Fen Phen Lawyers Convicted in Retrial
Two lawyers were convicted following a retrial in Frankfort, Kentucky after the first trial last year in Covington Kentucky ended in a hung jury for the two attorneys and the acquittal of a third defendant. The defendants, William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham were taken into custody immediately following the verdict. The Louisville Courier Journal reports that trial will resume on Tuesday for the purpose of determining the government’s forfeiture claims. I’m always interested in post conviction forfeiture proceedings because forfeiture is supposed to be equitable in nature and sometimes juries believe that conviction is a sufficient punishment.
Interestingly, venerable Macon, Georgia attorney Hale Almand represents Defendant Gallion. Apparently, the trial was recessed for several days mid-trial because Mr. Almand was ill and the judge was prepared to declare a mistrial for Mr. Almand’s client, were he unable to continue.
We’ll try and get Mr. Almand’s take on the differences between the first trial that ended in a hung jury and this trial when he gets back to the office. At least the following may have contributed to a different result in the retrial: venue was moved to Frankfort, instead of Covington, a new judge presided over the retrial, and the government added additional counts, instead of the single count they initially presented.
The case, called the largest theft in Kentucky history resulted from Gallion, Cunningham and the acquitted defendant, Melbourne Mills taking fees of $94 million dollars out of the $200 million dollar diet drug settlement. Renowned class action lawyer, Stan Chesley of Cincinnati, was associated on the case, and testified he was aware of the fees awarded and did nothing to protest it, but that the lawyers should have distributed to their clients any monies not initially paid in settlement.
