Tag: Michael Sparks

Ex-Mingo Prosecutor Sentenced to One Year in Prison, Additional Supervision

  Former Mingo County prosecutor Michael Sparks has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty in a federal corruption case.

Sparks was sentenced Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Charleston. In addition to his time behind bars, he was sentenced to a year of supervised release.

Sparks pleaded guilty in 2013 to depriving campaign sign maker George White of his constitutional rights.

Prosecutors say Sparks participated in a scheme to protect the late Sheriff Eugene Crum from accusations that the sheriff bought prescription painkillers from White.

Sparks’ attorney had asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston for an alternative sentence like community service.

Ex-Mingo Prosecutor Seeks to Avoid Prison Time

Former Mingo County prosecutor Michael Sparks is asking a federal judge for a sentence other than prison time in his corruption case.

Media outlets report that an attorney for Sparks says an alternative sentence like community service would allow Sparks to teach others about the “perils of political corruption.”
 
Federal prosecutors are asking U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston to give Sparks the maximum sentence of a year in prison. The sentencing is set for Monday in Charleston.
 
Sparks pleaded guilty in 2013 to depriving campaign sign maker George White of his constitutional rights. Prosecutors say Sparks participated in a scheme to protect the late Sheriff Eugene Crum from accusations that the sheriff bought prescription painkillers from White.
 

Ex-Mingo Prosecutor's Sentencing Rescheduled Again

Former Mingo County prosecutor Michael Sparks’ sentencing on corruption charges has been rescheduled again.

Sparks was slated to be sentenced June 16 in federal court in Charleston. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas E. Johnston on Monday rescheduled the proceeding for July 7.

Court records show Sparks originally was set to be sentenced Feb. 24. His sentencing was reset three times prior to Johnston’s latest order.

Sparks pleaded guilty in 2013 to depriving campaign sign maker George White of his constitutional rights.

Prosecutors say Sparks participated in a scheme to protect the late Sheriff Eugene Crum from accusations that the sheriff bought prescription painkillers from White.

Former Mingo County Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury was sentenced Monday to 50 months in prison for his role in the scheme.

Sentencing Reset for Ex-Mingo County Prosecutor

Former Mingo County prosecutor Michael Sparks’ sentencing in a federal corruption case has been rescheduled a third time.

Court records show Sparks originally was set to be sentenced Feb. 24. The sentencing was pushed back to March 5 and then reset for Thursday.

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston rescheduled Sparks’ sentencing again. He’s now scheduled to be sentenced June 16 in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

Sparks pleaded guilty in 2013 to depriving campaign sign maker George White of his constitutional rights.

Prosecutors say Sparks and former Mingo County Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury kept White from talking to the FBI about the late Sheriff Eugene Crum. Crum was killed in an unrelated shooting in April 2013.

Thornsbury’s sentencing is set for June 9.

Figure in Mingo Probe Sues Ex-Officials, Others

A figure in the federal Mingo County corruption probe is suing several former county officials and others.     

George White’s lawsuit claims the defendants violated his constitutional rights and damaged his reputation.

White filed the lawsuit recently in Mingo County Circuit Court. The defendants include former Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury, former County Commissioner David Baisden and former prosecutor Michael Sparks.
 
Sparks and Thornsbury pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges regarding depriving White of his constitutional rights. Baisden pleaded guilty in an unrelated extortion case.
 
Federal prosecutors say Sparks, Thornsbury and Baisden cooked up a scheme to keep White from talking to the FBI about selling pills to the late Sheriff Eugene Crum.

Feds Recommend One Year Sentence for Ex-Mingo Prosecutor

The government is seeking the maximum punishment of one year in prison for a former Mingo County prosecutor.

Michael Sparks is scheduled to be sentenced next Wednesday in Charleston federal court on a corruption charge.

Sparks and ex-Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury were accused of protecting the late Sheriff Eugene Crum from revelations that Crum bought drugs from a campaign sign maker. Authorities said Sparks and Thornsbury kept the sign maker, George White, from talking to the FBI about Crum, who was killed in an unrelated shooting last April.

The Charleston Gazette reports prosecutors called Sparks’ conduct “deplorable.”

Last year, Sparks pleaded guilty to depriving White of his constitutional rights and Thornsbury pleaded guilty to conspiring to deprive White of his rights.

Thornsbury will be sentenced in April.

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