Jackson Free Press

It has emerged in court documents that attorney Dickie Scruggs paid attorney Steve Patterson $500,000 to lobby Jim Hood to try to get him not to indict State Farm. The informant says that Patterson talked to Hood, but it is unclear whether Hood was convinced by that conversation or knew about the lobbying fee. He says he did not. Clarion-Ledger:

In a Nov. 12 memo by FBI agent William Delaney, Balducci is described as a "confidential human source" who gave federal authorities his version of events.

The memo, contained in U.S. District Court documents, says, "Scruggs Law Firm and State Farm were near a settlement; however, Dickie Scruggs learned that the Mississippi State Attorney General's office had threatened to indict State Farm Insurance Co. due to some impasses between the attorney general's office and State Farm ..., (which) was not going to settle the civil cases with Scruggs Law Firm, if the company was going to be indicted by the attorney general's office.

"Dickie Scruggs asked Steve Patterson to speak with Attorney General Jim Hood since Steve Patterson and Hood had a long standing relationship. Dickie Scruggs offered to pay (the New Albany law firm) Patterson Balducci $500,000 if they could get Hood to relent on indicting State Farm."

Balducci told the FBI he accompanied Patterson in that meeting with Hood, who later agreed not to indict State Farm.

Previous Comments

ID

117408

Comment

Before all is said and done that lawyer may give "big pimping" an altogether differeent meaning. Money can't buy love but can it buy other things?

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2008-02-27T11:01:43-06:00

ID

117409

Comment

New to this site, I had no idea there was a venue other than Alan Lange's, ah, 'Nation' (as he terms it) where commentary on this subject is offered and those who challenge his hollow-headed logic are placed off in an 'observation-only zone' for a period of penitence. Reading his blog, it seems those who promise to kiss his ring are re-allowed privileges. Lange seems to consider himself a fount of all worthwhile knowledge on the Scruggs subject and his band of five or six merry-men/propeller heads and supporting suckups offer an excellent education in the art of copy and paste and ditto commentary. Anyway, good to see there's an alternative to Lange's special brand of barnyard gas.

Author

Catfish

Date

2008-02-28T21:07:34-06:00