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<p>MONTGOMERY, AL., (WSFA) -- WSFA 12 News is on top of some breaking news at this hour. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has returned a verdict in the appeals of former Governor Don Siegelman and former Health South CEO Richard Scrushy.</p>

ATLANTA -- Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy were sentenced Thursday and began serving their sentences at a Federal Prison in Atlanta. They were taken into custody after an emotional day of testimony in the sentencing phase of their trials. Both men were found guilty on June 29th, 2006 for their involvement in a bribery scheme where Richard Scrushy arranged $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery in exchange for a seat on a state hospital regulatory board. Siegelman was sentenced to seven years, four months in federal prison, 500 hours of community service, and forced to pay...

Former Gov. Don Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy were taken into custody tonight after being sentenced in federal court, and a prosecutor said they would be held overnight in a "local facility." Leslie Scrushy cried on the shoulder of a friend as her husband and Siegelman were escorted out of the courtroom by U.S. Marshals, and former first lady Lori Siegelman left the courthouse visibly shaken. U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller sentenced Siegelman to seven years and four months in prison, three years of probation, restitution of $181,325, a $50,000 fine, and 500 hours of community service for...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy got nearly seven years Thursday in a bribery and corruption case that the judge said damaged public trust in state government. Supporters of both men testified at their sentencing hearing, listing their good deeds as attorneys pleaded with U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller to show mercy. "While it is true the good far exceeds the bad, I must impose a fair punishment to reassure all that come before this court that justice is blind," Fuller said...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Former Gov. Don Siegelman and former Health South CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted Thursday in a bribery scheme that derailed Siegelman's campaign to retake his former office. Siegelman, 60, was accused of trading government favors for campaign donations when he was governor from 1999 to 2003 and lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999. Scrushy was accused of arranging $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery in exchange for a seat on a state hospital regulatory board. The case was tried as Siegelman sought the Democratic nomination for governor, and the trial put him in...

Siegelman guilty on 10 counts; Scrushy guilty on all counts; Hamrick and Roberts not guilty.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A federal grand jury on Monday indicted former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth Chairman Richard Scrushy on more charges in a political corruption case. The new indictment accuses Scrushy of paying off Siegelman for a seat on the state health regulatory board, and accuses both men of wielding improper influence over the board. Siegelman called the latest grand jury action another attempt to destroy his Democratic campaign for governor. "They are going to try to pull every trick in the book to manipulate the 2006 election," he said Monday. Federal prosecutors have said repeatedly that...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A federal grand jury has indicted former Gov. Don Siegelman and three others in a "widespread racketeering conspiracy" that included bribery and extortion, prosecutors announced Wednesday. The prosecutors said Siegelman and former Chief of Staff Paul Hamrick violated racketeering laws during his term from 1999 to 2003. The indictment, in part, alleges that Richard Scrushy, former chief of the HealthSouth hospital chain, made disguised payments totaling $500,000 to Siegelman to get appointed to a key hospital regulatory board. Former state Transportation Director Gary Mack Roberts was charged with fraud for his alleged role in influencing the agency...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Jurors acquitted HealthSouth Corp. founder and fired chief executive Richard Scrushy on a key conspiracy count Tuesday in a $2.7 billion earnings overstatement at the rehabilitation and medical services chain. The charge, with sweeping implications because it included allegations of fraud, false corporate reporting and making false statements to regulators, was the first in a 36-count indictment against Scrushy, the first CEO charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reporting law. The court session continued as jurors announced their decision on the Sarbanes-Oxley charge and others against Scrushy, who blamed the massive accounting scheme on subordinates including all...

Aquittals on the first five counts - Our screwed up justice system at work again.

Just got a note from friends a the U.S. District Court in Birmingham that the Jurors have reported to the Court that they are deadlocked on all 30+ charges against former CEO Richard Scrushy. This is also the first trial under the Sarbanes/Oxley bill.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Former HealthSouth Corp. president and director James P. Bennett has been indicted in a massive fraud at the rehabilitation giant, prosecutors announced Thursday amid the fraud trial of former CEO Richard Scrushy. Bennett, 47, was accused of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading, money laundering and lying to the FBI (news - web sites) in a scheme in which he sold company stock worth about $17.4 million, according to a statement from prosecutors. Testimony in Scrushy's trial has indicated that Bennett knew of the scam, in which 18 people have now been charged. Fifteen have reached plea deals and...

A forensic audit revealed that accounting fraud at HealthSouth Corp., Birmingham, Ala., totaled $3.8 billion to $4.6 billion, the company said, with the high end representing nearly $2 billion more than alleged last March. Officials with the firm managing HealthSouth, Alvarez & Marsal, said they expect to produce a cleaned-up balance sheet and install a new chief executive officer and permanent management team in the second quarter. In addition, the company is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the CMS to reach a global settlement covering potential liabilities, the officials said during a meeting Tuesday with company stakeholders....