Gulf Coast lawyer Paul Minor gets 11 years in prison for bribing Miss. judges

By The Associated Press | The Natchez Democrat

Published Friday, September 7, 2007

JACKSON (AP) — Gulf Coast attorney Paul Minor was sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison for bribing two Mississippi judges.

Minor and two former judges were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate.

Minor was found guilty in March on charges ranging from racketeering to bribery.

In the same trial, former Judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield were convicted of mail fraud and bribery for accepting the bribes.

Wingate said Minor’s attorneys had asked for leniency and for him to be sentenced to time served.

‘‘I cannot do that. The crimes for which you’ve been convicted are just so great to a system of justice,’’ Wingate said.

Wingate also fined Minor $2.7 million and ordered him to pay restitution of $1.5 million. Minor also was given three years supervised release.

After the verdict was read, Minor turned in his seat to smile and nod at his family in the courtroom.

Earlier Friday, Minor thanked Wingate for having put him in jail last year before a judicial bribery trial.

Minor was sent to the Madison County Jail in September 2006 after Wingate found Minor had violated terms of his bond, in part, for excessive drinking.

Minor, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, told Wingate that his time behind bars has helped him realize that it’s time to deal with a lifelong struggle with alcoholism.

‘‘It has helped me to look deep, deep inside myself,’’ he said, drawing tears from family members and friends in the courtroom. ‘‘While being shackled like a dog ... is horrible, there are positive things that can be gained.’’

Minor, who amassed a fortune from tobacco, asbestos, medical malpractice and car safety lawsuits, also asked for leniency.

‘‘Give me the opportunity to serve society so when I die, my tombstone does not read, ’Here lies the man who rotted his last years in jail.’’’

The three were convicted in March in a case that revealed financial ties between Minor and the two judges from coastal Harrison County.

Minor was found guilty on charges ranging from racketeering to bribery. He faced up to 95 years in prison.

Teel and Whitfield were found guilty of mail fraud and bribery for accepting the bribes. Teel faced up to 25 years in prison, and Whitfield faced up to 50 years.

Minor was convicted of guaranteeing $140,000 in loans to Whitfield in 1998, then using cash, a third party and a backdated promissory note to try to conceal the fact that Minor paid off the loan. Whitfield awarded Minor’s client $3.6 million in a lawsuit. The Mississippi Supreme Court later reduced the award to $1.6 million.

Minor was also accused of guaranteeing a loan of $24,500 to Teel the same year. Prosecutors said Teel forced through a $1.5 million settlement in one of Minor’s cases before his court.

Minor acknowledged guaranteeing loans for Teel and Whitfield, but claimed he was only helping friends who had fallen on hard times and that he expected nothing in return.

Whitfield’s attorney, Michael Crosby, told Wingate this week that Whitfield accepts responsibility for what he did.