A senior administration official groping and kissing his gal employees, the chief executive covering the whole thing up, Democrats calling it worse than Watergate, silence payments made from government checking accounts -- this would be the greatest scandal of the year, but it's just some Missouri governor/agriculture director thing.

But just in case it eventually involves a ritual murder (because otherwise this is never going national), we've got the creepy rundown ... after the jump.

* Agriculture Director Fred Ferrell was allowed to stay on the job even though everybody knew he was humping on his female employees, who did not care for this behavior.

* "This is the most bungled cover-up by a Republican administration since Watergate," said Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia.

* Governor Matt Blunt let Ferrell pay a $70,000 sex-harassment settlement payment out of ag department funds.

* Ferrell said his assistant, Christine Roark, "was not the brightest tool in the shed but that she was his 'show dog.'"

* There's a 40-page investigation report by the Highway Patrol, for some reason, and everybody in Missouri politics thinks it's some crazy stuff.

* Ex-Senator Jim Talent thought Ferrell was a great old perv.

Gov. Blunt on the hot seat [St. Louis Today]

Missouri Director of Ag Fred Ferrell [Flickr]