Did one of nation's wealthiest trial lawyers try to bribe judge?
JACKSON, Miss. -- An attorney has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a judge and is assisting federal prosecutors in a case involving one of the nation's wealthiest trial lawyers, court documents said.
Timothy Balducci entered the plea late Tuesday after initially pleading not guilty.
According to court papers, Balducci was accused of delivering $40,000 to a judge at the behest of prominent attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs for a favorable ruling in a civil case.
The case before the judge involved a dispute between Scruggs and other lawyers over $26.5 million in fees from a mass settlement of lawsuits that homeowners filed against State Farm Insurance Cos. after Hurricane Katrina.
Scruggs and the other attorneys appeared in court a week ago and pleaded not guilty to charges against them.
Scruggs, a brother-in-law of Sen. Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, earned millions from asbestos litigation and from his role in brokering a multibillion-dollar settlement with tobacco companies in the mid-1990s. His case against the tobacco companies was portrayed in the 1999 movie "The Insider," starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe.
No sentencing date was set and Balducci was released on his own recognizance. The charge carries a five-year sentence.
Scruggs' attorney, Joey Langston, did not immediately return a call to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey reported to federal authorities Balducci had approached him with the offer of a bribe earlier this year, and the judge worked undercover during the investigation, prosecutors said.
Scruggs' son and law partner, Zach Scruggs, former Mississippi Auditor Steve Patterson and attorney Sidney Backstrom were also indicted in the case. Patterson, who is not an attorney, worked for Balducci's law firm in New Albany, Miss.
Balducci allegedly said during one conversation with Zach Scruggs and Backstrom that "we paid for this ruling; let's be sure it says what we want it to say," the indictment says.
Balducci and Patterson did not respond to messages left at their office.
Richard Scruggs created a paper trail to disguise the bribe money as payments to Balducci for doing work on an unrelated case, according to the indictment.