On December 11, the convictions of Paul Minor, Wes Teel and John Whitfield were largely affirmed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. There will be a resentencing on on the counts that were reversed. All other convictions including those for RICO and mail/wire fraud were affirmed. The RICO penalties alone likely mean that this will result in only a slight reduction in jail time for Minor, Whitfield and Teel.
A jury found all three appellants guilty of conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; mail, wire, and honest services fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, 1346, and 2; and federal program bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666. Additionally, Minor was convicted of racketeering in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1962. Appellants appeal their convictions United States Court of Appeals
and sentences on numerous grounds. For the following reasons, we VACATE all the convictions related to federal program bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 666,
including the conviction of Minor and Teel for conspiracy to violate section 666. We AFFIRM all other convictions, and we REMAND for resentencing as to all appellants in accordance with this opinion.
Minor’s case has become a cause celebre among liberals who believe that his conviction resulted from some sort of conspiracy in a prior administration. Obviously, the 5th Circuit didn’t agree.
There will be more updates as the opinion gets dissected.
Magnolia Tribune
