About 140 hours of conversations were recorded by a former Arkansas lawmaker with a then-colleague using a recorder disguised as a pen, according to testimony Thursday.
During a hearing, former state Sen. Jon Woods’ attorneys were set to present a motion to dismiss the indictment accusing him and two other men of being involved in a kickback scheme, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
The lawyers argued that the government failed to disclose the recordings’ existence.
The recordings by Rep. Micah Neal happened from March 30, 2016, through at least October of the same year, according to the newspaper.
Some recordings were given to defense attorneys, though the lawyers were not presented with an 79 additional audio files until Nov. 15, 2017.
Neal and Woods are accused of taking kickbacks in return for steering a total of $550,000 in state grants to Springdale-based Ecclesia College, the Democrat-Gazette reported.
The kickbacks were reportedly passed through a consulting firm owned by Randell G. Shelton Jr., a mutual friend of Woods and Ecclesia College President Oren Paris III.
Much of Thursday’s testimony centered around how and when the audio files were shared, including the discovery of additional files upon a second evaluation.
Also set for discussion at the hearing was the wiping of an FBI laptop that had contained copies of the audio files. A special agent took the computer home for unauthorized personal use and wiped its memory before returning it, court records show.
Woods, Shelton and Paris are set for trial April 9, records show.
Neal pleaded guilty in January 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud related to two kickbacks total $38,000 in exchange for directing grants. He has not been sentenced.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
