MONTGOMERY, Ala.-
The federal judge who presided over the trial of former Gov. Don Siegelman and ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy refused on Monday to throw out their convictions on government corruption charges.
U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller ruled there was “substantial evidence” to support the convictions.
Scrushy’s attorney, former state Supreme Court Justice Terry Butts, said he was not discouraged. “There are still a number of different motions the judge has yet to rule on, and we are confident that Richard Scrushy will be vindicated,” he said in a statement.
A jury convicted Siegelman and Scrushy in June of bribery and conspiracy charges after a two-month trial. Prosecutors said Scrushy arranged $500,000 in contributions to Siegelman’s campaign for a statewide lottery in exchange for being appointed by Siegelman to a seat on an influential hospital regulatory board.
Siegelman also was convicted on an obstruction of justice count that did not involve Scrushy.
Lawyers for Scrushy and Siegelman had asked for the convictions to be overturned, saying there was a lack of evidence. But the judge disagreed.
“The Court finds that during the course of this very lengthy trial, the Government presented substantial evidence upon which a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that Siegelman and Scrushy engaged in the conduct for which they were convicted,” the judge said.
Federal prosecutor Louis Franklin said he always expected Scrushy’s and Siegelman’s arguments to fail. “All they did was take the facts and twist them. That doesn’t carry the day,” he said.
Siegelman’s lawyers did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.
The judge has not yet ruled on more recent filings by Siegelman and Scrushy claiming improper communication by jurors through e-mails during deliberations in their trial or on their earlier challenge of the selection process for the grand jury that indicted them.
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