Troopers Tied to Allegations on Clinton Won’t Face Probe

There will be no criminal investigation of two Arkansas state troopers who last month alleged that they helped then-Gov. Bill Clinton conceal his extramarital affairs and that when he became President offered federal jobs to discourage them from speaking out.

Arkansas State Police Director Tommy L. Goodwin said reports of such an investigation published Jan. 13 by the Associated Press and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper were erroneous. The AP account also appeared in The Times.

Those published reports said that Goodwin ordered an inquiry into alleged insurance fraud claims made against troopers Roger Perry and Larry Patterson by Roy Gene Sanders, an attorney for Columbia Mutual Insurance Co.

In comments published Friday in the Democrat-Gazette, Goodwin said the stories about a criminal probe were the result of “a misunderstanding somewhere.”

Perry suffered a broken neck as a passenger in a state police car driven by Patterson three years ago. Patterson, who crashed into a tree on a foggy night, did not inform his superiors that the two had stopped for drinks before the accident. Patterson passed a sobriety test and was not cited for driving while under the influence.

Patterson’s insurance company, Columbia, refused to pay Perry’s medical bills, causing Perry to sue for compensation. Sanders, as part of his defense strategy, accused the troopers of conspiring to cheat his client. The troopers deny the allegation.

“I don’t know what the grounds are, if any, for an investigation,” Goodwin told the Democrat-Gazette. He did not return calls from The Times on Friday.