Kentucky

BlueGrass Politics Blog reports on this late-breaking story:

Fen-phen jury: Gallion and Cunningham guilty on all counts

By H-L Justice Team on wire fraud

FRANKFORT ? After deliberating for two days, seven women and five men convicted William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. of conspiracy and eight counts of wire fraud.

This is the second trial for Gallion and Cunningham on charges that they took millions of dollars from 440 former clients in a 2001 fen-phen settlement. Their first trial ended in a mistrial after the jury deliberated for eight days but could not reach a verdict. Melbourne Mills Jr., who was originally charged with Gallion and Cunningham, was acquitted by the same jury.

Prosecutors say Gallion and Cunningham lied and deliberately told half-truths about what happened to the $200 million settlement so all of the lawyers on the case could keep the bulk of the settlement.

Defense attorneys said that Gallion and Cunningham knew little about class-action law at the time the case was settled. If mistakes were made ,those mistakes were unintentional, they argued.

Stephen Dobson, a lawyer for Cunningham, said there was little evidence or testimony that showed that Cunningham was directly involved in the negotiations of the settlement or how the money was disbursed after the case was settled.