2 enter guilty pleas in GOP corruption case
Headline Legal News
Two people who worked for former House Speaker John Perzel have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a public corruption investigation of the House Republican Caucus.
Samuel Stokes, a former House employee and brother-in-law to Perzel, pleaded guilty to one count of conflict of interest and one count of criminal conspiracy.
Don McClintock, a former campaign aide to Perzel, entered a guilty plea for one count of criminal conspiracy.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
Stokes and McClintock were facing at least a dozen counts charging them with conflict of interest, theft and conspiracy, but agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of other defendants as part of an agreement with the state attorney general's office.
Paul Towhey, Perzel's former chief of staff, was expected to enter a guilty plea on Friday.
Perzel, Rep. Brett Feese, and five other current and former aides were charged in November 2009 after a grand jury found they used taxpayers' funds, employees and resources for political campaign purposes.
Related listings
-
Lawyer: 'Jeopardy!' burglary suspect a prostitute
Headline Legal News 08/12/2011The lawyer for a San Francisco woman charged with breaking into the hotel room of "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek says his client is a prostitute, not a thief. The San Francisco Examiner reports that attorney Mark Jacobs says his client, 56-year-old Luc...
-
Miss. judge suspended for misconduct
Headline Legal News 08/12/2011The Mississippi Supreme Court has suspended Alcorn County Justice Court Judge Jimmy McGee for misconduct. The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance had accused McGee of interfering with a criminal case and making "statements in open court en...
-
Ariz. governor on deadline for immigration appeal
Headline Legal News 08/10/2011Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer faces a Wednesday deadline for asking the U.S. Supreme Court to accept her appeal of a ruling that put on hold key parts of the state's immigration enforcement law. The Republican governor lost her first attempt to throw out a...
Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.