Reply #7: Now it's federal bribery charges for Trent Lott's brother-in-law and nephew.

[seafan]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/28/trent-lotts-brotherinl_n_74572.html">Trent Lott's Brother-In-Law, Nephew, Indicted On Federal Bribery Charges, November 28, 2007



More from the Times

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The indictment quoted from a conversation apparently tape-recorded in Judge Lackey’s chambers and from a phone conversation in which Mr. Balducci told a member of his firm, “All is done, all is handled and all went well.”

According to the indictment, Mr. Balducci had the phone conversation on Sept. 27 after handing over $20,000 in cash to Judge Lackey in his chambers. Immediately after meeting with the judge, the indictment said, Mr. Balducci went to the Scruggs Law Firm. The indictment also cited a phone conversation on Sept. 21 in which it said Mr. Balducci discussed the bribery transaction with Mr. Backstrom.

Mr. Scruggs did not respond to phone and e-mail messages last night. His son Zachary declined to comment but referred a reporter to Joey Langston, who he said was a lawyer representing him and the others. Mr. Langston did not respond to a voice mail message left on his cellphone. He was quoted by The Associated Press as saying “I’m convinced that these guys did not do what they are accused of doing.”

Mr. Scruggs, who has negotiated settlements worth more than $100 million this year with State Farm and other insurers, is a brother-in-law of Senator Trent Lott and a close friend of Mike Moore, former Mississippi attorney. He first gained national attention in the late 1990s for helping win a settlement of $248 billion from the tobacco industry.

Mr. Scruggs recruited other Mississippi lawyers to help him resolve hundreds of lawsuits brought by people whose homes had been destroyed or badly damaged in the hurricane. In the biggest settlement, with State Farm, Mr. Scruggs said he expected to receive up to $46 million in fees.
One lawyer, John Griffin Jones, was unhappy with the share allocated to him by Mr. Scruggs. In March, Mr. Jones sued Mr. Scruggs and others over the division of $26.5 million of the fees. According to the indictment, Mr. Scruggs tried to bribe Judge Lackey in exchange for a favorable ruling in the case.

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As a caller just said to Mike Malloy.... 'We are living in a sewer.'