The Fall of the House of Zeus (31 page)

“This thing’s heading our way”—Despite efforts to batten down his house against the storm, Scruggs saw his mansion on the beachfront in Pascagoula torn apart by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
(photo credit i15.2)

Flow chart of tobacco fees—To follow the money distributed by Scruggs from tobacco litigation, one must navigate this complicated trail that leads (
lower right
) to quarterly payments of $468,450 to P. L. Blake (through DMG) and $1,016,593 to Joey Langston.

Claiming “reprehensible conduct” by Scruggs—Grady Tollison, a rival of Scruggs’s with offices on Oxford’s square, attended a press conference where Scruggs’s indictment was explained.
(photo credit i15.3)

“They believe I’m the weak link.”—Sid Backstrom, who resisted early efforts by the prosecutors to cop a plea, heads toward federal court to plead guilty.
(photo credit i15.4)

“So you were judge, jury, and executioner.”—Charles Merkel, one of Scruggs’s fiercest opponents, accused Scruggs of making improper and unilateral decisions that affected his former partners—and Merkel’s clients.
(photo credit i15.4)

Ghosts of Mississippi
—Bobby DeLaughter, portrayed by Alec Baldwin as the hero in Rob Reiner’s 1996 film dealing with the conviction of civil rights–era assassin Byron De La Beckwith, walks from federal court twelve years later following his own arraignment in a judicial bribery case.
(photo credit i15.4)

“I’d cut my own throat for you.”—Even as he assured Joey Langston and Steve Patterson that he would protect them, former Hinds County district attorney Ed Peters prepared to give evidence against them to federal authorities.
(photo credit i15.4)

“A Greek tragedy.”—U.S. attorney Jim Greenlee gave a classical description to his account at an Oxford press conference of Dick Scruggs’s involvement in a judicial bribery case.
(photo credit i15.5)

“A monster that we were dealing with.”—State judge Henry Lackey, the key witness in the case against Scruggs, referred to him repeatedly as a “monster.”
(photo credit i15.5)

“You’ve had your chance to respond.”—U.S. district judge Neal Biggers, who presided over much of the case against Scruggs, was known as “Maximum Neal”—even by his admirers—for his stern rulings.
(photo credit i15.5)

“You would be out on your ass.”—Johnny Jones, once a partner in Scruggs Katrina Group, was threatened with expulsion from the legal team and subsequently sued Scruggs and others.
(photo credit i15.5)

“I’ve taken care of my problem.”—Joey Langston (
left
) decided he had no choice but to plead guilty. After receiving a three-year prison sentence, he walked from the federal courthouse with his attorney Tony Farese.
(photo credit i15.6)