KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |2 lawyers sue Scruggs for tobacco payments
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Associated Press - September 12, 2009 9:04 PM ET
TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Two Gulf Coast attorneys have accused former attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs and associated law firms of using money owed to them in a scheme to bribe judges and other elected officials.
Lee Young and Charles Mikhail filed a federal lawsuit Thursday in Jackson for money they say Scruggs' firm withheld from the national tobacco settlement in the 1990s.
They claim that it was falsely represented as being taken for tobacco-related obligations.
They want a jury trial on their 17 allegations. They also claim the defendants broke federal racketeering laws.
Scruggs' attorney, Cal Mayo of Oxford, declined to comment Friday.
The suit alleges that Scruggs and 20 unidentified defendants plotted to defraud them to get money for the bribery scheme. Scruggs, three other attorneys and a former state auditor are in prison after guilty pleas and convictions.
Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://www.djournal.com
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