Former CFO to plead guilty

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Wednesday, April 9, 2003 | 9:53 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala -- As HealthSouth continued to struggle to avoid bankruptcy, federal officials on Tuesday charged another former senior executive of the company with participating in a multibillion-dollar accounting fraud.

But a federal judge refused, at least temporarily, to accept a guilty plea from the former executive, Michael D. Martin, who had been Healthsouth's chief financial officer.

Judge U.W. Clemon complained that the U.S. attorney handling Martin's case had infringed on the court's scheduling prerogatives when she announced that Martin would plead guilty.

"I will not give the impression that this court is part of the prosecutorial team," Clemon said, adding that he would set the time for taking Martin's plea.