THE BALDUCCI FILES
October 4, 2010 § 1 Comment
If you’re familiar with the story of Dickie Scruggs’ downfall, you know that the final, climactic act in his Greek tragedy began in the Calhoun City offices of Circuit Judge Henry Lackey, who met with Scruggs operative Tim Balducci and recorded Balducci’s offer to bribe him.
Patsy Brumfield of the Tupelo Daily Journal, has obtained copies of the FBI recordings and has posted them online here. There are four video and three audio recordings. Six are in Lackey’s office, and one is in Scruggs’ office after Balducci has been arrested and has agreed to cooperate with he FBI.
What is most remarkable about them is the prosaic, almost ho-hum nature of the conversations. The tone is business as usual, which is chilling, considering how far-flung were Scruggs’ conflicts with other lawyers similar to the one that led to the Lackey bribe attempt.
Another compelling feature of the recordings is how they show the banal nature of evil. It seldom manifests itself with the dramatic flair we see on tv and in the cinema. It is a handshake, a wink and a nod, an exchange of consideration.
Thanks to Tom Freeland at NMissCommentor for posting about this.
Tom also has a great post today about whether Curtis Wilkie’s upcoming book, FALL OF THE HOUSE OF ZEUS answers some questions about the handling of the Scruggs trial.
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