OXFORD, Miss. — Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, who became one of the wealthiest civil-lawsuit attorneys in the country by taking on tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies, was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for conspiring to bribe a judge.
Scruggs, 62, nearly fainted as the judge scolded him for his conduct, and people in the courtroom gasped as he swayed side to side. He had to be seated for a time before the sentence was read, but later stood back up.
U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers Jr. called Scruggs’ conduct “reprehensible” and fined him $250,000. Scruggs also will lose his law license.
The judge handed down the full sentence requested by prosecutors despite arguments from the defense for half that time in prison.
“I could not be more ashamed of where I am today, mixed up in a judicial bribery scheme,” Scruggs told the judge. “I have disappointed everyone in my life.”
Scruggs was indicted in November along with his son and a law partner after an associate wore a wire for the FBI and secretly recorded conversations about the bribe plan. Prosecutors said he wanted a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina insurance cases.
Biggers said that after reviewing evidence, including the secretly recorded conversations, “it made me think perhaps this was not the first time you did this because you did it so easily. And there is evidence before the court that you have done it before.”
Prosecutors are looking into another alleged bribery conspiracy in which Scruggs is accused of trying to influence a different judge in a dispute over legal fees from asbestos cases. Scruggs’ former defense attorney has pleaded guilty in that case and is cooperating with investigators.
