A federal judge refused Wednesday to throw out a six-count indictment against Ted Suhl, a Warm Springs man accused of bribing a state official to financially benefit his businesses, which provided mental health services to children.
In a hearing to address pending motions before Suhl's July 12 jury trial, U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson denied a defense effort to have the Dec. 3 indictment dismissed because federal prosecutors "intentionally" waited to file it until after a key witness died.
Defense attorneys contended that the witness, the Rev. John Bennett of the 15th Street Church of God in Christ in West Memphis, would have testified that thousands of dollars Suhl gave him weren't intended to be passed on to the official as bribes, but were simply donations Suhl had regularly made to the church for years.
But prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice countered that defense attorneys selectively extracted only part of Bennett's remarks from a wiretapped conversation. They say Bennett was actually relaying to a fellow co-conspirator what he had said to the official, Steven B. Jones, "to get Jones off his back," and that Bennett's testimony at the trial would have aided the prosecution.
Jones, of Marion, former deputy director of the state Department of Human Services, is serving a 21/2-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to accepting bribes through Bennett and Phillip Carter, a former West Memphis city councilman who also pleaded guilty to his involvement in the conspiracy and is serving a two-year sentence.
Government attorney John Keller of Washington, D.C., argued that the investigation took a long time because it was intermingled with investigations of "multiple schemes involving the same defendant," referring to Carter, who also pleaded guilty in connection with another conspiracy that didn't involve Suhl. Keller noted, "The government isn't under an obligation to indict prematurely or haphazardly in case a witness dies."
Wilson denied the motion to dismiss, saying, "I do not believe the prosecution caused a delay for tactical advantage, nor do I believe they were negligent" in failing to indict before Bennett's death in 2014.
Wilson also denied a motion to dismiss three counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud against Suhl. The motion was made on the grounds that the indictment doesn't show how Suhl benefited from any specific "official acts" undertaken by Jones in return for bribe money. Suhl's attorneys also complained that the indictment doesn't demonstrate any "tangible loss" to Arkansans who were served by Jones' division.
Government attorney Amanda Vaughn of Washington, D.C., argued that to convict someone of bribery, it isn't necessary to prove that the person who was bribed was actually influenced by the bribe money, or that efforts to appease the payer of bribes were successful. All that is required, she said, is that prosecutors prove that Suhl had the intent to influence Jones by giving him money.
From 2007 through 2012, Suhl's companies, Trinity Behavioral Health of Warm Springs, and Maxus Inc., doing business statewide as Arkansas Counseling Associates, received more than $90 million in Medicaid reimbursements through the DHS. Jones admitted in his Oct. 2, 2014, guilty plea that he secretly accepted more than $5,000 in cash during that time in return for taking on official acts to benefit Suhl and the businesses, and providing Suhl with internal DHS documents affecting the companies.
Robert Cary, a Washington-based defense attorney, argued, "Mr. Suhl is being indicted for giving money to a charity that somehow made its way to an official who agreed to look into things." He said that isn't a crime, and, "There is no need for a trial in this case."
Vaughn referred the judge to specific pages of the indictment, noting that "the indictment does allege that Mr. Jones agreed to be influenced."
Government attorneys said the indictment alleges that Suhl sought Jones' help in getting the governor to reinstate Suhl to the Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board, in having the department expand the radius in which mental health businesses like Suhl's could operate, in passing legislation allowing no-bid contracts for youth counseling services, in having Jones assume responsibility for Medicaid billing by the DHS and in changing the department's policy that gave one of Suhl's competitors exclusive access to clients in Northwest Arkansas.
Wilson denied the motion, saying the indictment appropriately spelled out how Jones' actions could benefit Suhl and his businesses.
Wilson said he was "left with an unquiet mind" on the defense's motion to dismiss a charge of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Wilson said he would study the matter further and issue a written ruling.
Defense attorneys also asked that they be given access to the instructions that grand jurors were given before deciding whether to indict Suhl. Grand jury proceedings are private under the law, and defense attorneys aren't allowed to participate. Cary said he wants to see whether the grand jury was "improperly instructed," arguing, "Mr. Suhl is entitled to a grand jury that's correctly instructed on the law."
Vaughn said grand jury proceedings are entitled to secrecy, and suggested that Wilson privately review the instructions. Wilson said that although he has no reason to suspect improper instructions, the private review by him was warranted "out of an abundance of caution."
Metro on 06/16/2016