Scruggs Gets 5 Years

A high-profile Mississippi lawyer was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to conspiring to bribe a judge.

Richard “Dickie” Scruggs made millions through landmark lawsuits against tobacco, pharmaceutical and construction companies. He also sued insurance companies after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers ordered Scruggs to pay a $250,000 fine, as well as for the cost of his incarceration, which was due to start Aug. 4. It was the maximum sentence possible under a plea worked out with prosecutors.

“I cannot be more ashamed. I’ve disappointed everyone in my life,” Scruggs told U.S. District Court in Oxford, Mississippi, adding that his conduct was a “scar and stain” on his soul.

The judge told him he should continue to cooperate with prosecutors over the case.