We all know that sweet potatoes are trendy right now. Their nutrient value, eye appeal and taste appeal have allowed them to substitute for many traditional items. But maybe we didn’t realize how hot this item can be and how many traditional items sweet potatoes can substitute for:
One of the biggest legal cases in America involves Richard “Dickie” Scruggs:
Mississippi multimillionaire lawyer Dickie Scruggs has been indicted on charges of conspiring to bribe a judge handling the case involving $26.5 million in attorney fees related to Katrina claims.
Scruggs — the brother-in-law of U.S. Sen. Trent Lott — is best known for his handling of mass litigation on behalf of the state of Mississippi, first involving asbestos and the second involving tobacco.
According to the indictment, Lafayette County Circuit Judge Henry Lackey cooperated with the FBI in the investigation after reporting a bribery overture to authorities.
According to the indictment, Scruggs and others tried to influence Lackey by giving him $40,000 in cash to resolve the attorney fees’ dispute in favor of Scruggs’ law firm.
Now the court has released transcripts of wiretapped phone calls related to the case. Turns out there is no mention of cash; only “sweet potatoes” are the subject of discussion:
Henry Lackey: Hello?
Tim Balducci: Uh, Hey Judge, It’s Tim.
Henry Lackey: Hey, Hee. . Hee . . He . .
Tim Balducci: How ya doing buddy?
Henry Lackey: Doing good . . .
Tim Balducci: Good . . . good . . . You got just a second?
Henry Lackey: Have plenty of time.
Tim Balducci: Good . . . um. . . Listen, I was just calling to uh . . . ask you you know uh . . . I was gonna get those sweet potatoes delivered to my friend down there . .
Henry Lackey: Oh . . yeah!
Tim Balducci: And I was just wondering do you have any idea when you might get those that that bushels of sweet potatoes . . uh . . down there . . . uh where I can get em . . . uh . . . over to him?
Henry Lackey: Okay? Uh . . Ah .. ., Let me . . . uh . . ., I will, . . . uh, Yeah, Yeah. . . should be . . . uh. . . should be tomorrow or the next day, if that’s okay?
Tim Balducci: Naw, that’s fine. He was just asking me uh, uh, about it you know it . . .
Hope they didn’t eat the evidence! This case could be fried… or mashed… or boiled.
You can read the transcripts here. The produce section starts on page 40.
