Next up, a Medal of Freedom from Dubya. And as usual, crime pays if you're rich enough.By JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 43 minutes ago
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jurors acquitted HealthSouth Corp. founder Richard Scrushy on Tuesday of all charges in a surprise setback for federal prosecutors who had scored victories over a string of big-name CEOs accused of fraud.
The case against Scrushy, involving a $2.7 billion earnings overstatement at the rehabilitation and medical services chain he created and ran, had been widely considered among the strongest. He was the first CEO charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reporting law.
Yet when it finished 21 days of deliberations, the jury decided to acquit Scrushy of all 36 counts of fraud, false corporate reporting and making false statements to regulators.
As the "not guilty" verdicts were read on count after count, Scrushy started crying. He pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping his eyes. After the final count, he reached around and hugged his wife, Leslie, in the first row behind the defense table.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050628/ap_on_bi_ge/healthsouth_scrushy_21
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