Consultant Larry O'Bryan charged in Longmeyer probe
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Longtime Democratic activist and political consultant Larry O’Bryan, of Louisville, pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal crimes that he was a middleman in the political bribery and kickback scheme arranged by Tim Longmeyer while Longmeyer was secretary of the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet.
Federal prosecutors in Lexington outlined the three counts of bribery against O’Bryan in a document called an “information” – a method of charging a defendant who has waived the right to be charged by a grand jury.
According to the information, Longmeyer, O'Bryan and someone identified as "S.M." created the kickback scheme in which Longmeyer used his position as state Personnel Cabinet secretary to convince Humana, which administered the state health insurance plan, to hire the Lexington firm MC Squared to conduct focus groups on state employee satisfaction with the plan.
MC Squared, which was owned by a former Democratic operative named Sam McIntosh, would then kick back about half of its earnings to O'Bryan, who would then keep half and give the rest to Longmeyer, according to the information filed in U.S. District Court.
The information claims that between October 2011 and March 2014, Humana paid MC Squared nearly $1.3 million. According to the information, MC Squared then gave half - a total of $642,201.50 – to either O'Bryan or his political consulting firm, Proactive Media. O'Bryan would then pay taxes on the entire amount kicked back to him, before dividing the money with Longmeyer, court records said.
►RELATED: Longmeyer's wife pleads for judge's leniency
►READ MORE: Judge rules against Bevin in U of L trustee case
Each charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. O'Bryan is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 19.
O'Bryan appeared in federal court in Lexington for about 40 minutes Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, responding to the judge's questions that, yes, he understood the implications of waiving the right to have his case considered by a grand jury and entering a plea agreement.
Caldwell asked how he pleaded, O'Bryan said, "Guilty, your honor."
O’Bryan is the first person charged in the investigation since federal prosecutors filed the stunning criminal complaint against Longmeyer in March.
Longmeyer quickly pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bribery, and he is scheduled to be sentenced by Caldwell on Thursday. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In pleading guilty, Longmeyer admitted using his position as secretary of the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet under former Gov. Steve Beshear to persuade the insurance companies that administered the state employee health insurance plan – first Humana, and later Anthem – to hire MC Squared to survey state employee satisfaction with the plan.
Over time the two companies paid more than $2 million to the consulting firm, which, in turn, kicked back more than $200,000 to Longmeyer, who used some of that money to make illegal “conduit” campaign contributions, federal court filings allege.
MC Squared's Lexington office shut down at the time Longmeyer was charged. McIntosh, a Hazard native and marketing consultant who formerly worked in Democratic politics, has not commented on the scheme despite repeated CJ attempts to contact him.
According to the plea agreement, Longmeyer enlisted O'Bryan to take part in the kickback scheme. O'Bryan's involvement ended in March 2014, although the case against Longmeyer said the scheme continued well into 2015.
And under the agreement, O'Bryan has agreed to pay $642,201.50 in restitution for his part in the scheme.
O'Bryan's attorney, Scott C. Cox, said O'Bryan declined to comment on the court proceedings.
Longmeyer retired as secretary of the Personnel Cabinet last fall to join the campaign of Beshear’s son, Andy Beshear, for attorney general. When Andy Beshear won that election, he hired Longmeyer as deputy attorney general – a post he resigned just days before he was charged last March.
Federal authorities have said there is no evidence indicating that Steve or Andy Beshear had any knowledge of Longmeyer’s criminal activity.
O’Bryan, like Longmeyer, comes out of Louisville’s Catholic Democratic machine and, like Longmeyer, is a graduate of St. Xavier High School, where he has established a scholarship in his own name. He and Longmeyer were known to hang out together at the Bonnycastle Club, a private club in Louisville’s Highlands known for inexpensive drinks.
O’Bryan is a 1981 graduate of Western Kentucky University who has been active in Democratic politics at least since going to work for the Kentucky Democratic Party in 1982.
His early career also included work as a real estate agent, rehabilitator of buildings and owner of Papa John's franchises.
In 1995 O’Bryan started his political consulting company, Pro-Active Media. The company’s website describes O’Bryan as “the most successful political media consultant in Louisville” and says he produced the first hi-definition television ads in Kentucky politics. Since the early 1990s, he’s worked for campaigns of myriad Democrats, including Bill Ryan, Russ Maple, Irv Maze, John Aubrey, Darryl Owens, Jim King and Dave Stengel.
He sought public office once himself, running for the Democratic Party nomination for state treasurer in 1995, finishing third in a field of five candidates.
While he did not work in a full-time state government job during Democrat Steve Beshear’s 2007-15 terms like Longmeyer, he played numerous part-time roles for the Beshear administration. Beshear appointed O’Bryan to positions on state boards four times: In 2008 to the Kentucky Lottery Corp., in 2010 to the Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance Authority, in 2011 to the Board of Claims and Crime Victims Compensation Board, and in 2015 to the Kentucky Film Commission.
Also, O’Bryan and his wife Lee Ann each gave the maximum contribution allowed by state law ($4,000 per couple) to Steve Beshear’s 2007 campaign, Steve Beshear’s 2011 campaign for governor, Andy Beshear’s 2015 campaign for attorney general, and Jack Conway’s 2015 campaign for governor. Larry O’Bryan also gave $5,000 to the Kentucky Democratic Party in 2015.
O’Bryan has been a strong contributor to Democratic political causes for at least 20 years. Online databases of state and federal contributions show O’Bryan and his wife have made at least 150 political contributions totaling $120,000 since mid-1997. A small amount of those contributions were made to non-partisan candidates for judgeships, but the vast majority to Democratic candidates or the Kentucky Democratic Party.
Besides his political consulting work, O’Bryan also owns a company called TPC-KY, which makes labels. According to its website, the company’s clients include GE, RCA, Gibson Greetings, Delphi Auto Products, Thomas Consumer Electronics, the Hartz Group and Barton Inc.
Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702 or jgerth@courier-journal.com. Reporter Tom Loftus can be reached at (502) 875-5136 or tloftus@courier-journal.com.