Insurance Law

Dickie Scruggs to serve time in Bluegrass State

By David Rossmiller

As I mentioned in an earlier post, due to escape concerns, Dickie Scruggs will not be going to prison in Pensacola, Florida, which unfortunately means he will not be nearby to consult with attorneys on lawsuits if a future hurricane strikes the area. Here is a story in the Sun Herald about how, as a second choice, he and Zach requested that they both serve time in a federal pen in Arkansas.   

But this was not to be either.  Scruggs seems to have lost all his pull -- where's P.L. Blake when you need him? Zach is going to Pensacola, Dickie to Ashland, Kentucky. Sid Backstrom, who got a sentence of 2.5 years out of the Scruggs Bribery Scandal, will serve time in the Arkansas prison. As you know, prison gangs are a big concern, so with these guys scattered, they won't be able to form a Scruggs Nation gang anywhere  . . . unless they each form their own Scruggs Nation chapter in each of the prisons.  Perhaps officials have unwittingly trebled the gang danger here.  Rumor has it that the official tattoo of the planned Scruggs Nation gang was going to be an S with a snake head on top, and then a line through the middle to make it a dollar $ign -- but remember, that is just a rumor and I am still checking it out.   

Incidentally, speaking of the Scruggs escape risk, a reader pointed out to me the story of Bart Chamberlain, an oilman who fled to Switzerland in his private plane to avoid paying a civil judgment.  I hadn't heard of Chamberlain before and read half a dozen stories on the guy, and strangely, I found myself liking him, possibly because the price control measure he was accused of violating was so stupid and counterproductive.  In the end, I think if Dickie wanted to escape, he'd do it right now before he reports to prison August 4.  However, Kentucky is a long way from the ocean, and harder to get overseas from, so I suppose it reduces the chance of successfully absconding. But if officials have that fear, why not just put him in a high-security prison? 

Full post as published by Insurance Coverage Law Blog on July 23, 2008 (boomark / email).