More On The "CESSPOOL" Indictment. Read Excerpts Below.

Read the C-J for full story or the excerpts below:

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Attorneys for three men accused of tampering with the state's road bidding process criticized the prosecution and its key witness yesterday after entering not guilty pleas for their clients.
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Road contractor Leonard Lawson, former state Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert and Lawson employee Brian Russell Billings attended the 10-minute hearing in U.S. District Court but did not speak.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James Todd accepted the pleas. And he said the judge who will hear the case, U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, has set a trial date of Nov. 12 in Frankfort.

Todd released the defendants on their own recognizance and ordered them to surrender any passports they hold.

After the hearing Lawson, one of the state's most politically influential road contractors, and his wife, Bonnie, declined to comment as they left the federal building.

"This is near the end of his life," Lawson's attorney Larry Mackey said later of the 69-year-old Lawson. "And he's going to fight hard to save his name and his liberty. And if that means bringing every motion for continuance, every motion to challenge the indictment, every motion to challenge the government's witnesses, we're going to do it."

Editor's comment: Is Lawson dying?

And why would his Lawyer threaten to embark on a path of delaying justice -- or the inevitable, as some might say?

Does that tactic suggest there is REALLY no defense to be had?

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?