US v. Scruggs guilty plea documents
Here are the plea documents from the sentencing this morning:
- Richard Scruggs plea agreement
- Richard Scruggs facts supporting plea
- Backstrom plea agreement
- Backstrom factual basis
As readers may have figured out, the site has blown up from demand on the server, and this has made posting more than a bit of an ordeal. I will be posting more later when I can.
NMC
March 14, 2008 at 1:36 pm
NMC, until we get back to folo.us tomorrow, we’re gotta sign our posts again and also remember to hit the “Allow Comments” button when we do one.
March 14, 2008 at 1:39 pm
This seems light to me — on scruggs that is — any indication they are working on “something” for any other investigations?
March 14, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Everybody, while we take refuge here until noon Central tomorrow, we can comment only on these new posts. Comments on the old ones are closed.
March 14, 2008 at 1:41 pm
My initial thought is Backstrom forced Dickie’s hand.
March 14, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Hi, Gearhart. NMC is back in court on his own case(s) this afternoon, I understand, so we may have to wait a bit to get more insights from him.
Was anyone else among us in court for U.S. v. Scruggs this morning?
March 14, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I wonder what other (elected) officials lost their appetite for dinner today?
I’ve read that there was on indication of cooperation from Scruggs, but due to the 5yr rec, he’s got to be giving the Feds something, right? You just don’t get that “gift” for simply pleading guilty.
March 14, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I was in court..there is some spec that he is cutting a deal or moving towards it. I can say this - with the Dickie that I know there will be plenty of bodies under the bus before this thing is done to keep himself out of the fedpen.
March 14, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Woohoo, I just found the page where I can see and free new comments.
Yippee! Y’all, thank you so much for these kind words.
It was awful to be without your company for that time today. I hope the word is going viral that this is where we gather again until tomorrow (when I ALSO hope our rush back won’t scare Mr. Server Farm out of another year or two’s growth so he shuts us down for good)!
Jane, what your source says is most interesting. Any elaboration on that?
March 14, 2008 at 1:55 pm
No. I’ll see if I can get any.
March 14, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Greenlawyer - did Dickie seem down or remorseful/emotional at all? (As I’ve read Backstrom was a bit emotional)
March 14, 2008 at 2:02 pm
If nothing was put under seal we will know what was given up, but I’m like a kid in a hot car on a long trip, Damn are we ever gonna get there, yet for Mississippi this has moved at lighting speed. But Sid at CL says this is only the beginning that there is a long way to go, and someone in high places had to tell him that because he’s never had a long ranging thought by himself. If Dickie is let off the way Langston was the general public of this great State is going to have frigging riggers and Poor Jim Hood had better decide to retire and spend more time with family.
March 14, 2008 at 2:06 pm
mag, ain’t nobody can say it good as you, babe.
I always wonder how glad “family” is to spend more time with its moke, ya know?
March 14, 2008 at 2:06 pm
This is from the Clarion Ledger:
“As part of the plea deal, federal prosecutors agreed to defer prosecution of Scruggs’ son, Zach Scruggs, who agreed to give up his license to practice law.”
March 14, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Am I the only one that can’t open the documents?
March 14, 2008 at 2:14 pm
ccvz at 1:42: If Scruggs is made to serve 5 years, that will be sufficient with the loss of his license and probable future prosecution in the Wilson matter.
A few years ago we had an attorney who paid a federal judge with a $30,000 cash down payment on a $2 million dollar bribe. The judge and the attorney were close friends.
The attorney ended up with 12 months and 1 day on each of 3 counts - all served concurrently.
That, my friend, is a good deal.
March 14, 2008 at 2:20 pm
While covering the case for The Daily Mississippian I managed to track down Mr. Scruggs dropping off Mr. Keker at his B&B. A Watery eyed Scruggs, sitting in his Porsche SUV was unable to comment, only saying, “I am not at liberty to discuss it.”
Good luck getting the server back up and running.
Grady Tollison also told me Judge Lackey is the one hero in this case.
March 14, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Finally! For some reason the old wordpress wouldn’t let me log in. So, Jane “defer prosecution:” they don’t prosecute Zach now, but reserve the right to do so later, say if Dickie doesn’t come through w/ the goods on some others?
March 14, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I’ve heard of deferred adjudication where a defendant pleads guilty and the case “goes away” if he behaves for a year. Maybe that’s what is happening here?
March 14, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Where are documents that support the CL’s report?
March 14, 2008 at 2:34 pm
My exchange with an anonymous, well-placed reader:
R: [subject: Fear strikes in Booneville] Rumor has it that there will be a roll-back on Joey. Payback is a bitch in stripes, so it seems…..
L: A rollback? Whatcha mean? Now Dickie’s told something on him that does-in what he thought was his deal? Oooo.
R: I’m not hearing a do-in of the current deal, but certainly that is a risk. This newest fear seems to be of a lil’ dirt throwin’ of Dick’s own at Joey on a (somewhat) unrelated matter.
Tim has talked his voice box dry, the feds are sitting back and piecing together what Joey has told. What dots that Dick can/will/does connect remain to be seen.
