A district judge Thursday denied a request to delay the corruption trial of former Arkansas state Sen. Jon Woods, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Woods and his two co-defendants, Oren Paris III and Randell Shelton Jr., are accused in an alleged kickback scheme. Their trial will start Monday as scheduled, the newspaper reported.
During Thursday's pretrial hearing, Milton R. "Rusty" Cranford was identified for the first time in court as the anonymous businessman alleged to have paid kickbacks to lawmakers in return for General Improvement Fund grants, according to the Democrat-Gazette.
Fifty-seven witnesses, including former state Rep. Micah Neal, are expected to testify in the trial.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
