Rickenbacker attorneys want evidence
By GENE CRIDER, T&D City Editor Wednesday, July 19, 20066 comment(s) | Default | Large
Attorneys for suspended Orangeburg County Council Chairman John Rickenbacker are asking federal prosecutors for evidence against their client as they prepare a defense in his public corruption trial.
While Rickenbacker’s trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in September, it could be delayed later as attorneys prepare for his trial.
Rickenbacker attorney I.S. Leevy Johnson said he does not believe the Sept. 6 date for the start of jury selection is realistic, “because we have got to do our investigation and that’s not sufficient time.”
Rickenbacker was indicted by a federal grand jury in June, which charged him with bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and with extortion under color of official right. The charges stem from allegations that Rickenbacker solicited money and received bribes from an FBI agent posing as a consultant for a health care company interested in buying or leasing The Regional Medical Center.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Attorneys had until Tuesday to file motions in the case against Rickenbacker, who was suspended from public office by Gov. Mark Sanford following the unsealing of his indictment. A slew of motions were filed, including routine motions to see the government’s evidence, to dismiss the charges and asking for more time to file motions.
“We filed these motions in order to get the government’s complete file in order for us to make a complete investigation in order that we can prepare to defend the case,” Johnson said.
The trial was scheduled to begin in September under the federal Speedy Trial Act, which mandates that all cases must be ready for trial within 70 days of indictment, said Nancy Wicker, Criminal Division chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbia.
Even so, delays are often requested and granted in cases, Wicker said.
“It certainly would not be unusual for at least one continuance to be granted,” Wicker said. And a trial can also be delayed by other factors, such as motions being unresolved.
Although Johnson says more time is needed to prepare Rickenbacker’s defense, he does not know when a trial might be held “because that is controlled exclusively by the presiding judge.”
The indictment alleges Rickenbacker solicited cash payments from a consultant working for an unnamed hospital company in exchange for the chairman’s assistance and eventual support for the company’s purchase or lease of the hospital. He allegedly agreed to provide the company — and no other company bidding for the hospital — with a copy of a financial and operational analysis of The Regional Medical Center in exchange for $5,000 a month.
The hospital is owned by Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.
The consultant later introduced Rickenbacker to an FBI agent posing as a consultant for the company, according to the indictment. Rickenbacker allegedly took $50,000 from the agent and gave him a copy of the hospital report.
Rickenbacker is an assistant principal at Bethune-Bowman High School. Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 spokesman Greg Carson said Tuesday his status in that position is being handled as a personnel matter.
-- City Editor Gene Crider can be reached at gcrider@timesanddemocrat.com and 803-533-5570. To comment on this and other stories, visit TheTandD.com.
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