JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ernest Maloney Page, a former defense attorney who was involved in an attempt to bribe a State Attorney Jeffrey Siegmeister, has been sentenced to six months in federal prison by a Jacksonville judge.
The court also ordered Page to serve an 18-month term of supervised release.
Page pleaded guilty on September 3, 2020.
Court documents show that he conspired to bribe Siegmeister to go easy on one of his clients, who was facing two separate DUI cases.
Documents say that Paige's client owned a tractor dealership in Live Oak and Siegmeister told Page he wanted to purchase a tractor.
Page encouraged Siegmeister to visit the client at his dealership.
In August 2017, Siegmeister told Page that he would give favorable treatment to the client for one of his pending DUI cases if the client gave him a $10,000 discount on the tractor -- or he would give him favorable treatment in both cases for a discount of $20,000, documents say.
Page's client indicated to him that he would like to accept the offer and agreed to provide the $20,000 discount. According to documents, Paige told Seigmesiter it was a deal.
Siegmeister arranged for the client to resolve the DUI charges by pleading to reckless driving charges, which are traffic misdemeanors.
Seigmesiter went through with the purchase. Documents say the client also notated the sales paperwork to falsely state that the Siegmeister’s provided a cash down payment of $10,150, when no such down payment was made.
In 2017, the client took the plea deal and was given 12 months of probation.
In March 2020, Page told the FBI that he had facilitated a bribe to Siegmeister and was later convicted.
“The actions taken by Ernest Page put lives at risk,” said FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Sherri Onks. “As an officer of the court, he facilitated corruption within the judicial system by offering items of value in exchange for reduced or dropped charges for one of his clients, who was accused of serious crimes that endangered the community. These crimes will not be tolerated by the FBI, and we will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to hold individuals in positions of authority within the justice system accountable. We specifically thank the IRS – Criminal Investigation team for their invaluable partnership in the case.”
“This action demonstrates our collective efforts to enforce the law and ensure public trust. In today’s economic environment, it’s more important than ever that the American people feel confident that everyone is playing by the rules,” said IRS Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne. “The IRS is proud to have shared its hallmark expertise with FBI in following the money trail in this and other criminal schemes. IRS Criminal Investigation agents will continue to be on the front lines to fight corruption and tax fraud.”
Siegmeister pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use a facility of commerce for unlawful activity, that is bribery and extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, wire fraud, and filing a false tax return. His sentencing hearing is set for October 12, 2022.
