Former State Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson receives 46-month sentence

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Former Arkansas State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, was sentenced Friday (Feb. 3) to 46 months in federal prison for his role in tax fraud and bribery scheme.

Hutchinson, 48, is the son of former U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson and the nephew of former Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Hutchinson pleaded guilty on June 25, 2019, in the Eastern District of Arkansas to filing a false tax return; pleaded guilty on June 25, 2019, to an information filed in the Western District of Arkansas to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery; and pleaded guilty in the Western District of Missouri on July 8, 2019, to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/02/former-state-sen-jeremy-hutchinson-receives-46-month-sentence/

Former Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock (photo courtesy of KUAR)

Defense Focuses On Disgraced Judge’s Credibility As Baker Bribery Case Goes To Jury

By DEBRA HALE-SHELTON/ ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK

Jurors in the bribery trial of former lobbyist Gilbert Baker went home for the weekend after hearing closing arguments and deliberating less than two hours Friday afternoon.

Deliberations will resume Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Little Rock. Jurors have endured two weeks of testimony, more than a little legal jargon, and two coronavirus scares that sent one former juror and a prosecutor home with the virus and led to all trial participants being tested for it.

Baker, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas, is charged with bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy. He is accused of being the middleman in an alleged plot in 2013 to bribe former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Mike Maggio on behalf of Michael Morton, a wealthy nursing-home owner and campaign financier from Fort Smith.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/defense-focuses-disgraced-judge-s-credibility-baker-bribery-case-goes-jury

Defendant Gilbert Baker exits the U.S. courthouse on Friday afternoon.

CREDIT BRIAN CHILSON / ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK

Former Arkansas Judge, Now Serving Prison Time, Testifies In Bribery Trial

By DEBRA HALE-SHELTON/ ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK

A nursing home magnate, one of Arkansas’s highest-ranking jurists and a former judge in shackles were among witnesses in the first week of the federal bribery trial of former lobbyist Gilbert Baker.

Prosecutors sought to weave an intricate tale of political ambition and greed while the defense focused on a key witness’ lack of credibility. Both sides struggled at times to jog witnesses’ memories of events that happened as far back as 2013 and 2014.

Baker, a former state senator from Conway and former chairman of the state Republican Party, is charged with bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy. He is accused of being the middleman in an alleged plot to bribe former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Michael Maggio on behalf of Michael Morton, a wealthy nursing-home owner and campaign financier. Maggio is now serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to accepting a bribe.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/former-arkansas-judge-now-serving-prison-time-testifies-bribery-trial

Former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Michael Maggio in 2016 at the U.S. District Courthouse in Little Rock.

CREDIT BRIAN CHILSON / ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK

Sen. Hendren, Four Ex-Legislators Sign on to New ‘Call for American Renewal’

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Sen. Jim Hendren, I-Gravette, and four former Arkansas state legislators are founding signatories of “A Call for American Renewal,” a movement that says it is “pushing for the Republican Party to rededicate itself to founding ideals—or else hasten the creation of an alternative.”

Hendren was joined by former Speaker of the House Davy Carter and former Rep. David Meeks, both Republicans, former Rep. Nate Bell, who served as a Republican from Mena before becoming an independent in his final term, and former Sen. Bruce Maloch, a conservative Democrat from Magnolia who was defeated in his bid for re-election last November.

The group’s website says that “forces of conspiracy, division, and despotism” have arisen, and it calls for a “rebirth of the American cause.” It seeks political reforms and ethical government. It calls for American leadership in promoting freedom by example and with “the judicious application of power.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/05/sen-hendren-four-ex-legislators-sign-on-to-new-call-for-american-renewal/