Lunsford criticizes Fischer for tardy financial report

Bruce Lunsford criticized Greg Fischer, his chief rival in the May 20 Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate, Monday for filing his personal financial disclosure with the Senate Ethics Committee 11 days after the deadline.

Lunsford also noted in a news release that Fischer’s report showed he has investments in five publicly traded funds which invest in either Ventas or Kindred -- both corporate descendants of Vencor.

Fischer has attacked Luncord for his management of Vencor.

“Greg Fischer has gone against the will of Kentucky’s voters and Democratic leaders by taking a page out of Mitch McConnell’s playbook, slinging mud at his fellow Democrat Bruce Lunsford rather than focusing on what he would do as senator to improve the lives of Kentucky families,” Lunsford spokesperson Allison Haley said in a statement.

“The fact that all the while, Fischer has investments in the very companies he claims Bruce ran into the ground makes Fischer’s actions the ultimate hypocrisy,” Haley said.

McConnell, a Republican, now holds the U.S. Senate seat up for election.

Senate ethics rules require all candidates in the Kentucky Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to submit their disclosure forms to the Senate Ethic Committee 30 days before the election.

Fischer didn’t sign his form until more than a week after the deadline and then took an additional three days to send it in, Lunsford’s campaign said.

Fischer’s form shows his investment portfolio includes public funds that have a combined total investment of over $26 million in Ventas and Kindred.

Haley said Lunsford’s form was filed on time and in full compliance with Senate rules.

UPDATED AT 6 p.m.:  Ken Shapero, a spokesman for the Fischer campaign, said Fischer's disclosure form was filed late because of "a clerical error."

He also said Fischer has several mutual funds that have investments in various businesses.

"Greg has no direct investments in Ventas and Kindred," Shapero said. "And, anyway, we never talked about them.  Our talk was on Vencor."

Lunsford was a co-founder of Vencor, a multi-million dollar health care corporation that declared reorganization in 1999. In 1998, some of Vencor's nursing homes began turning away Medicaid patients to make room for private-pay patients. It created a stir.

Lunsford said he did not know that staff members at the nursing home were evicting poor patients. He apologized, and he flew to Florida, where one of the publicized evictions was taking place. Eventually those patients -- fewer than 100, according to Lunsford's campaign staff last year  -- were invited to return. The company paid a $270,000 fine in Florida.

--Jack Brammer

Comments

[kilowat]

like the last ad of lunsford with all the lies, come on people it's all still on the internet
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2001/March/115civ.htm

[Created a Stir]

H-L:
"Lunsford was a co-founder of Vencor, a multi-million dollar health care corporation that declared reorganization in 1999. In 1998, some of Vencor's nursing homes began turning away Medicaid patients to make room for private-pay patients. It created a stir."

"reorganization" = BANRUPTCY

"turned away" = PAID BONUSES TO EVICT POOR MEDICAID PATIENTS

"created a stir" = RESULTED IN ONE OF THE LARGEST CIVIL PENALTIES IN U.S. HISTORY ($219 MILLION) AND AN ACT OF CONGRESS TO STOP VENCOR'S UNETHICAL PRACTICE.

[Jer]

Bruce is clearly rattled. Why is he counterpunching furiously if he's so far ahead and has such solid support? It's because all he has going for him is name recognition and he's figuring out that once people realize the name they recognize is a crook and a Republican at heart, they switch to Fischer.

[rob]

Am I the only person that is having trouble posting on this site????????? I thought it was my computer but noticed I didn't have trouble typing on other sites. I can't type normal speed and if I do, some letters don't appear. I have to type slow and sometimes type a letter more than once to get it to appear.

[the Internet is not Lunsford's friend]

Mr. Brammer, there is no need to continue republishing Lunsford's fairy tale version of Vencor when so many neutral, reputable sources printed the truth at the time.

You don't have to take Fischer's word for it, when appellate courts, state legislative committees, federal authorities, business school case studies, and investigative reporters all said the same things in 1999 and 2001 that Greg Fischer says today. Links available at:

http://www.lunsfordcollection.com/reviews.html

[The uniter not the divider]

Democrats divide and the GOP conquer.

[Oscar]

The Fischer campaign says they're not talking about Ventas and Kindred, but only Vencor? They're the same thing!!!! Lunsford helped save that company by splitting it into two and was Chairman of Ventas during its resurgence. How much money did Fischer make off Lunsford's leadership?

[kilowat]

QUOTE
"1000 Index Fund" means a fund that is tied to the 1,000 largest companies in an investment company's portfolio. Does the Lunsford campaign actually believe that Greg Fischer has partial investments in 998 other companies just so he can also be linked to Ventas and Kindred??

Similarly, "2000 Index Fund" is tied to 2,000 companies in the iShares Russell portfolio. Does Bruce Lunsford actually believe that Greg Fischer has partial investments in 1,998 other companies just so he can also be linked to Ventas and Kindred?

Does the head of Lunsford Capital actually not understand how Index Funds work, and think that Greg Fischer has substantial investments in Ventas and Kindred?
http://www.bluegrassroots.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=1540