Reply #12: Columbus trial - Judge refuses to free defendants

[DemReadingDU]

4/3/08 Says he can't ignore allegation they planned to flee

National Century executives arrested yesterday on allegations they were conspiring to flee to Aruba tried unsuccessfully to regain their freedom at a court hearing this morning.

Brought to the U.S. District Court in Columbus in jail garb and shackles, James E. Dierker Jr. and Roger S. Faulkenberry had a courtroom full of friends, family and co-workers who were supporting their release.

Defense attorneys for both argued the fleeing allegations are false and were made by a source prosecutors have not named.

Judge Algenon L. Marbley said the fleeing conspiracy was not up for debate. The issue of whether the executives could be free again pending sentencing would be handled at a bond-revocation hearing, he said.

The hearing was set for April 16 at 9 a.m.

The executives who were convicted of fraud in National Century Financial Enterprises’ collapse were allowed to remain free because their attorneys had shown they were not a flight risk or danger to the community, the judge said.

Marbley said he didn’t think the executives were a danger to the community, but he couldn’t ignore allegations of a conspiracy to flee, especially since one defendant has already disappeared.

Rebecca Parrett was allowed to return to Carefree, Ariz., where she would remain on house arrest pending her sentencing, but she did not show for a court hearing. A warrant for her arrest was issued last week.

Faulkenberry’s wife, Jackie, said the conspiracy to flee was bogus. The first time her husband heard any mention of Aruba was after she heard about it on news reports on the Internet, she said.

At the time, Faulkenberry was already in jail, she said.

Other executives convicted March 13 were Donald H. Ayers and Randolph Speer, who were arrested yesterday at their respective homes in Florida and Georgia. They are expected to be brought back to Columbus in the next 10 days, Marbley said.

National Century was a business that provided funding to health-care providers. When the Dublin-based company went bankrupt in 2002, more than 275 health-care providers filed for bankruptcy in its wake. Investors also lost more than more than $1.9 billion.

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/04/03/National_Century.html


link to previous articles...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3253766&mesg_id=3253816