Farese
OXFORD, Miss. - The son of indicted trial lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs is following in the footsteps of his father.
Court papers filed Wednesday show that Zach Scruggs will hire someone else to represent him against bribery charges that he, his father and two others are facing.
That means Anthony Farese of Ashland's Farese, Farese & Farese is withdrawing as counsel for Scruggs.
"Anthony L. Farese would show that David Zachary Scruggs has indicated an intent of hiring other counsel, and has terminated his services," Farese's motion to withdraw said. "Anthony L. Farese would, therefore, move to withdraw as the attorney of record for the Defendant, David Zachary Scruggs, in this matter."
Scruggs' father, known primarily for earning his firm nearly $1 billion for work performed for the State of Mississippi against tobacco companies, notified the Court Wednesday that Kenneth Coghlan will be taking over his defense after Joey Langston withdrew.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal says Farese is Langston's attorney. Many are speculating that Langston is the next to face federal charges, but nothing has been confirmed. Staff at the federal courthouse in Oxford say they have no record of a recent indictment against Langston.
Federal prosecutors say the Scruggses and three others conspired to bribe Lafayette County Circuit Judge Henry Lackey with $40,000 in a $26.5 million attorneys fees dispute. The fees were earned when 640 Hurricane Katrina cases against State Farm Insurance Cos. were settled.
One of the five defendants, Timothy Balducci, pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators. He is famously quoted in the indictment as having told Lackey that, "Over the last five or six years there ... are bodies buried that ... (Scruggs) and I know where ... (they) are."