Change of plea hearing set for Arkansas lobbyist

Milton "Rusty" Cranford
Milton "Rusty" Cranford

SPRINGDALE -- Indicted lobbyist Milton R. "Rusty" Cranford of Bentonville, who pleaded innocent to bribery-related charges in Missouri, has a change of plea hearing set for Thursday in federal court.

Cranford was indicted Feb. 21 in Springfield, Mo., on one count of conspiracy and eight counts of accepting bribes. Those charges involve an influence-peddling scheme that reached the U.S. Congress, prosecutors say.

The indictment charges Cranford with taking kickbacks from payments to Philadelphia-based lobbyist Donald Andrew "D.A." Jones. Jones pleaded guilty Dec. 18 to one count of conspiracy to defraud a Missouri-based nonprofit group of almost $1 million in payments for illegal lobbying of Congress.

Cranford was a lobbyist and executive at the company who was instrumental in hiring Jones, according to the indictment.

The Missouri nonprofit group, now known as Preferred Family Healthcare of Springfield, Mo., accepts federal taxpayer money for drug abuse treatment and various mental health services. Entities that accept such federal dollars are barred from lobbying for more, according to Jones' guilty plea.

Cranford also played a part in three guilty pleas and one trial conviction of former Arkansas lawmakers.

Cranford paid kickbacks in return for state grants while his co-conspirators were in office, according to court testimony and plea documents in three cases. In the fourth case, a former Arkansas lawmaker became a business associate of Cranford's who participated in an embezzlement scheme after leaving office. Part of the embezzled money was used to hire Jones, according to the guilty plea in that case.

Cranford does not yet face any charges in Arkansas. Cranford has been in the Greene County, Mo., jail since his arrest.

Neither Cranford's defense attorney, Nathan Garrett of Kansas City, Mo., nor the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Missouri would comment Friday on whether Cranford's change of plea would involve acts in Arkansas, Pennsylvania or elsewhere.

Garrett filed a court motion May 17 asking for a trial delay, saying additional charges were expected in the case.

The Arkansas lawmakers convicted of accepting bribes from Cranford during their time in office are former state Rep. Micah Neal and former state Sen. Jon Woods, both of Springdale, and former state Sen. Henry "Hank" Wilkins IV of Pine Bluff.

Neal and Woods took kickbacks from $400,000 in state grants in 2013, according to their court records. Wilkins took $80,000 in bribes over several years in return for supporting legislation and state grants favored by Cranford, according to Wilkins' guilty plea.

Neal and Wilkins pleaded guilty to one conspiracy charge each. Woods was convicted of 15 counts May 3 in federal court in Fayetteville. Most of Woods' counts came from another kickback scheme that did not involve Cranford.

The fourth convicted former state representative, Eddie Cooper of Melbourne, admitted to helping embezzle $4 million from Preferred Family. Cooper pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy Feb. 12.

About $1 million of the money embezzled by Cooper, Cranford and others in Preferred Family's management went to Jones to pay for campaign contributions and other illegal lobbying on Preferred Family's behalf, according to Jones' plea. Preferred Family suspended its chief executive officer, its chief operations officer and chief financial officer in November after federal investigators briefed Preferred Family's legal counsel on the investigation in October. All three executives were later dismissed, the company said.

Cranford was denied bail in March, in part because of allegations that he sought the murder of Jones. The ongoing investigation into those allegations has not resulted in charges. Garrett argued at Cranford's bail hearing that the accusation was a groundless attempt to increase the pressure on Cranford by denying him bail.

Cranford will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush in federal court in Springfield, according to the court's website.

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State Desk on 06/02/2018

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