The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

[In the 1997 tobacco settlement] “. . . Big Tobacco would pay out $368 million to compensate for health costs related to smoking.” (page 65)

“The total amounts coming to Scruggs seemed incalculable. Some news accounts had him getting as much as $848 million . . . ” (Page 65)

“Looking back on the period a few years later, Scruggs would tell a friend, ‘The money was obscene. Nobody thought we’d make money like this. It was a frenzy.'” (page 65)

“. . . Scruggs had been given a title: King of Torts. It complimented his college nickname, Zeus, king of the gods.” (page 66)

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

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You can also call the bookstore at 601/800.366.7619 and we can put your name on our reserve list.

Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

“. . . [Mike] Moore built name recognition by challenging the Jackson County [Pascagoula] Bosses.”

“One of them was the legendary Eddie Khayat, known on the Gulf Coast as ‘The Godfather’ long before Francis Ford Coppola made his sequence of movies with that name. Not only was Khayat the president of the Jackson County Board of Supervisors, but he had long led the statewide association of supervisors, acting as chief representative for their interests in the state legislature. He was the ultimate insider, a fixture in the vast political constellation established by Senator James Eastland.” (8)

After Hurricane Frederick, Khayat “deployed county workers and public equipment to clear private property, repair private roads, and install culverts contrary to law. It was the old-fashioned approach to government, but the new district attorney, Mike Moore, found it unacceptable and was willing to confront the system.” (9)

“Moore indicted Khayat on eight counts of misusing public property . . . Khayat fought the charges for a while, but in the end, he agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor…” (9-10)

“[Scruggs’s] homeroom teacher [ninth grade] turned out to be the Godfather’s son, Robert Khayat . . . (21) In a way, Khayat, eight years older, represented the big brother Scruggs never had. Dickie called Khayat ‘Coach’. He used the honorific for decades . . .” (22)

“Appealing for leniency from Judge Biggers, the Scruggs Law Firm defendants mobilized a letter-writing campaign among their friends.” (314)

“. . . the letter that generated the most interest came from Scruggs’s old friend Robert Khayat. Writing on the university’s letterhead stationery, Khayat cited Scruggs’s ‘compassion and generosity’ and ended with a proposal:

‘It is my belief that any time he spends being incarcerated is an absolute waste of a great deal of talent and ability. He has much to offer society and is a public-spirited person. Furthermore, it would appear to be a waste of tax payers’ money. Punishment is relative to the individual. A man such as Dick has been amply punished by the loss of his profession and public stature.'” (315)

The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

Click here to open an account on our website and we can save your information for future visits to LemuriaBooks.com.

You can also call the bookstore at 601/800.366.7619 and we can put your name on our reserve list.

Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

“As they plotted into 1994, word of the plan to use Mississippi’s Medicaid program as the fulcrum for their [tobacco] lawsuit spread among politicians in the state, and it did not meet unanimous approval.” (page 52)

[Charlie Capps, legislator for Bolivar County]: “The state is not going to pay for a single pencil.”

[Mike Moore, Attorney General]: “You see how much help we’re going to get from the state.”

“Scruggs called P. L. Blake and told him, ‘We don’t want a rear-guard attack by this group.’ He promised to pay Blake ‘to keep his eyes and ears open.’

“For good measure, Scruggs called Steve Patterson . . . Scruggs wanted Patterson to stay on top of things, to serve as a back channel, passing on information quietly.” (page 53)

The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

Click here to open an account on our website and we can save your information for future visits to LemuriaBooks.com.

You can also call the bookstore at 601/800.366.7619 and we can put your name on our reserve list.

Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

“Zach was meeting with his own attorneys in a conference room at the law firm when Mike Moore took him aside. ‘We need to talk,’ Moore said. They were joined by Scruggs in Zach’s small office.

“Scruggs took a seat in an armchair by the window, looked at his son, and said, ‘This is the latest government offering: They’re willing to give me five years, Sid three, and one for you.’ He paused. ‘I’m going to take it. I wish you would, too.’

“Zach was stunned. He had never expected the case to come to this. ‘Hell no,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to do it.’ He rose from behind his own desk, repeated his vow and walked out . . .” (298-299)

“‘Look,’ Keker said, ‘we’ve been overruled on every motion. I can destroy Tim Balducci and I can destroy Henry Lackey on  cross examination, but at the end of the day we’re still looking at this November the first tape.’ He reminded Zach of the negative results of the mock trial in Shreveport where the ‘jurors’ had little sympathy for the lawyer defendants. A real jury in Oxford would likely come down hard, too, Keker said. ‘Zach, they’ll look at you like a rich, white boy.’

