Edwards, government disagree on who should control $2 million for awhile

Thursday, Aug. 3, 2000 | 9:43 a.m.

The government agreed to let the governor use the municipal bonds for payment, according to documents filed in federal court late Wednesday.

But the two sides disagree on how to handle the deal.

The government wants the court to appoint a trustee to oversee the bonds until Edwards appeals his conviction.

Edwards wants the court to just prohibit him from selling the bonds before the appeal.

The former governor and others convicted in the case want to hold off settling their forfeitures until sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

Edwards, his son, Stephen, and three others were convicted of a scheme to extort payoffs from riverboat casino companies.

The former governor may not be sentenced until after a trial on an unrelated matter in which Edwards, Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown and an attorney are charged with trying to get a sweetheart deal for a failed insurance company that owed millions to creditors. That trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 18.

The insurance issue stems from FBI wiretaps that were made in building the riverboat casino case.

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