Former U.S. Rep. Carroll Hubbard of Kentucky, who served nine terms in the House and gained a reputation for quiet gestures of kindness before his career imploded in a banking scandal, has died. He was 85.
Hubbard died Saturday at a nursing facility in Paducah, Byrn Funeral Home in Mayfield said.
Hubbard was a Democrat elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1967 at the age of 30 and served there until 1974, when he was elected to Congress from Kentucky's 1st District. He remained in the House for 18 years but lost his bid for a 10th term in 1992 following the House banking scandal.
Hubbard was sentenced to prison in 1994 and served more than two years after pleading guilty to charges including conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
He was disbarred because of the conviction but eventually reinstated, then disbarred again in 2020 after lying under oath and practicing without a license while under suspension.
Hubbard made three attempts starting in 2006 to win the state Senate seat where he started his political career but failed each time.
Mayfield lawyer Dennis Null told the Courier Journal that Hubbard sent cards to voters to mark their birthdays and marriages.
“There are all sorts of stories about him doing acts of kindness for people,” said Null, who once practiced Hubbard and later defended him in court.
He even helped get Null's father into Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. By doing so, Null said Hubbard extended his father's life.
But Null said Hubbard suffered from poor judgment and surrounded himself with “yes men.”
Hubbard's funeral is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
