High-profile lawyer Scruggs gets 5-year sentence

By Matthew Bigg

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A high-profile Mississippi lawyer, who became unpopular on Wall Street for battling powerful companies, was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday 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 on August 4, according to a local television journalist who attended the hearing.

It was the maximum sentence possible under a plea deal worked out with government 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.

Scruggs appeared to cry at one point during the hearing and left the courtroom without speaking to reporters. The judge told him he should continue to cooperate with prosecutors over the case.

PAY A JUDGE

The indictment said Scruggs and four co-conspirators planned to pay Circuit Judge Henry Lackey $50,000 to return a ruling favorable to the Scruggs Law Firm.