Butler state police Trooper Scott Altman testified this morning in a defamation case about how a rumor of a kickback scheme involving former county Commissioner Dale Pinkerton impacted his personal life.

The trooper said along with having to undergo an internal investigation, he's had to endure constant comments from others about the rumor and watch his wife's sadness over the false accusations.

Altman and his wife, county personnel director Lori Altman, are suing former county Commissioner Jim Eckstein for allegedly spreading a rumor that Scott Altman got Pinkerton off the hook for a drunken driving charge in exchange for Lori Altman receiving an extra 20 percent pay hike in 2011.

Pinkerton is the plaintiff in a second lawsuit being tried simultaneously in county court.

Investigations by the state attorney general's office and the state police internal affairs found no evidence of wrongdoing.

All sides in the case agree there never was a DUI pullover. However, they are arguing over Eckstein's responsibility for the rumor's proliferation.