Frankfort Man Indicted for Bribery of State Employee

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Frankfort, Ky., man was indicted today for charges alleging a scheme to bribe an employee of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

A federal grand jury in Lexington returned an indictment charging 64 year-old James Sullivan with one count of conspiring to bribe and three counts of payments to influence an employee of a federally funded program.

The indictment alleges that Sullivan agreed to make cash payments to Timothy Longmeyer, to influence decisions that Longmeyer made while an employee of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

As alleged in the indictment, Sullivan first offered to bribe Longmeyer in 2009. At that time, Sullivan represented a company that held a contract to administrate workers’ compensation claims filed by state employees. The Personnel Cabinet managed this program, giving Longmeyer oversight over the workers’ compensation contract. Between 2009 and approximately June 2015, Sullivan made multiple cash payments to Longmeyer, each time intending that Longmeyer would help with awarding, extending, and renewing the contract for Sullivan’s client. The indictment alleges that Sullivan made cash payments of $5,000 and $4,000 to Longmeyer, among other payments that were part of the conspiracy.

The indictment also alleges that Sullivan sought Longmeyer’s assistance on behalf of several private attorneys that Sullivan represented. Sullivan asked Longmeyer to identify opportunities for those attorneys to secure contracts to handle civil litigation for the Attorney General’s Office. Sullivan presented Longmeyer $1,000 in cash, intending to receive his assistance. Longmeyer is not alleged to have committed any criminal conduct while employed by the Kentucky Attorney General.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Amy Hess, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announced the indictment.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Boone.

A date for Sullivan to appear in court has not yet been scheduled. He faces up to 5 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and up to 10 years in prison for each of the bribery charges, and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by the Court, after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.

Any indictment is an accusation only. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.