More than a year after a Montgomery jury convicted them of federal bribery and conspiracy charges, former HealthSouth CEO Richard M. Scrushy and former Ala. Gov. Don Siegelman will go to court again, this time to be sentenced for their crimes on June 26.
According to prosecutors, Scrushy gave the then-governor two checks worth a total of $500,000, which Siegelman then used to pay campaign debts after the failed 1999 Alabama lottery referendum. In exchange, Siegelman guaranteed HealthSouth an appointment to the Certificate of Needs Board, a state hospital regulatory agency.
In addition to those charges, the jury also convicted Siegelman of one charge of obstruction of justice. According to the prosecution’s case, Siegelman used the sale of a motorcycle to disguise money he received from a contractor doing business with the state.
Since the convictions, Scrushy’s lawyers have filed a bizarre series of motions, claiming that emails they received anonymously show that jurors were discussing the case among each other before deliberations and that jurors used material from the Internet, which they are forbidden from doing.
U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller has ruled that the emails are not material, as the defense cannot show evidence of their authenticity.
— Kyle Whitmire
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