March 14, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Jane: Whatever the Clarion Ledger reported is not based on anything that happened in open court and in fact contradicts what went on (which is not to say it isn’t so, just that it has to be based on later developments)
March 14, 2008 at 2:40 pm
“Deferred prosecution” doesn’t make much sense. Deferred adjudication does. Why would the prosecution take the chance they’d have to gear up for a whole trial a year or so from now.
March 14, 2008 at 2:45 pm
My thoughts perzacly, Jane? Hey guys, maybe the CL is WRONG? C’est possible, non?
March 14, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Deferred adjudication is probably the more accurate “term of art”. that is how they roll it in drug court.
March 14, 2008 at 2:50 pm
For what it’s worth, here’s what the Daily Journal has to say on the subject:
“According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Norman, the younger Scruggs will be on trial as planned, but unconfirmed statements in court earlier this morning hinted at a later date than March 31, which was the date set by Senior Judge Neal Biggers Jr. to prosecute the three together.”
March 14, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I know I shouldn’t, but I feel sort of bad for Backstrom. It just seems like he’s gotten the rotten end of the stick compared to Dickie who everyone seemed to always bow down to while zombies ate their brains.
And from Lotus’s well placed anonymous source, Dickie sure sounds like a prick.
March 14, 2008 at 2:53 pm
“And from Lotus’s well placed anonymous source, Dickie sure sounds like a prick.”
And has for a very long time now.
March 14, 2008 at 2:55 pm
The Clarion Ledger story doesn’t even contain a byline.
March 14, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Well I bet we start seeing some of those sealed indictments gettin’ unsealed soon!
March 14, 2008 at 3:05 pm
It’s all so exciting. (…to see Justice work the way it was intended to work)
March 14, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Lotus and NMC,
Agree or Disagree, “It appears a pattern has been stopped.”?
March 14, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Dickie has ruined many a life - he has driven “friends” and “peers” into bankruptcy, broken their homes and their lives. The catcher is that he could care less. The way he acted in Pascagoula would alone be sufficient to back up anyone’s claim.
Aside - drove by the Richard and Diane Scruggs building at UM this morning and had a chuckle, can’t wait to see what the University decides to do.
March 14, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Has Trent Lott ever confirmed or denied that he gave up his seat in the Senate in exchange for anything? These latest Zach Scruggs reports make it appear that federal prosecutors entered into a similar agreement with him, but it does not show up in the public record anywhere — is that part of the deal? Is that the way it works?
March 14, 2008 at 3:10 pm
It may appear so for a few minutes here this afternoon, dmwriter, but I doubt it actually has stopped. Way too early to say that, in any case.
March 14, 2008 at 3:11 pm
“I know I shouldn’t, but I feel sort of bad for Backstrom. It just seems like he’s gotten the rotten end of the stick compared to Dickie who everyone seemed to always bow down to while zombies ate their brains.”
Seacrest, its always been the rule of nature that if you run with the big dogs (good and evil) you have to have carry some weight yourself or you are going to get crushed, even if it just an accidental stepping.
I feel sorry for his wife, who was not in the courtroom today. Sort of the opposite of Spitzer’s wife standing next to him.
March 14, 2008 at 3:11 pm
thought “ya’ll” might like this
In catching high-profile plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs in a judicial bribery scheme, the federal government’s methods of investigation worked perfectly, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said Friday.
So well, in fact, that he wishes he could use the same, even though he has recently deferred prosecution of one federal judicial bribery case to the local district attorney and has shown no sign of filing charges against Scruggs.
“The federal government effectively used its wiretap authority to prosecute a rare judicial bribery case,” Hood said. “It would be an effective deterrent in other white collar crime cases, if the Legislature would give wiretap authority to state prosecutors.”
http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/209317-hood-federal-justice-effective-against-scruggs
March 14, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Greenlawyer: I am awaiting a phone call from the Ole Miss newsdesk with something on the campus’ stance regarding Scruggs. Should be interesting.
March 14, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Oh Curly, don’t get me wrong. I understand the rule. I’m just saying from an outsiders perspective Scruggs was a rich and powerful 60 year old man who seemed to corrupt young men who had way more to loose.
March 14, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Oh dear. According to The Google, 28 minutes ago, the poor Picayune Item ran with “Backstrom again wants judicial bribery case severed from Scruggs.” Maybe somebody oughta call ‘em up on the foam . . .
March 14, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Seacrest @311p. Well if Hood got the wiretapping authority it would ensure he didn’t accidentally collect evidence on anyone that might later turn out to be “family” members.
Hood wants to make sure that never happens, no sirree by golly….no “family” prosecutions here in Mississippi.
March 14, 2008 at 3:30 pm
“FOLLOW THE MONEY”! The money trail(s) are going to lead to more indictments.
dmwriter - Don’t forget about Johnny Jones also as a “hero”. Johnny started it all by standing up against Scruggs, Nutt and Barrett for the legal fees that he said they owed him.
March 14, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Kudos to AG Hood on a great spin of the federal investigation, indictments, and pleas. That spin just about wins an Award.