“‘I’m not going to do it,’ Zach said.

“‘You don’t want to blow up the deal, put your Dad in trouble.’

“‘All right,’ Keker said. He did not press Zach further.

“Zach walked back into his own office. His father was still there, sitting quietly, staring out the window. His son was overwhelmed by the poignancy of the moment. He thought the scene would stay with him the rest of his life: the sight of his father, as if he were a monarch, looking out at his kingdom and watching it disintegrate–Zeus, the King of the gods, falling.

“Father and son sat together saying nothing.” (299)

The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

Click here to open an account on our website and we can save your information for future visits to LemuriaBooks.com.

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“‘There’s one other thing that I’ve heard about over the years, that when a substantial amount of cash is withdrawn, you have to sign . . .'”

“‘This money didn’t come from a bank,’ Balducci said. ‘Judge, I’ve been around long enough to know–and I’ve been involved in enough to know over time–that you always gotta have a slush fund.'”

“‘You can’t have gotten where I’ve gotten in my life at this point and not know that sooner or later things come up that you gotta take care of, and you need a slush fund.'”

“Lackey asked to see a copy of the order that would send the Jones case to arbitration. Balducci produced the document, which he described as ‘pretty straight.’ Then he laid an envelope containing $20,000 in cash on Lackey’s desk.” (187-188)

“Lackey had another entry for the journal prosecutors wanted him to keep.”

“‘As Tim walked out of the office,’ he wrote, ‘I felt so forlorn and sad that our profession had come to this, that a young man of Tim’s ability would be this cowardly and stoop this low at the behest of scum he is trying to help just so he can add another dollar to his pile.'” (189)

The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

Click here to open an account on our website and we can save your information for future visits to LemuriaBooks.com.

You can also call the bookstore at 601/800.366.7619 and we can put your name on our reserve list.

Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

“If Dick Scruggs’s name was essential to the success of the superfirm that Tim Balducci and Steve Patterson envisioned, so was the name Biden . . . The Biden connection went back more than twenty years, to the time when Patterson signed on as the southern coordinator for the young Delaware senator in his first, quixotic campaign for the party’s presidential nomination. In the intervening years, Patterson stayed in touch with Biden and became acquainted with members of Biden’s family . . .” (195)

“Patterson and Balducci were both supporting Biden’s quest for the 2008 nomination, and co-sponsored with Scruggs and three others a fund-raiser when the candidate came to Mississippi in August 2007. On that visit, Biden was accompanied by his brother Jim, who used the trip to cement plans with the Mississippians to open a Washington office that would capitalize on the name Biden.”(195-196)

“While senator [Joe Biden] charmed the Mississippi guests at the party, his brother was busy talking with the hosts. It was determined that Jim’s wife Sara, an attorney, could credibly bring the family name to the firm they planned.”

“Though purportedly a ‘law group’ with a base in Washington, the firm would specialize in lobbying. No law degree was necessary for any of the firm’s associates in the District of Columbia, freeing Patterson and others to operate under the banner of an office engaged with legal work . . .”

“A month later, the idea had become a reality. On September 27, the same day Balducci handed over the first $20,000 payment to Judge Lackey, Balducci also visited Scruggs’s office to tell him of a more savory initiative. Enthusiastically, he described plans for the firm of Patterson, Balducci and Biden.”

“‘We formalized our relationship with the Bidens,’ he told Scruggs. ‘It’s not going to be some bullshit shingle hung somewhere in a window. This is the real deal.'” (196)

The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

Click here to open an account on our website and we can save your information for future visits to LemuriaBooks.com.

You can also call the bookstore at 601/800.366.7619 and we can put your name on our reserve list.

Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

[Scruggs speaking at a panel discussion on legal venues, or so-called ‘magic jurisdictions,’ sponsored by Prudential Financial]:

“‘The trial lawyers have established relationships with the judges that are elected. They’re state court judges; they’re populists. They’ve got large populations of voters who are in on the deal. They’re getting their piece in many cases. And so, it’s a political force in their jurisdiction, and it’s almost impossible to get a fair trial if you’re a defendant in some of these places . . . The cases are not won in the courtroom. They’re won on the back roads long before the case goes to trial. Any lawyer fresh out of law school can walk in there and win the case, so it doesn’t matter what the evidence or the law is.'”(pages 179-180)

The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

Click here to open an account on our website and we can save your information for future visits to LemuriaBooks.com.

