STATE CHARGES DISMISSED IN BRIBERY CASE U.S.

Grand Jury May Receive Sanford Case

All state charges were abruptly dismissed yesterday in the case of Rodney
Sanford, who was accused of soliciting a bribe in exchange for not reporting
the results of two failed drug tests.

The U.S. attorney's office, however, is looking into bringing federal
charges against him.

The case has taken several unprecedented turns in the past several days.

The trial, which began May 12 in Jefferson Circuit Court, had been on hold
for much of the last week while lawyers haggled over whether the FBI had to
turn over certain documents in its investigative file.

In that time, the case made its way to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and
U.S. District Court almost simultaneously. Meanwhile - in what is considered
an unprecedented situation in Jefferson Circuit Court - the
jury, which had heard from just one witness, was sent home for three days.

Craig Dilger, the assistant commonwealth's attorney who had been prosecuting
the case, called it "bizarre." Frank Mascagni III, Sanford's lawyer, has
repeatedly said he was "incredulous."

In court yesterday, Mascagni said, "We've seen some things in this court
we've never seen before."

Jefferson Circuit Judge Geoffrey Morris, who had presided over the case,
agreed that "this has been a very difficult case from the outset."

Sanford, the president of ADAPT Inc., a company that tested people on
probation to see if they were using drugs, had been charged with two counts
each of bribery, theft by extortion and tampering with public records. He
was accused of soliciting $500 from Dwayne Cockerell in exchange for not
reporting that Cockerell had failed two urine tests while on probation.

Sanford, who retired from the Probation and Parole Office, founded ADAPT in
1995. Some Jefferson County judges referred people to ADAPT for periodic
drug testing, often as a condition of their probation.

Cockerell, who had been convicted of cocaine possession and placed on five
years' probation, was ordered to undergo weekly drug testing at ADAPT by
Circuit Judge Ken Corey, who has since retired.

Sanford's trial was put on hold last week after the prosecution's first
witness, FBI Special Agent Mark Dallas, began testifying.

In the course of Dallas' testimony, it became clear that certain FBI
documents had not been turned over as part of the normal discovery process.

Mascagni argued that he was entitled to see those documents. Last week,
Morris ordered that the documents be given to him, at which time he might
turn them over to the defense and the prosecution.

The FBI turned over some of the documents, and the U.S. attorney's office
argued that under federal guidelines, it was not required to turn over the
rest. The commonwealth's attorney's office filed an appeal asking for a stay
in the proceedings in Jefferson Circuit Court.

The issue had not been resolved when Dilger asked Morris to dismiss the
charges yesterday. He told the judge that the U.S. attorney's office was
pursuing a federal indictment against Sanford on similar charges.

Mascagni objected and questioned what he termed the U.S. attorney's office's
"maneuvering" in the case. Sanford, he said, had "been through enough."

"Does he have the right to have his day in court?" Mascagni asked Morris.

But Morris granted Dilger's request, telling Mascagni that "in the eyes of
the state court, your client has been vindicated."

Outside court, Mascagni said he wasn't sure what will happen next. "We're
pleased that the case was dismissed, but we're sorry that it hasn't been
brought to a conclusion."

In an interview, U.S. Attorney Mike Troop said he and his assistants are
looking at possible federal charges, including mail fraud. He couldn't say
when the case might be presented to a federal grand jury.

"We will move as expeditiously as possible, in fairness to everybody," Troop
said.

Troop and Dilger said that the question surrounding the FBI documents was
best resolved in federal court. Dilger said that to try to resolve such a
question while the case is pending in state court would be a "difficult
prospect."

Neither Dilger nor Troop would comment on the nature of the FBI documents,
or whether they indicate a much broader investigation, involving other court
officials.

In his opening statement, Mascagni had argued that Cockerell approached the
FBI, saying he would help them go after Sanford and possibly others,
including Corey. While on the stand, Dallas testified that Cockerell had
mentioned Corey by name.

Neither Corey nor anyone else has ever been accused of wrongdoing in
Sanford's case.