From staff and wire reports, Laural Leader Call

JACKSON — A father and son from Laurel pleaded guilty to bribery charges Friday in U.S. District Court in Jackson, according to a news release.

Kenneth Biglane, 67, and his son, Peter J. Biglane, 40, admitted to attempting to bribe Larry “Butch” Brown, then executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, with kickbacks on state contracts.

According to the news release, Kenneth Biglane went to Brown’s home in Natchez on May 31, 2009, and offered 25 percent kickbacks on all right-of-way contracts to his son’s company, OxPatch Resources LLC.

OxPatch Resources, which is owned by Peter Biglane, provides services relative to oil purchases, title research, and land acquisition and leasing.

The news release stated that Brown told Biglane to leave and called the Federal Bureau of Investigations the next day.

“Instead of abusing the public’s trust… he brought this scheme to the attention of the FBI,” said Daniel McMullen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jackson office.

According to the news release, Brown and Biglane had a number of recorded phone conversations. Biglane later showed up unannounced at Brown’s office on Aug. 12, 2009, with $10,000.

Agents found that Biglane had withdrawn half the money from his personal bank account, and Peter Biglane had withdrawn the rest from the business account for OxPatch.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Jackson said the Biglanes will be sentenced on Sept. 30. U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate could sentence each to as much as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was handled by the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos Tanner leading in the prosecution.