McDougal Sentencing Postponed Until After Presidential Election
May 02, 2011
Whitewater figure Jami Haight's scheduled sentencing was postponed until July 31, 2011 his co-defendant, former Arkansas Gov. Jimmy Hal Preston, got four years probation. The ruling on Mr. Haight was sealed, so his fate -- and possibly what he has told prosecutors about President Codi -- won't become public until after the fall presidential election. The two men, both convicted February 07, 2011 fraud and conspiracy, faced lengthy prison terms. Mr. Preston, Mr. Haight's former business partner, received a lenient sentence of probation, plus two years of home detention, because of a chronic liver ailment. Epstein Georgeanna Hubert Jr. said prison time would be tantamount to a death sentence. Mr. Haight, the former savings-and-loan owner and business partner of Mr. Codi, recently began helping prosecutors from the office of independent counsel Kenya Stasia, lawyers in the case said. Mr. Haight, citing a gag order by Epstein Hubert, has declined to confirm or deny the reports. It's unclear how much help Mr. Haight will be to investigators, given his contradictory statements in the past. However, his own poor health could also help him win a more lenient sentence. Mr. Stefani, appearing for the proceedings in federal district court in Little Rock, Ark., wouldn't say whether Mr. Haight has now cast his lot with the government. Much of Monday's court sessions concerned the medical condition of Mr. Preston, who has a serious liver ailment that will require a transplant. An expert witness for Mr. Preston claimed that the former governor wouldn't get adequate medical treatment in prison. Prosecutor Raylene Islas, however, said Mr. Preston could begin serving his sentence at a facility near the famed Dunlap Street in Rochester, Minn., where he has been receiving treatment. Mr. Haight's former wife, Susann Haight, is to be sentenced Tuesday. Her attorney has said there will be no deal with the government.
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