Hurricane Katrina Lawyer Charged for Bribery

12/13/07

The 13-page indictment states that Scruggs, his son, and Scruggs Law Firm attorney David Zachary Scruggs; firm attorney Sidney Backstrom; Patterson and Balducci, PLLC, attorney Timothy Balducci; and Patterson and Balducci employee Steven Patterson all took part in the eight-month plan to bribe Circuit Judge Henry Lackey.


Balducci, who claims to have approached the judge on Scruggs's instructions, paid the judge a total of $50,000. Scruggs then "allegedly" reimbursed Balducci before creating fake documents to cover up the incident.

If those charged are found guilty, each could face up to 75 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. However, Balducci, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday, could face up to five years in prison.

According to the indictment, Balducci told the judge on or around May 9, 2007, "My relationship with Dick [Scruggs] is such that he and I can talk very private [sic] about these kinds of matters, and I have the fullest confidence that if the court, you know, is included to rule...in favor...everything will be good...

"We, uh, like I say, it ain't but three people in the world that know anything about this...and two of them are sitting here and the other one...the other one, uh, being Scruggs...he and I, um, how shall I say, for over the last five or six years there, there are bodies buried that, that you know, that he and I know where...where are, and, and, my, my trust in his, mine in him and his in mine, in me, I am sure are the same."

However, Scruggs denies his involvement.

But Scruggs is up against more than the pressures of the indictment. The Mississippi lawyer, who has fought insurance companies specifically dealing with the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, formed a group called the Scruggs Katrina Group. The group was formed to battle insurance companies for the Gulf Coast residents who were denied insurance payouts. However, after Scruggs was indicted (and even after he pleaded not guilty to the charges), his firm withdrew from the group.

One attorney thought Scruggs's firm withdrew to be less of a distraction. And Insurance Information Institute President Robert Hartwig said, "The litigation brought by Scruggs and others only created a very difficult environment for insurers and added to the cost of providing coverage."

Scruggs, whose brother-in-law is Mississippi senator Trent Lott, was portrayed in the 1991 movie The Insider, which concerned a multibillion-dollar settlement with tobacco companies.