Criminal Justice
Federal Juror Charged With Bribery, Allegedly Solicited Defense Lawyer
Posted Jun 19, 2009, 03:45 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A federal juror has been charged with bribery and contempt of court after allegedly seeking money from a defense lawyer in a tax evasion case against a St. Louis-area automobile dealer.
Dorothy Hendricks is accused of calling a unidentified defense lawyer in the U.S. Virgin Islands case over a $300 million tax shelter there and asking the attorney to put a price on a not guilty verdict, according to the Belleville News-Democrat and the St. Louis Business Journal.
When the lawyer refused and promised to contact the court about the call, she allegedly said "Forget it, I told them that this would not work," perhaps referring to a conversation she allegedly had with another juror about seeking money in connection with their jury service, according to the Business Journal.
The lawyer reported the March call to the presiding judge the next day, and authorities traced it to Hendricks. She was removed from the jury and replaced by an alternate, and the panel was told to begin deliberations anew, the News-Democrat recounts.
The next day, the jury acquitted automobile dealer James Auffenberg Jr. and his business partners on all charges.
Additional coverage:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Auffenberg juror charged with seeking bribe"