Former Ouachita County Judge Mike Hesterly pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of bribery in an El Dorado federal courtroom in the rigging of the bidding process for a FEMA contract in return for a campaign contribution.
Hesterly, 50, was indicted last year along with Bearden contractor Harry Clemons Jr., 40.
Clemons pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with federal disaster benefits and is still awaiting a sentencing date. He could face up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Hesterly's sentencing date has not been set, either. The former county judge faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey in El Dorado, who presided over Hesterly's guilty plea, will handle the sentencing phase for both men. The court has released Hesterly and Clemons on their own recognizance in the meantime.
Hesterly had previously been set for trial on July 8 in El Dorado.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Conner Eldridge said in a statement, "This type of conduct by a public official offends taxpayers and citizens as well as all of the other public officials who are truly dedicated to their service. To abuse your position of public trust to engage in illegal activities in order to enrich oneself is an affront to our justice system."
Reached by phone at his Camden home Wednesday afternoon, Hesterly deferred comments on his case to his attorney, Jamie Pratt. Pratt called the case "an ongoing matter," adding, "I really don't think it's in our best interest to comment at this time."
According to documents filed in court, beginning in March 2010, Hesterly proposed awarding Clemons a Federal Emergency Management Agency-funded contract to clean up storm debris in Ouachita County without proper competitive bidding in exchange for a payment to Hesterly for his re-election campaign.
The debris was the product of two tornadoes that struck the county in October 2009. In furtherance of this conspiracy, court documents said, Clemons arranged for two other bidders to submit intentionally inflated bids to Hesterly via fax.
Clemons then met with Hesterly at his office and submitted a bid on behalf of himself and another company for the contract in the amount of $120,730, a total amount below the inflated bid, according to court documents.
Hesterly accepted Clemons' bid, and, on April 8, 2010, applied for funds from FEMA to help Ouachita County pay for the contract. Hesterly represented to FEMA that Clemons was the lowest bidder among the three bids that he had received, court documents showed.
After FEMA approved and fulfilled the request, Hesterly requested that the contract price be increased by $4,000, saying the increase was necessary to cover higher costs for Clemons' disposal of the debris, according to court documents. FEMA also approved that request.
Federal regulations require that such contracts be awarded through a sealed bidding process and in compliance with all applicable state law, court documents said. While state law requires the bid to be advertised for 10 days, the bid in this case was advertised for only one day, according to the documents.
In August 2010, Clemons submitted documentation to Hesterly stating that all work on the contract had been completed and requesting a payment of $69,865 for Clemons Construction, the documents showed.
That same month, Hesterly certified to the state and FEMA that the work set forth in the contract had been completed, according to court documents. The documents showed that on Oct. 13, 2010, Hesterly signed an order allowing Clemons' claim for payment to go through and, later that month, Clemons received a check from Ouachita County for $69,865.
Clemons then paid Hesterly the $4,000 that Hesterly had requested from FEMA for the added cost of debris disposal, according to court documents.
Hesterly resigned as county judge earlier this year, and the Ouachita County Quorum Court appointed Amy Olvey to serve as interim county judge until the end of the year.
On Tuesday night, Robert "Robbie" McAdoo won the seat, defeating former state Rep. Garry Smith by more than 800 votes in the Democratic primary runoff. There was no Republican running for the seat, so McAdoo will take office Jan. 1.
Complete but unofficial results for that race are:
McAdoo 1,988
Smith 1,108
McAdoo currently serves as the mayor of East Camden. His term expires on Dec. 31. McAdoo also is retiring June 30 after 30 years working for the Harmony Grove School District, serving most recently as the principal at the district's Sparkman campus.
McAdoo called Hesterly a "friend of mine for many years" but wouldn't comment specifically on the former county judge's plea, saying only that he is focusing on moving the office forward.
"Budgeting will be a big issue, and we have to start planning for that now in order to make sure we are meeting the needs of county workers and county residents," he said.
"I don't plan to make any big changes on Jan. 1. I am just going to evaluate everything, our equipment and workers to see where we are and what needs to be done. I don't see any really big issues at this time, and I expect a smooth transition when I take office."
Around Ouachita County, many residents said they just want a sense of normalcy returned to the county judge's office.
Sue Grissom of Camden said she has been following the Hesterly case and is happy that it's over. The office, she said, "needs a permanent holder who doesn't have a stigma attached to him as being on the wrong side of the law. Our county has been through enough, so let's just get on with it."
Karen Jones, also of Camden, she is happy Hesterly decided to plead guilty.
"It saves taxpayers the money of a trial, and it saves Camden from being drawn through the mud in the media," Jones said. "This whole mess has just made us all look bad. We are good people here. I just want people to know that."
A Section on 06/12/2014