Enigmatic Scruggs Figure Hires Counsel in Continuing Investigation in Mississippi
What better first name can an enigmatic figure related to the Dickie Scruggs scandal have than “P.L.” Tom Freeland over at the Northern Mississippi Commentor blog, here, tells us that P.L. Blake has retained his services in the continuing federal investigation in the Northern District of Mississippi. Interestingly, Tom, who runs an exceptionally well informed blog, had reported earlier this Spring that Blake was a target of the federal investigation. As detailed earlier, Blake, a former Mississippi delta farmer now living in Birmingham, was paid $50 million by former tobacco litigation millionaire Scruggs for clipping newspapers and assessing policital activity. The hiring of local counsel by Blake indicates that things are heating up and that an indictment may be reasonably imminent.
Interestingly, Tom reported earlier this week that Scruggs’ San Francisco attorney, John Keker, was in Oxford Mississippi this week. Tying Blake into the underlying case of Scruggs I - the attempted bribery of Judge Lackey - would seem to be problematic. Complicating the scenario for the government, Scruggs has already testified in civil depositions about Blake’s involvement in the tobacco litigation, but, call me crazy, it seems like $50 million is a lot to pay for someone to keep their proverbial ear to the ground and clip a few newspapers. This one should be interesting.
