Montgomery, AL –
U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller sentenced Siegelman to seven years, four months for bribery and obstruction of justice in the government corruption case. Scrushy was sentenced to six years, 10 months.
The two once-prominent figures in politics and business were escorted out of the courtroom by U-S marshals and not allowed to talk to family members.
In addition to prison, Siegelman was fined 50-thousand dollars due immediately and ordered to pay more than 181-thousand dollars to a state agency where prosecutors said kickbacks were made.
Scrushy was fined 150-thousand dollars due immediately and ordered to pay restitution of 267-thousand dollars to United Way of Central Alabama.
After their time in prison, both are to be on supervised release for 3 years and to perform 500 hours of community service.
Both Siegelman and Scrushy have promised appeals.
Timeline for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman Significant events in the career of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and the criminal cases brought against him
- 1973-1978: Serves as executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party.
- 1978-1990: Elected secretary of state twice and elected state attorney before losing Democratic runoff for governor and opening a private law practice.
- 1994: Elected lieutenant governor.
- 1998: Elected governor, defeating Republican incumbent Fob James with a campaign promise to enact a statewide lottery for education.
- 1999: The lottery proposal is quickly approved by the Legislature but turned back by voters.
- 2002: Narrowly loses general election for governor to Republican Bob Riley after campaigning amid investigations by federal prosecutors in Birmingham and Montgomery.
- 2004: Indicted in Birmingham on bid-rigging charges in an alleged Medicaid fraud case. But in October the case is dismissed after a federal judge rules evidence is lacking on a key charge.
- October 2005: Indicted by a federal grand jury in Montgomery along with ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy and two former Cabinet members on what prosecutors call a "widespread racketeering conspiracy."
- May 1, 2006: Siegelman, Scrushy and two others go on trial in federal court in Montgomery in government corruption case.
- June 6, 2006: Loses Democratic primary for governor to Lucy Baxley.
- June 29, 2006: Convicted on six bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud counts with Scrushy, involving the 1999 lottery campaign, plus an obstruction of justice count; acquitted on 27 counts, including racketeering.
- June 28, 2007: Sentenced to seven years, four months in federal prison on his convictions.
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Timeline for former HealthSouth CEO Scrushy Significant events in the career of Richard Scrushy and the criminal cases brought against him
- 1984: Scrushy and a small group of investors form HealthSouth, a medical services company based in Birmingham, Ala.
- 1986: HealthSouth goes public.
- 1996: After years of quick growth with Scrushy as CEO, HealthSouth operates in all 50 states and eventually bills itself as the nation's largest provider of diagnostic imaging, outpatient surgery and rehabilitation services. An account fraud begins around mid-year.
- March 2003: Scrushy is fired by HealthSouth as the Securities and Exchange Commission files a civil suit alleging massive accounting fraud. First of 15 former executives pleads guilty in fraud.
- November 2003: Scrushy charged criminally in HealthSouth fraud, pleads innocent to indictment on multiple charges, including violation of new Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reporting law.
- June 28, 2005: Scrushy acquitted on all counts by federal court jury in Birmingham.
- Oct. 26, 2005: Federal prosecutors announce a grand jury indictment accusing Scrushy of bribery and other government corruption charges along with former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and two former Cabinet members.
- June 29, 2006: A federal court jury in Montgomery convicts Scrushy and Siegelman on bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud charges accusing him of making $500,000 in contributions to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery in return for an appointment to a hospital regulatory board. The two Cabinet members were acquitted on all charges.
- June 28, 2007: Sentenced to six years, 10 months in federal prison on his convictions.
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(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
