An attorney for former lobbyist and political fundraiser Gilbert Baker asked a federal judge Monday to postpone Baker's February trial on bribery and other charges.
A federal grand jury indicted Baker, 62, of Conway in January on one count each of bribery and conspiracy and seven counts of wire fraud in an investigation of an alleged scheme involving a nursing-home owner and a now-imprisoned former judge. Baker pleaded innocent in U.S. District Court in Little Rock on Jan. 24, and his trial was tentatively set to begin Feb. 25.
An assistant U.S. attorney involved in the case does not object to the delay, Baker's attorney, Blake Hendrix, said in a motion filed late Monday. Such postponements this early in a federal case are common.
Hendrix said the defense had not received discovery, or shared evidence, from the prosecution.
"Baker asserts that a continuance best serves the ends of justice," Hendrix wrote. "This interest, Baker contends, outweighs his and the public's interests in a speedy trial."
The charges resulted from a criminal investigation that led to former Circuit Judge Michael Maggio pleading guilty to bribery in January 2015. Maggio, 57, later tried unsuccessfully to withdraw the plea and began serving a 10-year prison sentence in July 2017.
The nursing-home owner, Michael Morton of Fort Smith, has not been charged with a crime and has denied wrongdoing.
In another development, Maggio has been transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, a medium-security prison, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website. He had recently been held at a private prison in Mason, Tenn., amid speculation that he has begun cooperating with federal authorities in the hopes of getting a reduced sentence.
A federal prosecutor did not return a phone message seeking comment on the transfer Monday. The Mason lockup is a facility where inmates typically stay when they are in transit between places rather than one where they are permanently assigned.
If convicted, Baker could face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy count, 10 years in prison on the bribery count and 20 years in prison on each of the seven wire-fraud counts.
State Desk on 02/05/2019