Former Fletcher Appointed Secretary Of Transportation Cabinet, Maxwell Clay Bailey, BOOZED And PORNOED Himself Out Of Emergency Services Head Job.

Yes, you heard the headline correctly.

You can read more here, or check out these excerpts:

The official then in charge of overseeing the state's responses to emergencies resigned in March after admitting to allegations of drinking and viewing pornography in his office at the state's Emergency Operations Center.
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Maxwell Clay Bailey, a retired three-star Air Force general, resigned March 28 as director of the Division of Emergency Management.

The resignation received little notice at the time. But the circumstances were spelled out in a recently completed report by the Transportation Cabinet's inspector general, who was assigned to take an independent look into allegations regarding Bailey. ...

The report, obtained by The Courier-Journal under the Kentucky Open Records Act, says that Bailey admitted the main allegations against him.

"Bailey explained due to family and health concerns he probably should not have been working," the report says. "Bailey stated he regrets any embarrassment he has caused."

Bailey's boss at the time of his resignation, Kentucky Adjutant General Edward Tonini, said he was stunned when he first learned of the allegations in late March. He said he approached Bailey, who volunteered his resignation.

"We're dealing with someone that I really do consider -- in the totality of his career -- a national hero," he said.

And Tonini emphasized that despite instances of "unacceptable behavior" by Bailey, "there is no evidence I know of that there was any emergency situation affected by any of this."

Bailey, a native of Johnson County and a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, retired as a three-star general in 2002 after overseeing deployment of special operations forces in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Former Gov. Ernie Fletcher appointed him secretary of the Transportation Cabinet in December 2003. In March 2005 Fletcher moved Bailey to the job at emergency management. ...

"Bailey was observed by nearly all witnesses as being always available and competent in his job," the report said.

However, the report quotes witnesses as having seen evidence of Bailey drinking in his office after regular work hours.

For instance, Tony Keithley, operations officer in the emergency management agency, is quoted in the report as saying he was called by Bailey to the Emergency Operations Center one evening in August 2007 in response to a fire in Western Kentucky. When he arrived, he said, "he observed Bailey to be intoxicated."

The report states, "Bailey admitted he knew 'sipping' alcoholic beverages at night in the (Emergency Operations Center) while watching TV was against policy but countered he was not blatant about it."

The report does not go into detail about Bailey's accessing pornography on his state computer. However, the report stated that Col. Rod Hayes, information technology director for the Kentucky National Guard, "advised they were sure of their investigation into Bailey's misuse of the computer as they had found pornographic images user-specific to Bailey."

Editor's comment: Why do so many FAIL us, and why does Ernie Fletcher's name keep popping up with the latest politically corrupt shenanigans in Kentucky?