March 14, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Yes, Justus. But Johnny Jones stood up to Scruggs for the money. Judge Lackey did it for justice.
March 14, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Nomiss, I don’t know how well you know Johnny. It wasn’t just about the money to him. I guess if a rape victim sued for personal injury that you would say it was just about the money.
March 14, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Justus @ 3:30 - Don’t forget Charlie Merkel’s long-standing fight against Scruggs in Luckey and Wilson as well!
March 14, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Chancellor Khayat is such a close friend (like family) and supporter of Scruggs that he will not consider renaming any building named for Scruggs. That will happen only if (other monied) alums adamantly insist it happen.
March 14, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Sorry, Justus, I misspoke there about Jones, but not about Judge Lackey.
March 14, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Ya’ll might want to look at my post about Zach Scruggs.
March 14, 2008 at 3:41 pm
DN - You’re right about Merkel. He’s fought it for a long time. He may yet get justice for his client. But, it takes a lot of hutzpa for a plaintiff to decide to sue an icon, as Johnny did.
March 14, 2008 at 3:42 pm
New post upstairs, foks
. . . and, um, to its right a temporary Donate button arrangement, which is suddenly even more crucial a feature than ever (that is, if you want to folo the rest of this case on a blog that lives on a server our shell-shocked current host suddenly wants $600/month to provide . . . ).
Gulp.
March 14, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I am not trying to take anything away from Jones whatsoever. I would surmise that the trail blazed by Merkel inspired Jones in some small way.
In any event, Lackey is the real hero.
March 14, 2008 at 3:53 pm
How is Lackey a hero by following the law and the code of Ethics? It’s a sad day when you gain hero status by doing what you’re supposed to do!!!!!
March 14, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Hood’s spin is a great attempt, but not quite as good as the one his mentor, Mike Moore spun losing the election for Congress while he kept his AG job years ago, “the people have spoken and told me they want me to stay in Jackson as AG by not electing me….”
March 14, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Agreed, Sailor. The word “hero” is thrown around a lot these days (obviously by me as well).
March 14, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I don’t know how much of a hero Johnny Jones is, he defended Dickie against Wilson for years. Merkel’s fight on behalf of Luckey was longstanding and well rewarded. Sadly the same can’t be said for Wilson.
March 14, 2008 at 4:03 pm
DN, you aren’t alone in saying Lackey’s been a hero. I just don’t want folks to think he’s done anything extraordinary by upholding the PUBLIC TRUST. We’re cynical enough these days.
March 14, 2008 at 4:04 pm
“It wasn’t just about the money to him”
Jones defended Scruggs against Wilson and there are things done and said in that experience - his defense of Scruggs - that had Jones, in my view, waiting for this lawsuit almost. In that litigation he saw what Scruggs will do to some one looking for their share (though fair) of his money.
Merkel has got some cahones, look out for some big things soon. How’s that for cryptic!
Having a convicted felon as the name sake for a building for a state university - wow.
March 14, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Some musing:
Where is P.L. in all this ?
The lack of a full-blown evidentiary trial including Rule 404b facts has be somewhat of a relief to the elusive P.L.
… BUT would Dickie really ’spill any beans’ on P.L. since that would reflect directly back to himself (Elder Scruggs) on other matters ?
Don’t think so.
Surely P.L. wasn’t ‘road-kill’ along the plea-bargaining highway ?
March 14, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Magnolia:I am a bit confused. Thought from Joey’s plead that he can not have anymore charges brought against him. (Please correct me if I am wrong) If I am correct what good is for dickie to roll on him
March 14, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Justus 3:41 p, don’t kid yourself. it may not have been “all about the money”, but the money was the main most thing it was about — both in the wilson lawyer fee dispute and the katrina lawyer fee dispute. but — there is nothing dishonorable about that.
March 14, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Wish I had the money to send Charles Merkel a BIG bottle of bubbly, as I am certain that he should feel like celebrating today, but since I don’t, I will just leave my little donation at this wonderful site, with a huge thank you.
March 14, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Oh Dixie, you’re here! Do you know, I was just about to ask if anybody knew your email addy, so we could holler for you.
March 14, 2008 at 8:43 pm
D.N.: merkel inspired jones to sue dickie? I do not think so!!
March 14, 2008 at 8:49 pm
more like scruggs’s money caused jones to work to delay Wilson’s day in court.
March 14, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Well, Johnny’s allegation in his complaint about a “pattern and practice” of ripping off partners is sort of self-accusing. He was fighting really hard for years to help Dickie win his fee disputes.
March 14, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I thought you got disconnected bellesouth.
March 14, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Lackey is scum for selling out his protege to get to Scruggs.
Yeah, he should have just taken Scruggs’s bride and shut up!
March 14, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I’ll fix it just so we can see what you are in favor of
Lackey is scum for selling out his protege to get to Scruggs.
Yeah, he should have just taken Scruggs’s BRIBE MONEY and shut up!
March 15, 2008 at 7:14 am
roger that roger wilco!!