Cincinnati.Com » KentuckyLast Updated: 6:52 pm Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Fen-phen One cleared in diet drug case COVINGTON -- The lawyer for Melbourne “Mel” Mills Jr. said his client was too drunk to conspire with his colleagues to loot a $200 million settlement intended for Kentuckians sickened by the diet drug fen-phen. A federal jury believed him. • Video: Melbourne Mills leaves Boone County jail with his girlfriend Jury of seven women and five men found him not guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They are still deliberating verdicts for Mills’ codefendants, Shirley Cunningham Jr. and William Gallion. Each faces 20 years in prison and forfeiture of $65 million if found guilty of same crime Mills was indicted on. When asked what he thought led to the not guilty finding, Mills’ attorney, Jim Shuffett, said, “Whatever it was, we are happy about it.”He simply claimed throughout the entire trial his client was too drunk to adequately do his job, much less realize something illegal might be happening. Mills was hospitalized for an “alcoholic seizure” 29 days after the settlement was reached in May 2001, Shuffett said during opening statements.Mills was released from the Boone County jail early Tuesday afternoon. “We've got the greatest court system in the world,” he said. “This is the greatest country in the world with the greatest court system. I'm looking forward to getting back into it.” When asked what he plans to do, he said, “Well, I've got a few papers to keep me busy.”The jury instructions were also favorable to Mills. U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman instructed the jurors that the fact Mills could have been impaired may make it impossible for him to have the intent to defraud necessary to commit the offence of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.Shuffett called no witnesses on his client’s behalf, objected little to the prosecution’s case and gave opening and closing statements that totaled only about 20 minutes in a trial that has now stretched into its eighth week.“Let Mel go home with his grandchildren,” Shuffett said during closing arguments. “He has suffered enough.”The oldest of the defendants, the 77-year-old Mills appeared physically weak during much of the trial, a proceeding that was delayed for two days when he had to be taken to the hospital for an illness. Other times, Mills would appear to fall asleep during testimony.Mills has been held at the Boone County jail since August in lieu of a $5 million cash bond. His codefendants are also being held in lieu of bonds in the millions of dollars.The defendants, all lawyers, were suspended from practicing law in Kentucky after they received a $45 million judgment against them in Boone Circuit Court for their handling of the same settlement.The involvement of Mills in the settlement was limited, Shuffett said throughout the trial.Gallion and Cunningham needed to sign enough clients to file a class-action lawsuit against the maker of fen-phen, the now defunct American Home Products, according to testimony at the trial. To do that, they recruited Mills to find people whose hearts were damaged by the now-banned drug.It was a natural fit. Mills was once known throughout central Kentucky for his flamboyant advertising campaign where he urged people who had been wronged to “call the man.”Shuffett argued during the trial that had Gallion and Cunningham conspired to defraud the users of fen-phen, they would have never brought Mills, a known alcoholic, into the scheme.“They would not have taken a bad alcoholic in had they been scheming to steal,” Shuffett said. “They would have been insane, and they are not.”He said Mills was so impaired that Cunningham and Gallion didn’t invite him to the mediation where the settlement was reached or even give Mills a copy of the settlement agreement.U.S. Assistant Attorney Laura Voorhees countered by saying Mills sobered up when he was hospitalized for alcoholism a short time after the settlement. Mills “laughed” when he found out that the fen-phen takers only received $75 million – less than half of the settlement, Voorhees said during her opening arguments.She and U.S. Assistant Attorney E.J. Walbourn presented evidence that Mills received $24 million from the settlement. Cunningham got $21 million and Gallion pulled in $24 million. Those figures are in addition to $20 million the three defendants put into an Edgewood trust that they paid themselves to administer.The defendants were entitled to about $60 million in fees for getting the settlement for the 440 fen-phen users, but took an additional $45 million and put an extra $20 million in a charitable trust they created and controlled, according to the federal indictment.One of the star prosecution witnesses was Mills’ former office assistant, Rebecca Phipps. Named as an un-indicted coconspirator, she was given full immunity to testify against the three defendants.Phipps, who was paid $1.4 million for her work on the settlement, testified that Mills thought Cunningham and Gallion had deceived him. The codefendants told Mills the settlement was for $150 million to cheat him out of an equal share of the legal fees, she testified.That resulted in a confrontation at Mills’ birthday party that was much talked about at the trial. Mills called Gallion “a thief and liar” while people were singing “Happy Birthday,” Phipps testified. Walbourn declined comment after Mills was found not guilty. He said he would wait until after the jury finished deliberating on Cunningham and Mills before he would make a comment.Carrie Cochran contributed to this report." name=story-contents> -->
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COVINGTON -- The lawyer for Melbourne “Mel” Mills Jr. said his client was too drunk to conspire with his colleagues to loot a $200 million settlement intended for Kentuckians sickened by the diet drug fen-phen.
