- Another Scruggs plea
As expected, Dickie's son Zach cut a deal with the feds in which he agrees to plead guilty to knowing of and concealing a felony (sometimes called misprision of a felony). Prosecutors are recommending that he receive a sentence of probation, according to court documents. Dickie, meanwhile, faces up to five years in jail by pleading guilty to his role in conspiring to bribe a state court judge. He’ll no doubt do at least some jail time. It's still unclear whether Dickie's plea was an effort to protect his son. “All along, Dickie Scruggs was the one the U.S. government wanted to convict,” Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the NYT. So no big trial, no big revelations about the way Dickie Scruggs did business. Guess we'll have to wait for the book. From Bloomberg:
Prosecutors also charged former Mississippi state auditor Steve Patterson, Scruggs' former criminal lawyer Joey Langston and Patterson's business partner, lawyer Tim Balducci. They all pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors. Zach Scruggs attended a meeting on March 15, 2007, with his father, Backstrom, Patterson, and Balducci, according to court papers filed today. They discussed Balducci's relationship with Lackey, who presided over the fee dispute. The men agreed that Balducci, who wasn't formally involved in the case, would privately ask Lackey for a ruling favorable to the Scruggs Law Firm, according to the filing.
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| 04:39 PM Mar 21, 2008 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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