Kodak Kickback Trial To Begin

Barring a last-minute hitch, jury selection is scheduled to begin this morning in a trial alleging the payment of kickbacks to manipulate property assessments in Monroe County, primarily on Eastman Kodak Co. holdings in Greece.

About 120 potential jurors from nine counties are expected to be called to U.S. District Court in Rochester to be screened for the trial of appraiser John E. Nicolo, former Kodak executive David N. Finnman and Nicolo's wife, Constance J. Roeder.

The jury will hear evidence alleging that Nicolo and Finnman conspired with former Greece Assessor Charles A. Schwab and former Kodak executive Mark S. Camarata to manipulate assessments in exchange for kickbacks. Schwab and Camarata have pleaded guilty and could be called as witnesses.

Roeder, along with her husband, is charged with hiding fraudulently obtained funds through dummy corporations and falsified tax returns.

Former Nursing Home Executive Convicted

Following one hour of deliberation, a federal jury in Fort Worth convicted Bedford, Texas, resident, Stephen Michael Ewing, a/k/a “Stephen Michaels,” on various offenses related to his operation of nursing homes in Texas and elsewhere, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Following this afternoon’s verdict, U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means remanded Ewing to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Specifically, the jury convicted Ewing, 60, on one count of conspiracy, seven counts of tax evasion, five counts of mail fraud, seven counts of making false statements to government agencies and seven counts of making false statements regarding health care.

The maximum statutory sentence applicable to the conspiracy, false statements and tax evasion counts are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, per count; the maximum statutory penalty applicable to the mail fraud counts is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, per count. Restitution could be ordered. Sentencing has been set for July 21, 2008.

Former Beaumont Officer Sentenced For Mail Fraud

BEAUMONT, Texas — A former police officer accused of pilfering money from the police officers' union was sentenced Thursday to four months in federal prison and four months of home confinement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Paul Perritt, 54, of Port Neches, also was ordered to make restitution of $142,000. He pleaded guilty in November to mail fraud.

Perritt had been treasurer of the Beaumont Police Officers Association and had the authority to write checks for the union's accounts, which included money from dues.

Prosecutors contend he wrote a $3,300 check from a BPOA account to pay his personal credit card. The check was mailed to the credit card company in June 2003, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Ex-Judge Pleads To Mail Fraud

Former Knox County Judge-Executive Raymond C. Smith pleaded guilty to a federal mail-fraud charge Monday.

Smith admitted that during his term from 2002 to 2006, he had false bids prepared for county projects to cover the fact that companies owned by him or family members did the work. Smith mailed false information to a state auditor, which resulted in the fraud charge, according to a court document.

The maximum prison sentence under the charge is 20 years, but Smith’s sentence probably will be much shorter. The plea deal also calls for him to pay restitution of $110,000 to the county.

Smith’s brother Henry Matt Smith pleaded guilty to aiding the scheme. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, although it also is likely to be much shorter.

The brothers are to be sentenced in June.