A federal jury believed him.
• Video: Melbourne Mills leaves Boone County jail with his girlfriend
Jury of seven women and five men found him not guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
They are still deliberating verdicts for Mills’ codefendants, Shirley Cunningham Jr. and William Gallion. Each faces 20 years in prison and forfeiture of $65 million if found guilty of same crime Mills was indicted on.
When asked what he thought led to the not guilty finding, Mills’ attorney, Jim Shuffett, said, “Whatever it was, we are happy about it.”He simply claimed throughout the entire trial his client was too drunk to adequately do his job, much less realize something illegal might be happening. Mills was hospitalized for an “alcoholic seizure” 29 days after the settlement was reached in May 2001, Shuffett said during opening statements.Mills was released from the Boone County jail early Tuesday afternoon.“We've got the greatest court system in the world,” he said. “This is the greatest country in the world with the greatest court system. I'm looking forward to getting back into it.”When asked what he plans to do, he said, “Well, I've got a few papers to keep me busy.”The jury instructions were also favorable to Mills. U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman instructed the jurors that the fact Mills could have been impaired may make it impossible for him to have the intent to defraud necessary to commit the offence of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.Shuffett called no witnesses on his client’s behalf, objected little to the prosecution’s case and gave opening and closing statements that totaled only about 20 minutes in a trial that has now stretched into its eighth week.“Let Mel go home with his grandchildren,” Shuffett said during closing arguments. “He has suffered enough.”The oldest of the defendants, the 77-year-old Mills appeared physically weak during much of the trial, a proceeding that was delayed for two days when he had to be taken to the hospital for an illness. Other times, Mills would appear to fall asleep during testimony.Mills has been held at the Boone County jail since August in lieu of a $5 million cash bond. His codefendants are also being held in lieu of bonds in the millions of dollars.The defendants, all lawyers, were suspended from practicing law in Kentucky after they received a $45 million judgment against them in Boone Circuit Court for their handling of the same settlement.The involvement of Mills in the settlement was limited, Shuffett said throughout the trial.Gallion and Cunningham needed to sign enough clients to file a class-action lawsuit against the maker of fen-phen, the now defunct American Home Products, according to testimony at the trial. To do that, they recruited Mills to find people whose hearts were damaged by the now-banned drug.It was a natural fit. Mills was once known throughout central Kentucky for his flamboyant advertising campaign where he urged people who had been wronged to “call the man.”Shuffett argued during the trial that had Gallion and Cunningham conspired to defraud the users of fen-phen, they would have never brought Mills, a known alcoholic, into the scheme.“They would not have taken a bad alcoholic in had they been scheming to steal,” Shuffett said. “They would have been insane, and they are not.”He said Mills was so impaired that Cunningham and Gallion didn’t invite him to the mediation where the settlement was reached or even give Mills a copy of the settlement agreement.U.S. Assistant Attorney Laura Voorhees countered by saying Mills sobered up when he was hospitalized for alcoholism a short time after the settlement. Mills “laughed” when he found out that the fen-phen takers only received $75 million – less than half of the settlement, Voorhees said during her opening arguments.She and U.S. Assistant Attorney E.J. Walbourn presented evidence that Mills received $24 million from the settlement. Cunningham got $21 million and Gallion pulled in $24 million. Those figures are in addition to $20 million the three defendants put into an Edgewood trust that they paid themselves to administer.The defendants were entitled to about $60 million in fees for getting the settlement for the 440 fen-phen users, but took an additional $45 million and put an extra $20 million in a charitable trust they created and controlled, according to the federal indictment.One of the star prosecution witnesses was Mills’ former office assistant, Rebecca Phipps. Named as an un-indicted coconspirator, she was given full immunity to testify against the three defendants.Phipps, who was paid $1.4 million for her work on the settlement, testified that Mills thought Cunningham and Gallion had deceived him. The codefendants told Mills the settlement was for $150 million to cheat him out of an equal share of the legal fees, she testified.That resulted in a confrontation at Mills’ birthday party that was much talked about at the trial. Mills called Gallion “a thief and liar” while people were singing “Happy Birthday,” Phipps testified. Walbourn declined comment after Mills was found not guilty. He said he would wait until after the jury finished deliberating on Cunningham and Mills before he would make a comment.Carrie Cochran contributed to this report.
