U of L confirms state criminal investigation of erasure of ex-President James Ramsey's computer files
Andrew Wolfson
The state attorney general's criminal investigations department is looking into the erasure of a computer used by ousted University of Louisville President James Ramsey, the university has told the Courier-Journal.
A forensic audit released in June said Ramsey's hard drive was erased and repurposed when he was forced to resign in June 2016, and that the university and foundation failed to preserve that and other records despite an order to keep them in case of future litigation.
Auditors found that under Ramsey’s leadership the foundation depleted the university’s endowment through poor investments and excessive spending. Ramsey and eight other employees also collected $21.8 million in deferred compensation from 2010 to 2016, apparently without foundation board approval.
The Courier-Journal recently requested emails that might shed light on the erasure of Ramsey's computer, but the university denied the request, citing a Kentucky Open Records Act exemption for documents “compiled in the process of detecting or investigating criminal, statutory or regulatory violations.”
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Sherri Pawson, the university's records custodian, specifically withheld an email string between Ryan McDaniel, the president's office manager of information technology, and Lee Smith, a university associate vice president who is now interim chief operating officer.
McDaniel is the nephew of Kathleen Smith, Ramsey’s former chief of staff who retired last year. She was fired in June as the foundation’s assistant secretary.
McDaniel, who has a master's of engineering degree in computer engineering and computer science from U of L, has managed IT services in the president's office since 2007, according to his LinkedIn account. He was one of four president’s office employees who received supplemental pay from a foundation subsidiary, even though they did no work for it, WDRB.com reported last August.
Neither McDaniel nor Lee Smith responded to requests for comment.
Pawson declined to disclose what agency is investigating, but Craig Dilger, an outside attorney for the university, in court papers identified the state attorney general’s department of criminal investigations. He said the AG's office had asked the university not to release “materials compiled in the process of this investigation."
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Terry Sebastian, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said he couldn’t comment on the investigation but noted generally that an agency denying access to public records based on a pending investigation must show why releasing the documents would hurt the probe. The university has not done that.
Steve Pence, a lawyer representing Ramsey, said in an email that “If Dr. Ramsey's computer was erased or tampered with in any way, it wasn't by Dr. Ramsey.”
Ann Oldfather, an attorney for Smith, said the audit report is misleading because hard drives, including Ramsey's are backed up on university servers before they are repurposed. She said Ramsey's computer files were always retained "because everyone sues the president."
She said the computer was repurposed because the acting president's chief aide needed a new one, not because of the impending audit. She cited a university policy that says "sensitive information must be permanently deleted from all computer devices... before being redeployed."
Cindy Hess, a university spokeswoman, said it doesn't comment on pending investigations.
Yet John Moberly, commissioner of the attorney general’s criminal investigations department, specifically sought Ramsey’s hard drive in a June 30 request for sent to acting university President Greg Postel.
“Access to this hard drive is necessary for a complete review of all matters related to the ULF matter,” Moberly wrote.
Brian Butler, a former state and federal prosecutor who is now a Louisville defense lawyer, said that under Kentucky law a person who destroys records believing an official proceeding “may be instituted” could be prosecuted for tampering with physical evidence, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
“I would be very concerned for any client that had deleted official records knowing that an investigation was ongoing or likely to initiated, particularly an investigation that has both state and federal implications,” he said.
Kent Wicker, also a former federal prosecutor, noted the state law allows a conviction only if the defendant destroys evidence "which he believes is about to be produced or used in the official proceeding." The federal obstruction of justice statute, however, says the proceeding does not have to be pending, Wicker said, but the U.S. Supreme Court has said it must be "contemplated."
Dilger has testified before a state legislative panel that the foundation lost between $40 million and $100 million through what auditors characterized as mismanagement and excessive spending on everything from compensation to bad real estate investments to bowl games and football tickets.
A special committee of the board of trustees is considering whether to sue the foundation and its former officers.
Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at 502-582-7189 or awolfson@courier-journal.com.