mayor and tried to influence the Nov. 8, 2016, city council election.
The allegation was one of 10 findings made public at Tuesday night’s Bardstown City Council meeting by its investigator, Lexington attorney Scott Crosbie.
The mayor did not attend due to a family medical emergency.
Crosbie met with the council in a closed session to present his the 44-page final report. Once the council met with him privately, Crosbie reviewed the findings in open session.
The serious allegations prompted the council to approve a tentative date of April 12 for a public hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to remove the mayor from office.
REPORT: MAYOR TARGETED COPELAND, LYDIAN. The three-month investigation was triggered by the Nov. 1, 2016 anonymous delivery of packetS of public records that targeted Councilwoman Kecia Copeland and Councilman Francis Lydian and were addressed to the council and local media.
The anonymous documents were just part of what investigators say was a plan devised by the mayor, Bardstown Police Capt. McKenzie Mattingly, and possibly others, to retaliate against Copeland and Lydian for their criticism of the mayor and police department.
The report states that as part of that plan, in October 2016 the mayor told Brandon Brewer, the city’s IT supervisor, to lie to the city council members in order to get them to turn their city-issued iPads back in to City Hall. The mayor instructed Brewer to tell the council the iPads needed a mandatory software update when there was no such update needed for the devices.
Lexington attorney Scott Crosbie reviews the findings of the three-month investigation with the Bardstown City Council Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Mayor John Royalty did not attend due to a family emergency.
Once the council iPads were gathered, the mayor directed Brewer to access the council members’ emails on the iPads. Without authorization, the mayor reviewed and copied Copeland’s private emails for later use, the report states.
According to Brewer’s statements to investigators, he was so concerned with the legality of Royalty’s requests that he wrote a timeline of the work he had done for the mayor. He took the document, encrypted it, and then sent copies of the file to his bosses in the event someone needed to know what he had been instructed to do.
According to the report, Royalty continued to monitor Copeland’s emails — even after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Copeland’s attorney. When investigators learned recently of the mayor’s access to Copeland’s emails, they warned the council the mayor he may be monitoring their private and city-related emails as well.
The warning prompted Councilman John Kelley to ask Royalty matter-of-factly at the Feb. 28, 2017, council meeting if he was aware of council members’ emails being accessed or reviewed without authority, consent or an Open Records Request. The mayor told Kelley “I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.”
BOGUS OPEN RECORDS REQUEST. Investigators say the mayor’s review of Copeland’s emails was the basis for an Open Records Request filed in October by Bardstown interim police chief Capt. McKenzie Mattingly. The request sought to examine all the emails and documents sent or received on Copeland’s iPad.
At the Nov. 1 council work session — the same meeting at which the anonymous documents were discovered — Mattingly showed the council the results of his open records request and asked for an investigation of Copeland’s personal use of her iPad, citing it appeared her personal use was excessive.
OTHER AREAS EXAMINED. The investigators also examined the city’s 2016 budget and the fact the audit pointed out overspending in some areas. According to the report, the city’s auditor said there was no budget amendment passed prior to the end of the 2016 budget year. Tracy Hudson, the city’s chief financial officer, said she put a budget amendment on the agenda for a February 2016 meeting, only to have the mayor remove it to avoid bad publicity after the city ended its recreation agreement with county government.
The investigators also examined police department overtime and proper use of time cards
POSSIBLE CHARGES. The report lists several state laws the mayor may have violated given the investigators’ findings. These include:
— Perjury, first-degree. During his December deposition in the Tom Roby termination lawsuit, the report states Royalty’s sworn testimony contradicts evidence obtained by investigators
— Official misconduct, second-degree.
— Unlawful access to a computer, fourth-degree.
MAYOR’S RESPONSE. In text messages sent to media outlets during the council meeting Tuesday evening, Royalty denied any wrongdoing on his part.
“Just so it’s clear I’m not scared of this council and my conscious is clear and no wrong has been committed. I have made changes some people may not like but was necessary to move this city forward.”
PUBLIC HEARING. The council voted Tuesday night to set 10 a.m. April 12, 2017. as the date of a public hearing to determine if the evidence rises to the level of removal of the mayor from office. The date is contingent on availability of a courtroom at the Nelson County Justice Center.
Royalty’s attorney, Jason Floyd, told members of the media Tuesday night that he felt it only proper to give him more than two weeks to help his client prepare to respond to allegations that took a three-month investigation to compile.
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