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obeythelaw wrote:
WOW! I love the photo of Mills! Got teeth maw? Wow his teeth are black and yellow- nice combination of colors going on there. He looks good next to his young daughter- I mean, "girlfriend" (gee, they do look alike). .And hey. What'd ya expect? The jury is smart enough to realize it's CHESLEY that's guilty. After all, that's what happens when ya give a big fraud liar like Chesley immunity. The jury saw through the whole scheme. Bet they were wishing it was Chesley on trial.7/1/2008 7:21:58 PM WOW! I love the photo of Mills! Got teeth maw? Wow his teeth are black and yellow- nice combination of colors going on there. He looks good next to his young daughter- I mean, "girlfriend" (gee, they do look alike). .And hey. What'd ya expect? The jury is smart enough to realize it's CHESLEY that's guilty. After all, that's what happens when ya give a big fraud liar like Chesley immunity. The jury saw through the whole scheme. Bet they were wishing it was Chesley on trial. obeythelaw
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Lovinsteph wrote:
Replying to Festis:
"Damn, I hammered! Where'd I put that $60 mil I stole.Juctice system judging the justice system... What would you expect?A jury of his peers judged his conduct not the justice system or its operatives. Consider this, the presiding judge--a member of the justice system-- ordered him held (essentially) without bond since August of 2007 for a crime he was subsequenltly acquitted of committing. So, Melbourne Mills spent one year in jail for a crime he did not commit. How does that fit into your theory?Surprise! It doesn't, but don't let the facts confuse you.7/1/2008 7:21:03 PM
"Damn, I hammered! Where'd I put that $60 mil I stole.
Juctice system judging the justice system... What would you expect?
A jury of his peers judged his conduct not the justice system or its operatives.
Consider this, the presiding judge--a member of the justice system-- ordered him held (essentially) without bond since August of 2007 for a crime he was subsequenltly acquitted of committing. So, Melbourne Mills spent one year in jail for a crime he did not commit. How does that fit into your theory?
Surprise! It doesn't, but don't let the facts confuse you. Lovinsteph
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Festis wrote:
"Damn, I hammered! Where'd I put that $60 mil I stole.Juctice system judging the justice system... What would you expect?7/1/2008 6:30:40 PM "Damn, I hammered! Where'd I put that $60 mil I stole.
Juctice system judging the justice system... What would you expect? Festis
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obeythelaw wrote:
Hate to say it people, but yesterday I posted here, and predicted they'd walk free. AND VERY VERY RICH, as they are walking!7/1/2008 6:18:09 PM Hate to say it people, but yesterday I posted here, and predicted they'd walk free. AND VERY VERY RICH, as they are walking! obeythelaw
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Lovinsteph wrote:
Replying to NewportDem:
So this creep gets to keep the $125 million?Justice is as blind as his girlfriend.This verdict has no bearing on the civil suit that has already been filed against these defendants. This verdict relates to guilt of a criminal nature not a civil nature.
