Dear Liberty Dispatch

Ive noticed in a press release on another Liberty County website that past County Judge Phil Fitzgerald made a plea deal to get himself off easy. I have to write you and your readers to let you know how disgusted Iam with this whole saga.

Some of the local news media is reporting former Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald has entered into a plea deal with federal officials. Readers can find some of the interesting facts that are not being reported by local media below.

Fitzgerald is accused of fraud connected to FEMA and the Hurricane Ike debris removal contracts worth a reported $611,000 to Fitzgerald’s bank account, but on Wednesday, Oct. 19, Fitzgerald allegedly appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Keith F. Giblin and voluntarily entered a guilty plea that only admits to making false and fraudulent claims for FEMA reimbursements for fuel used to power a generator. If this is true, Fitzgerald is admitting nothing about the other counts listed in the 27-count indictment. His plea deal simply focuses on the one part of the indictment that District Attorney Mike Little tried to cover up.

In the voluntary plea agreement, Fitzgerald wheels and deals with the misappropriation and lying about the FEMA generator he represented to the government was being used for the benefit of Liberty County while it was actually being used to benefit one of Fitzgerald’s businesses.

It has been previously reported that District Attorney Mike Little at the time all of this was happening allegedly told law enforcement officials to shut up when they reported to him that Fitzgerald was using a FEMA generator to operate his truck stop in Moss Hill instead of aiding Liberty County. If the plea deal comes to pass this alleged criminal act that Little is said to have tried to keep quiet will be the only part of thing Fitzgerald will go down for. I n addition, Little and County Attorney Wes Hinch refused to take the Fitzgerald-Groce FEMA fraud case when given the opportunity.

Interestingly enough, in the plea deal the maximum financial penalties for the $611,000-plus acts that Fitzgerald’s lawyers are negotiating about is $250,000. That is a smooth difference of $361,000 ! However, as some have pointed out, there are no documents on file to show that the government has accepted the plea agreement.

Another interesting aspect of the same incident is that Chip Fairchild is alleged to have been one of the law enforcement officials who found the FEMA generator at Fitzgerald’s business and we have not heard a word of righteous indignation from Chip. But, Mike Little did hire Chip’s wife, Terry not too long after the incident. And she is not the most highly qualified person for the job Little gave her.

I also heard from the Constable up in Cleveland that like Liberty County DA Mike Little, the current sheriff Henry Patterson passed on investigating and referring charges against Fitzgerald too.

Interesting, isn’t it?

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