Tag: USA v Moultrie

Well now, this explains things…

I happened to notice yesterday our old beef plant coverage was getting some attention from a few readers in the Jackson area.  I normally don’t spend too much time trying to divine what drives interests in our older posts but in this instance the Clarion Ledger solved that mystery.

Unfortunately the Facility Group way of getting work by employing local pols as “consultants” and doing the pay to play thing continues on to this day. Different contractor and politicians but the game remains the same.

sop

A “fall” festival? Draper sentencing set in beef plant fiasco set for Halloween

James Draper was such a minor player in the beef plant case that I doubt few even know his name; yet, of all the folks involved, Draper is the one facing the longest sentence – and, if the government gets what it wants, his sentence will be even longer after the Halloween Day hearing. The Clarion-Ledger ran a brief update in today’s paper. h/t Phunk and Wagnalls

James Draper, convicted by a jury for his part in the Mississippi Beef Plant scandal, will be sentenced on Oct. 31. The government is asking Chief Judge Michael Mills to deal more harshly with Draper, a refrigerator salesman from Tennessee, than a pre-sentence report recommends.

Draper was convicted July 23 on two counts — aiding and abetting the interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud, and of money laundering — in bilking the state out of $187,725. The government filed a four-page motion Tuesday urging Mills to consider that Draper lied during his two-day trial in U.S. District Court.

Based on the charges against him, it would seem Draper had no information to trade for a lighter sentence – but there’s more to the story of this puzzling aspect of the beef plant case tan the  charges against Draper suggest: Continue reading “A “fall” festival? Draper sentencing set in beef plant fiasco set for Halloween”

A "fall" festival? Draper sentencing set in beef plant fiasco set for Halloween

James Draper was such a minor player in the beef plant case that I doubt few even know his name; yet, of all the folks involved, Draper is the one facing the longest sentence – and, if the government gets what it wants, his sentence will be even longer after the Halloween Day hearing. The Clarion-Ledger ran a brief update in today’s paper. h/t Phunk and Wagnalls

James Draper, convicted by a jury for his part in the Mississippi Beef Plant scandal, will be sentenced on Oct. 31. The government is asking Chief Judge Michael Mills to deal more harshly with Draper, a refrigerator salesman from Tennessee, than a pre-sentence report recommends.

Draper was convicted July 23 on two counts — aiding and abetting the interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud, and of money laundering — in bilking the state out of $187,725. The government filed a four-page motion Tuesday urging Mills to consider that Draper lied during his two-day trial in U.S. District Court.

Based on the charges against him, it would seem Draper had no information to trade for a lighter sentence – but there’s more to the story of this puzzling aspect of the beef plant case tan the  charges against Draper suggest: Continue reading “A "fall" festival? Draper sentencing set in beef plant fiasco set for Halloween”

Moos update and the udder-ly ridiculous spin on the beef plant case

Moo-v-ing straight into the update with a summary of post-plea moos and news and udder-ly ridiculous spin from cyberspace about the beef plant case – starting with what the Clarion Ledger has online.

  • $50 on the skinny one, an editorial cartoon from the Ledger’s award winning cartoonist Marshall Ramsey;

Gratuity can get you appointment as "ambassador" – Moultrie got one to Bureau of Prisons

I’m having the hardest time wrapping my arms around “gratuity” as a crime – that puts me in the good company of Dr. Marty Wiseman, director of the Stennis Institute at Mississippi State University, according to the Daily Journal (h/t folo and deep bow to Dr. Wiseman for the laugh)

Longtime Mississippi political observer Dr. Marty Wiseman expressed surprise at the new charge, saying access is “the reason most people give political contributions” of any substance.

“If this is all there is,” he said, referring to the government’s case, “it’s kind of like the country song I Shaved My Legs for This?.”

I haven’t had my hair done (read the lyrics) but I had thought about going up and blogging the trial – but after the pleas, I’ve given more thought to the powerful and unique argument in former Governor Siegelman’s appeal.

Every President who has ever appointed a contributor as Ambassador to France, every Senator who has ever exercised the Senatorial prerogative of putting forward a nominee for the United States District Court after such person supported the Senator’s campaign, every Governor and state Legislator, every Mayor and City Council member throughout the nation, and indeed every constituent of every such person, needs to know here the line is drawn between politics and crime. And the line must not be subject to the whim of prosecutors. Continue reading “Gratuity can get you appointment as "ambassador" – Moultrie got one to Bureau of Prisons”

Plea hearings set for Moultrie co-defendants Morehead and Cawood

Notices of plea hearings are up on the Pacer system for Robert Moultrie’s co-defendants Charles Morehead and Nixon Cawood.

If my understanding of the limited information on the notices is correct, they are waiving indictment and will plea to a one count bill of information. Since Moultrie entered his plea on a one-count bill, I’m assuming (risky, I know) Morehead and Cawood are also pleading guilty to offering a gratuity.

Cawood’s hearing is set for 10:00am Wednesday (tomorrow) and Morehead’s for Thursday at the same time.

A post-script on developments in USA v Moultrie

I thought commenter Mktgpro and others would be interested in knowing that in addition to all the plea documents filed yesterday, Moultrie’s defense filed this Motion to withdraw their Motion to Strike grand jury testimony.

Defendants Facility Holding Corp., d/b/a The Facility Group, Facility Management Group, Inc., Facility Construction Management, Inc., and Facility Design Group, Inc. (collectively “TFG”) hereby withdraw their Emergency Motion to Strike Pleadings Containing Grand Jury Testimony Based Upon Violation of Rule 6(e) (Document # 160) and request that the Court strike the motion from the pleadings.

The motion speaks for itself but feel free, as always, to comment.

Pot boiling over in beef plant case, AJC finally finds the "recipe"

We should have some happy Georgia readers today – all those who have been complaining about the lack of Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s little mention of USA v Moultrie. h/t Y’all for the link to First, pre-heat oven to 425 degrees: A recipe for ‘cooking the books’

That federal trial of a politically connected Smyrna company and its three executives continues to churn out preliminary documents that reveal bits and pieces of the prosecution’s case.

And the company’s fine sense of mathematics.

The AJC story is a blog post by the Political Insider who appears to actually have a fine sense of mathematics himself. Continue reading “Pot boiling over in beef plant case, AJC finally finds the "recipe"”

New orders issued in USA v Moultrie

Magistrate Judge Alexandar issued three orders today in preparation for next month’s trial of USA v Moultrie – all fall under what I’d call “housekeeping” and I’m going to summarize rather than link.

  • Granted in part. Motion from Carothers to increase the number of pages in memorandum of law granted from 35 to 43 pages, not the 50 requested.
  • Granted. Motion from USA for extension of deadline to respond to motions with deadline set on or before 12pm on the 5th of August.
  • Granted. Motion from Moultrie to join motions four motions, including, the motion to dismiss count one. Use these numbers to identify the motions involved on USA v Moultrie under legal in the left side bar (124, 125, 126, and 127)

The absence of motions in opposition is noteworthy – so rarely do we see those in adversarial positions making nice and accommodating the needs of others without a hidden agenda.

Rarer still, much to my amazement, is Judge Alexander’s even tone. Continue reading “New orders issued in USA v Moultrie”