Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Announces Conviction of Three in Covington Election Investigation

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Special Prosecutions today announced the conviction, by guilty plea, of three defendants indicted in connection with their joint roles in election finance crimes during the 2008 general election in Covington, Ky.

Steven Megerle, a sitting Covington city commissioner, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate campaign finance restrictions and one count of conspiracy to fail to identify campaign contributors and advertisers. Megerle was sentenced to 12 months jail, conditionally discharged for one year, and a $500 fine. Prosecutors further demanded that Megerle have no involvement in the financial affairs of any political campaign and to be barred from seeking public office during this period.

Jerry Bamberger pled guilty to the same two offenses as Megerle and was sentenced to 12 months jail, conditionally discharged for two years. Bamberger will also be barred from involvement in the financial affairs of any political campaign and from seeking further public office.

Craig Johnson, an unsuccessful candidate for Covington City Commission in the 2008 election, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate campaign finance restrictions.

The defendants’ convictions stemmed from a scheme to create and distribute an inflammatory campaign advertisement advocating the defeat of city commission candidate Shawn Masters and to hide the participants’ role in financing the documents.

"We believe in the right to free speech in political campaigns, but the integrity of the Commonwealth’s campaign finance laws is at the heart of our electoral process," said General Conway.

The Office of the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations worked in conjunction with local authorities to investigate this case.

"With cooperation from investigators at the state, local and federal level, we were able to bring about the successful prosecution of this case," General Conway said.