Former Marana Mayor Bobby Sutton Jr. and businessman Richard Westfall pleaded guilty to reduced charges in their federal extortion trial last Thursday, and, in doing so, avoided jail time.
Sutton, 38, and Westfall, 45, each pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law, a misdemeanor. Westfall also pleaded guilty to making a false statement to FBI agents.
"It is an appropriate way of resolving this case," U.S. District Court Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson said before sentencing the pair to two years of supervised probation. "It acknowledges the wrong that was done. The defendants have accepted responsibility for their actions."
Both were also sentenced to complete 100 hours of community service within the next year, doing at least eight hours per month.
Sutton is also barred from accepting or seeking political office while on probation, while Westfall's probation includes a stipulation that, upon completion, the false-statement charge would be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
People are also reading…
"We feel this plea agreement is in the best interests of everyone involved," Sutton's lawyer, Michael Piccarreta, said. "The key with us was that all of the original charges had to be dismissed, or we wouldn't take a deal."
Sutton, who served as Marana's mayor from 1999 to 2005, and Westfall were indicted in April 2005 on charges of attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and making false statements in early 2002.
Federal prosecutors said Westfall attempted to extort a job and more than $300,000 from Waste Management Inc. or Westfall would participate in a state investigation into overweight loads leaving a Marana transfer station owned by the Houston-based trash company.
Prosecutors further said Sutton used his official power as mayor to threaten to shut down the transfer station if Waste Management didn't comply with Westfall's demands.
Each would have faced up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 had they been found guilty on all counts.
A six-week trial ended in a mistrial Oct. 10 when jurors declared they could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the charges.
A new trial was set for March, but, shortly after the mistrial, negotiations began between defense attorneys and federal prosecutors to come to a plea agreement.
"The hung jury allowed both sides to step back," Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Sukenic said. "It's in the best interest of the government to secure convictions."
The plea agreement, read in court by Sukenic, said Westfall and Sutton willfully prevented Waste Management from freely engaging in interstate commerce.
"I willfully pressured Waste Management," Sutton told the court. "At the time I did not know this."
Sutton and Westfall did that, the agreement stated, by making company officials spend undue time resolving a dispute with Westfall over whether he was entitled to compensation from Waste Management for being fired by CSU Transport, a company contracted by Waste Management to operate the Marana transfer.
Sukenic said Sutton's actions, including telling Waste Management that compensating Westfall would instill his trust and support as mayor of Marana, violated Sutton's obligations as mayor to protect and serve all of his constituents.
"His actions to protect one constituent … harmed another one of his constituents in that of Waste Management," Sukenic said.
Well-known in Marana
• Bobby Sutton Jr. was first elected to Marana's Town Council in 1995, when he was 25. He resigned in April 2005 after being indicted and was replaced by Bob Allen, who is no longer on the council.
• Richard Westfall is a former president of the athletic booster club for Marana High School, where sons Bucky, Heath and Rion were star athletes between 1995 and 2005.
