Patsy Brumfield’s story posted to the Daily Journal on-line late today – but I’m certain not too late for Sean Carothers to welcome Judge Biggers decked out in a Santa Suit delivering a good news Order reducing Carothers’ sentence to time served.
Sean Carothers will be free even earlier from federal prison to help the government prosecute others accused in the Mississippi beef plant scandal.
Wednesday, U.S. Senior Judge Neal Biggers Jr. changed an earlier order to reduce Carothers’ 21-month sentence to time served, plus 90 days on house arrest.
Monday, Biggers reduced his sentence to 12 months and a day after U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee asked for Carothers’ early release to help in preparing its case against three Georgia executives and their companies. They are accused in another scheme to defraud the state of Mississippi and others related to the defunct beef processing plant.
It was unclear about why he revised his order.
Carothers is expected to be called as a government witness to explain how he contends a Georgia company and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the plant’s owners, financiers, subcontractors and material suppliers.
Co-defendants in that Aug. 25 trial are three executives – Robert Moultrie, Nixon Cawood and Charles Morehead – and The Facility Group accused in a 16-count indictment of corruptly making contributions to an elected state official’s campaign to win a state contract for the processing plant, then corruptly using the mail to falsely billing the project to reimburse the contributions.
TFG was hired by the state to evaluate the Yalobusha County processing plant and then to manage its construction.
The men and their companies have denied any wrongdoing.
In asking for Carothers early release from prison, federal prosecutors said he has spent nearly two years going through the plant’s construction documents and helping the government develop its case against the men and TFG.
Biggers also noted, in his order, that Carothers will be allowed to leave his house to travel to the U.S. Courthouse to work with prosecutors and to attend church on Sunday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Carothers has been in a Pensacola, Fla., federal facility since Dec. 3, nearly 11 months after his guilty plea relating to a scheme to defraud Community Bank of Mississippi, which issued $55 million in state-backed bonds to build the Yalobusha County plant.
On Jan. 16, 2007, Carothers, a construction company owner, pleaded guilty to using the U.S. mail in a 2002 conspiracy to defraud the bank with the plant’s owner, Richard Hall Jr. Both men have been in prison for their misdeeds.
Carothers won the contract to build the plant, then estimated at about $15 million. He hired Hall as his project processing engineer and they devised a scheme to inflate the contract to hide Hall’s involvement.
Greenlee must love what Carothers is going to say. If I’m Moultrie, I’m worried.
Dashing through the dough on a one horse open sleigh laundering that cash beef meat all the way, ha.
It might be a blue, blue, blue Christmas alah Moultrie.
They steam rolled Draper. I suspect you’re right Jack.
sop
I guess striking a deal at this point isn’t an option for Moultrie…is it?
Should be HD. Depending on what’s being offered Mr Moultrie may not have much to lose by fighting tooth and nail.
A old banker once told me that if the Feds want you they’re going to get you. That decidedly non legal perspective sums it up best IMHO.
sop
Guys, there’s more…Moultrie filed a ton of motions yesterday. It took forever just to download all of it.
I’ll get them up as fast as I can. Good stuff and real interesting.
now, what is your take on Moultrie and Facility Group?
spend some time in the big house?
My take? Too early to tell what’s going to happen.
Please explain X’mas in July in the USA, and how it all came about. How does Australia play a part in this American celebration ?
Thanks !
I tell you what buddy smoke some more and get back with us.
sop
Sop! Ng, here’s a link that explains.