A Bearden man entered a guilty plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in El Dorado to one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with federal disaster benefits.
U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey presided.
According to court documents, Harry Clemons Jr., 40, initially pleaded innocent to charges of bribery and conspiracy in the case, as did his co-defendant, Ouachita County Judge Mike Hesterly.
A sentencing date for Clemons has not been set. He could face up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to court documents.
Hesterly, 48, has recently asked the court to postpone his April 7 trial because of pain from a November back surgery. The court has yet to rule on that request.
A grand jury indicted the men in January 2013 over accusations that Clemons’ construction company received $69,865 to clean up storm debris in October 2009 in exchange for a contribution of more than $5,000 to Hesterly’s 2010 re-election campaign.
Prosecutors said Hesterly and Clemons violated the sealed-bidding process required by federal and state law, and that Clemons had Powell Emergency Services of Waldron and Booneville-based Hattabaugh Trucking submit intentionally inflated bids of $137,500 and $145,000, respectively.
Ouachita County received $91,842 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in September 2010 to cover the federal government’s share of a $124,730 contract.
The next month, the county issued the $69,865 check to Clemons Construction, with the contract’s $54,865 balance awarded to Davis Dozer & Construction.
A superseding indictment against Hesterly and Clemons handed up in September added the charge of making a false statement. It was based on a November 2011 recorded conservation with FBI Special Agent Nick Powe, who questioned the men about the contract.
In a transcript of the conversation attached to the indictment, the men denied that Hesterly used the contract to solicit campaign contributions.
Clemons is free on a $5,000 unsecured bond, and Hesterly is on home detention at his mother’s Camden home.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 03/22/2014