Williams has been hit with an ethics violation for allegedly trying to steer a state bridge repair contract to a Frankfort engineering firm. According to the charge from the ethics commission, Williams tried to influence members of the group that was scoring the bids on the contract to restore a bridge in Harrison County. WHAS 11 News first reported on this alleged attempt at bid rigging in November 2005. What we found was that at least two members of the bid scoring team changed their scores after pressure from Transportation Cabinet officials. The original scores of DLZ/Brighton Engineering's bid were crossed out and improved on two scoring sheets. Even with the inside help, DLZ didn't get the bid.
Former transportation official Sam Bevarage has agreed to plead guilty to an ethics charge in the this case, pay a $1500 fine, take a public reprimand and pledge to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. It was Bevarage's cooperation that apparently landed Williams in the ethics panel's crosshairs.
Through a spokesman, Williams said he was "surprised" by the ethics charge and expects to be cleared of the charge.