A Georgia businessman involved in a failed $55 million beef plant was to be sentenced Thursday after he pleaded guilty several months ago to illegally contributing to a former Mississippi governor’s campaign.
Robert Moultrie was chairman and chief executive of the Facility Group of Smyrna, Ga. The group managed construction of Mississippi Beef Processors LLC, a cattle plant that closed just three months after it opened in 2004, costing 400 jobs and sticking Mississippi taxpayers with $55 million in state-backed loans.
Moultrie and others first raised $70,000 for former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. When it became clear there were issues with the plant, according to court documents, Moultrie and co-defendant Nixon Cawood Jr. talked about giving Musgrove another $25,000 to influence and reward him “should his assistance be needed on the potential problems with the project.”
Musgrove, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate this year, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Magnolia Tribune
