"I could not be more ashamed of where I am today, mixed up in a judicial bribery scheme," Scruggs told the judge. "I have disappointed everyone in my life."
The judge said that after reviewing evidence in the case, including secretly recorded conversations, "it made me think perhaps this was not the first time you did this because you did it so easily. And there is evidence before the court that you have done it before."
Prosecutors are looking into another alleged bribery conspiracy in which Scruggs is accused of trying to influence a different judge in a dispute over legal fees from asbestos cases. Scruggs's former defense lawyer has pleaded guilty in that case and is cooperating with investigators.
Scruggs must report to prison by Aug. 4 and pay the fine in one lump sum within 30 days. He requested to serve his time at the federal prison camp in Pensacola, Fla., the same minimum-security prison where another prominent Mississippi lawyer and Scruggs associate, Paul Minor, is serving an 11-year sentence for bribing two state court judges.
Scruggs gained fame in the 1990s by using a corporate insider against tobacco companies in lawsuits that resulted in a $206 billion settlement. That case was portrayed in the 1999 film "The Insider."
He was indicted in November along with his son and a law partner after an associate wore a wire for the FBI and secretly recorded conversations about the bribery. He initially denied wrongdoing. But in March, Scruggs and former law partner Sidney Backstrom pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey with $50,000. Prosecutors say Scruggs wanted a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina insurance cases.
"You picked the wrong man to try to bribe," Biggers said of Lackey, who reported the attempt to authorities.
