In keeping with the finest traditions of the Bush Justice department, the feds have been stalking former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove for alleged connections to a scandal involving the Mississippi Beef Plant.
As Tim Kalich reported in the Greenwood Commonwealth, this was quite likely politically motivated (shades of Don Siegelman):
This past week’s developments in the four-year-old investigation into the failed Mississippi Beef Processors plant seem timed to help derail Democrat Ronnie Musgrove’s bid to snatch one of the state’s two U.S. Senate seats from Republican hands.
Three Georgia businessmen, one by one over the course of four days, entered guilty pleas to federal charges arising out of the Yalobusha County beef plant’s quick and costly demise.
The three, all executives with The Facility Group of Smyrna, Ga., were largely left off the hook on the more serious charges that they had swindled the state out of at least $2 million and had left the plant’s vendors and contractors holding the bag.
Instead, they were allowed in a plea bargain to confess to trying to buy influence with Musgrove by steering $25,000 to the then-governor’s unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2003.
In other words, the Justice Department tailored the charges against Facility, from defrauding the state of Mississippi out of millions of dollars, to making illegal contributions to Musgrove's campaign.
I can't imagine why they would accept the lesser charge, unless to derail Musgrove's Senate campaign. Of course, the Bush Justice Department has a proud history of doing exactly that.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, the case against Facility Group has now been ordered dismissed by a federal judge:
In U.S. District Court records filed Thursday, the government asks and gets the court OK to dismiss federal charges against Facility Holding Corp., doing business as The Facility Group, Facility Management Group Inc., Facility Construction Management Inc. and Facility Design Group Inc. of Smyrna, Ga.
That dismissal was part of an earlier agreement with defendant and company executive Robert L. Moultrie, who pleaded guilty to making an illegal gratuity to the 2003 re-election campaign of then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.
As part of the agreement, TFG has paid $252,000 to the State of Mississippi, which the motion for dismissal describes as representing "disputed claims" in TFG's contract with the state.
Musgrove, now a U.S. Senate candidate, has not been indicted and insists he has done nothing wrong.
This should theoretically put an end to the unfounded allegations of wrongdoing on Musgrove's part. The feds made their bed when they made the case about Musgrove, rather than the law.
Now they have to sleep in it.
On the web:
Ronnie Musgrove for U.S. Senate