Opinion ID: 3049934
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Bribes of Swann

Text: In 1998, Swann and his wife Nila purchased a house two doors down from 31 their own residence. The Swanns lived in their residence while they renovated their new home. Between September 1998 and June 2002, the Swanns put over $600,000 worth of additions and improvements into their new home. FWDE, RAST, and PUGH provided Swann, at no charge, more than $330,000 in goods, services, labor, and materials for that work. For certain improvements paid for by FWDE, Swann admitted he did not reimburse FWDE or Dougherty. As they had done for the McNair studio project, the contractor-defendants worked together on Swann’s new home. While the work was going on, Swann periodically came over to observe the work at the new home. While Swann was recommending and approving JCESD actions worth millions of dollars, the contractor-defendants were providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in materials and services to renovate and expand Swann’s new home. Specifically, in the fall of 1998, Dougherty sent FWDE supervisors Wayne Hendon and Bill Bailey to meet with Swann and his wife about plans to remodel their new home. Over the course of the three-year project, FWDE employees continually supervised the remodeling of the new home. From about October 1999 to March 2001, FWDE paid employee John Stanger $28,839 for his work at Swann’s home. During that time period, FWDE’s Hendon spent half of every work day supervising other contractors at Swann’s home and billed his time as a 32 nonpaying job. FWDE paid Hendon $94,090 for his work at Swann’s home. In the fall of 1998, FWDE hired subcontractor Dudley Davis for framing, costing over $28,000. Dougherty visited the site periodically. In the winter of 1999, Bobby Rast sent RAST superintendent Luke Cobb to supervise RAST crews who did demolition work and poured concrete for Swann’s new home. Bobby Rast had RAST employee Derek Houston serve as a point of contact for RAST’s suppliers and subcontractors for Swann’s home and paid Houston $6,300 for his work there. In 2000, RAST paid its employees $18,867.20 in miscellaneous labor costs for their work on Swann’s home and McNair’s studio. RAST avoided using Swann’s name on invoices, delivery tickets, and internal accounting reports, instead using his nickname, “Little Big Man.” RAST also bought bricks and other materials, and paid different subcontractors for installation of hardwood floors and stairs and exterior brickwork, plumbing work, and painting. RAST paid $3,535 for flooring and stairs installation that Don’s Carpet One performed at Swann’s new home in 2000 or 2001. In the fall of 1999, RAST paid $1,964 for brick and mortar work by Alabama Brick Delivery. In the fall of 2000, RAST paid Kimro Painting & Services, Inc. (“Kimro Painting”) $9,733 for painting work at Swann’s new home. In May 2001, RAST paid $4,441.50 to Sherman International for concrete work. 33 The delivery ticket for ready-mix concrete RAST purchased from Sherman International directed delivery to the Swann address but identified it as the “Rast Residence.” In October 2001, RAST paid Brown Mechanical Contractors, Inc. (“Brown Mechanical”) for $9,540 worth of plumbing work performed at Swann’s new home. Bobby Rast had the payments to Brown Mechanical coded as expenses to RAST’s Jefferson County contracts for “Annual Rehab” and “Minor Pump Station.” In the summer of 2000, PUGH began contributing to Swann’s new home remodeling. PUGH’s President Yessick hired subcontractor Aquatic Gardens to install a waterfall and koi pond at a cost of $7,422. Yessick told Aquatic Gardens to send its invoices to PUGH and not mention Swann by name. Yessick hired other subcontractors for various work after Swann claimed to have overpaid for the remodeling. Yessick hired Guthrie to help landscape Swann’s new home, and in July 2000 Guthrie gave an initial estimate of $40,000. PUGH’s book entries and invoices for Guthrie’s work on Swann’s home were never kept in Swann’s name, but always under some other code. Yessick had PUGH’s accountant charge Guthrie’s expenses to “Metro Park Roadway,” a Jefferson County job. By December 2001, PUGH had paid Guthrie $93,680 for its landscaping work at the Swann home, which included $1,200 a month for ongoing 34 weekly yard maintenance. In January 2002, PUGH’s President Yessick asked Guthrie to stop submitting invoices to PUGH, and instead PUGH advanced Guthrie $47,000 for three years worth of landscaping and maintenance on Swann’s new home; and Guthrie performed about $10,000 worth of work. Although PUGH’s manager of accounts testified she filed Guthrie’s invoices regularly and that PUGH kept these records for 5 to 7 years, the invoices were not found during the government’s investigation.23 In December 2001, Yessick used a PUGH check to buy $1,000 worth of bookstore gift certificates for Swann.24 In August 2002, after Grady Pugh and Yessick heard rumors of a government investigation, Guthrie was asked to stop working on Swann’s property, even though there was a balance remaining on the advance Yessick had given to Guthrie. At that time, Yessick directed his assistant to send an invoice to Swann’s mother-in-law for $12,572 for tree removal and “remodeling work.” In 23 Count 101 ($47,000 check from Guthrie) was dismissed on the government’s motion during the third day of trial. On that trial day, Paul Guthrie (the owner of Guthrie) testified that, even though Guthrie received a $47,000 check from PUGH’s Yessick for Guthrie’s work at Swann’s home, Guthrie to date had done about $10,000 worth of work on Swann’s home, not $47,000. Swann was convicted on Count 52, which charges him with receiving approximately $100,000 in work done by Guthrie. 24 The government also presented evidence that Bobby and Danny Rast used at least $4,000 of RAST’s funds to pay for Swann’s expenses on two trips to England. Swann and the Rast defendants were acquitted on Counts 59 (Swann accepted $3,015 trips to England and Scotland) and 68 (Rast defendants paid Swann for those trips). 35 September 2002, Yessick instructed his assistant to create an invoice, this time to Swann’s mother, for $46,684 of landscaping work. In November 2002, the Swanns paid PUGH this amount with checks drawn from joint checking accounts the Swanns had taken out with their mothers, after taking out two home equity loans in each of their mothers’ names.25