When he pleaded guilty, the American Bar Assn. announced it would seek "immediate suspension and ultimate disbarment." The University of Mississippi, his alma mater, took his name off its music building.
Yet Scruggs' numerous charitable contributions and his assault on big industry earned him many faithful supporters.
After his sentencing, scores of onlookers dabbed away tears as they waited to console Scruggs and his wife, Diane.
Hundreds of Mississippians, from a former governor to the daughter of a Pascagoula shipbuilder, wrote letters seeking leniency.
"You have before you a rare man who has made comforting the afflicted a calling," wrote Bergman, a former CBS producer for "60 Minutes."
"It is my belief that any time he spends being incarcerated is an absolute waste of a great deal of talent and ability," wrote University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert C. Khayat, who was in the courtroom for Scruggs' sentencing.
But Biggers sentenced Scruggs to the maximum 60 months, ordering him to report to prison by Aug. 4 and to pay a $250,000 fine within 30 days.
Biggers sentenced Scruggs' former law partner Sidney Backstrom to two years and four months and fined him $250,000, saying he was impressed that Backstrom seemed remorseful. The judge said he was troubled that Scruggs seemed to "just fall into" the conspiracy so easily.
"It made me think perhaps it was not the first time. . . . And there is evidence before the court that you have done it before," Biggers said.
He reminded Scruggs that Timothy R. Balducci, the attorney who allegedly delivered the cash to Mississippi Circuit Judge Henry L. Lackey, told Lackey: "The only person in the world outside of me and you that has discussed this is me and Dick. . . . There are bodies buried that, that -- you know -- that he and I know where."
With prosecutors looking into another case in which Scruggs is accused of trying to influence a judge, Biggers offered Scruggs some advice.
"You know, Balducci said that you know where a lot of bodies are buried," Biggers said. "If you want to uncover a lot of those bodies, it might help you in the future of the case."
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jenny.jarvie@latimes.com
