EX-TRANSPORTATION CHIEF SHREDDED DOCUMENTS, COURT PAPERS SAY

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Wed, Jan. 25, 2006
EX-TRANSPORTATION CHIEF SHREDDED DOCUMENTS, COURT PAPERS SAY
By Jack Brammer
HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU

FRANKFORT - A former Transportation Cabinet employee testified last summer that her boss had shredded and altered some documents on the day state investigators came calling for them, according to records released today.

Cheryl Casey, a former aide to Administrative Services Commissioner Dan Druen, told the grand jury Aug. 3 that Druen shredded about an inch and half of documents last May 13 before investigators from Attorney General Greg Stumbo's office came to the Transportation Cabinet to pick up subpoenaed records.

"He shredded more, and I gave ... I gave him a funny look, and he said, 'If you don't want to know, just turn your back.' And he said if I don't see what he's shredding, then I can't say what he shredded, anyway," Casey told the grand jury investigating personnel actions in Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration.

Casey also testified that Druen was adding comments to some documents about whether employees were political appointees or rank-and-file employees protected by the state merit system from personnel actions based on politics.

Asked why he was doing that, Casey said, "Because they ... he ah ... political backgrounds on those people had been checked. And if they were merit employees, obviously it wouldn't look good, so he added the non-merit/merit to them." The grand jury indicted Druen for the second time shortly after Casey testified. He was indicted on one count of tampering with a witness and 20 counts of tampering with physical evidence by shredding or altering subpoenaed documents.
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