Power, Greed, and Hubris: Judicial Bribery in Mississippi

by James R. Crockett

Overview

An infuriating tale of malfeasance among what should have been the state's most trusted servants

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617039195
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	12/17/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

James R. Crocket, Madison, Mississippi, is professor emeritus at the University of Southern Mississippi and adjunct professor of accountancy at the University of Mississippi. He is the author of Hands in the Till: Embezzlement of Public Monies in Mississippi and Operation Pretense: The FBI's Sting on County Corruption in Mississippi, both published by the University Press of Mississippi.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Preface xi

Chapter 1 Did Attorney Paul Minor Seek Unfair Advantages by Bribery? 3

Chapter 2 Paul Minor, Wes Teel, and John Whitfield: The Second Trial 27

Chapter 3 The Diazes' Income Tax Follies 51

Chapter 4 The Appeals of Minor, Teel, and Whitfield 59

Chapter 5 The Enigma That Is Richard F. "Dickie" Scruggs 71

Chapter 6 The Undoing of Dickie Scruggs 94

Chapter 7 Jones v. Scruggs and the Rise and Fall of the Scruggs Katrina Group 119

Chapter 8 The Odd Couple: Tim Balducci and Steve Patterson 130

Chapter 9 Who Is Judge Henry Lackey? 141

Chapter 10 Sentencing of the Scruggs I Defendants 149

Chapter 11 Joey Langston Violates His Own Rule 168

Chapter 12 The Bobby DeLaughter Tragedy 183

Chapter 13 Bobby DeLaughter Lied 204

Chapter 14 The Scruggs-Luckey-Wilson Legal Entanglement: Will This Thing Ever End? 215

Chapter 15 Presley L. "P. L." Blake and Edward J. Peters: The Teflon Men 231

Chapter 16 Zach and Dickie Scruggs's Appeals 242

Sources 259

Index 271

Editorial Reviews

"In this excellent volume, James R. Crockett shows what happens when powerful men attempt to put themselves above the law. He reveals how the actions of famed lawyers and judges resulted in scandal and disgrace. This is the story of how authorities exposed bribery and corruption in the most significant legal scandal of contemporary Mississippi."

—Governor Phil Bryant

From the Publisher