You can also call the bookstore at 601/800.366.7619 and we can put your name on our reserve list.

Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

“Scruggs’ relentless stalking of the insurance companies brought him into conflict with two statewide elected officials he once supported: Insurance Commissioner George Dale and Attorney General Jim Hood. Both men were running for reelection in 2007, and each felt his political career had been threatened by Scruggs. The trouble with Dale was predictable. The commissioner had long been too cozy with the industry he oversaw.” (page 165)

“He felt that Dale took a laissez-faire approach toward the insurance industry, and Scruggs wanted an activist in the office. So he decided to try to drive Dale from the post he had held for eight terms. Before the 2007 campaign was finished, Scruggs committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the effort. He retained a public relations firm to conduct an all-out assault on Dale that reached its peak in the full-page newspaper advertisement titled ‘Lipstick on a Pig.’ In a cartoon, George Dale’s bespectacled face, painted with pink lipstick and given porcine ears, appeared on a pig’s body with cloven feet. The beast, labeled, ‘Georgie Dale,’ lounged in a tub, pampered by attendants at a ‘State Farm Beauty Salon.'” (page 165-166)

“Scruggs approved of the ‘Lipstick on a Pig’ idea and paid for the ad, but did not see it before it ran. He thought the pig would symbolize State Farm and didn’t realize that Dale’s likeness would be used in the caricature. But he laughed anyway when he saw the finished product in the Sunday morning paper.”

“Diane Scruggs was not amused. She thought the ad in poor taste, and she wondered about her husband’s decision to underwrite the anti-Dale campaign. She felt Dick had been unduly impressed by his PR team from Washington. He had bragged of their talents. Some of his advisors were sophisticated practitioners of ‘black ops,’ he said, with experience overseas, working on contract for the U.S. government to destroy the credibility of foreign opponents. One of Scruggs’s contacts appealed to him precisely because of the whispers about his agency’s operations. The head of the group, John Rendon, had been profiled in Rolling Stone in 2005 as ‘The Man Who Sold the War’ on Iraq. The article described Rendon as ‘a secretive and mysterious creature of the Washington establishment’ who was ‘in charge of marketing’ the war for the CIA and the Pentagon. Scruggs was intrigued by such credentials.” (page 166)

The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie goes on sale October 19th.

We hope to see you at the signing/reading event with Curtis Wilkie on Thursday, October 21st, but if you cannot attend, you can reserve a signed copy online.

Click here to open an account on our website and we can save your information for future visits to LemuriaBooks.com.

You can also call the bookstore at 601/800.366.7619 and we can put your name on our reserve list.

Read other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

“Another significant change took place in Scruggs’s life, but few knew of it. In May 2000 he underwent back surgery for a herniated disk. A second operation followed in June. To deal with the pain, he was a given a prescription for Fioricet. Scruggs found that the drug not only relieved his discomfort but, infused him with an extraordinary sense of well-being.”

“To satisfy his craving, he asked his employees to obtain prescriptions in their names. The drug would be ordered impersonally, online through bulk distributors, and turned over to Scruggs.”

“When the drug took hold, Scruggs’s cares receded. After the turmoil of asbestos and tobacco, Fioricet delivered a feeling that all was well.” (page 99)

Reserve a signed copy online or call the store at 800/601.366.7619.

Curtis Wilkie will be signing at Lemuria on Thursday, Oct. 21^st.

Click here to see other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie (Crown, October 19, 2010)

“Blake once described himself as a ‘plunger and promoter,’ but basically he claimed to be a planter.” (page 38)

“Blake held no political portfolio, but his association with Senator Eastland enabled him to obtain government loans easily as he built an agricultural empire. Some of his transactions proved to be as puzzling as the mystery about him.” (page 39)

“In November 1993, after Blake helped head off Scruggs’s indictment in the asbestos case, Scruggs began to make significant loans to Blake. At first he gave him $15,000 a month, but those payments then increased to $25,000 a month. The loans were unsupported by any collateral, other than Blake’s signature on a note and his promise to keep Scruggs informed on political developments.” (page 43)

Reserve a signed copy online or call the store at 800/601.366.7619.

Curtis Wilkie will be signing on Thursday, Oct. 21^st.

Click here to see other excerpts from The Fall of the House of Zeus.

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