The Inspector General's office investigation centered on former assistant director Moses Young who was the number two man in charge of nursing home regulation in Kentucky. He was fired for failing to disclose that he was living in a house, perhaps rent free, owned by a nursing home operator (Stacey) and making hundreds of phone calls to Stacey, many of them on days the state received complaints about Garrard Convalescent Center or state inspectors were headed to the facility for unannounced visits. The report says Young and Harris were friends.

The report also says some employees in the state Public Health Department vacationed together in Florida, staying in an apartment owned by Stacey. IG Sadiqa Reynolds says those workers weren't investigated because they didn't have a direct conflict of interest. They didn't regulate nursing homes. The investigative file says Young's former boss worked as a consultant for Stacey for two days before she came to work for state government. But Reynolds says there's no indication that any other state workers knew about the improper relationship between Young and Stacey or that other nursing homes have been getting "tipped off" to complaints filed against them.

Young and Harris are appealing their dismissals. Their lawyer, Paul Fauri of Frankfort, didn't return repeated phone messages. Stacey told me he'd be glad to talk to me then never called.