Embattled developer Robert “Bob” Morgan is expected to plead guilty to fraud-related crimes Tuesday morning, possibly bringing to an end a mortgage fraud investigation that prosecutors had once portrayed as one of the nation’s largest.
The investigation of what was alleged to have been a $500 million fraud portended lengthy jail sentences for the alleged conspirators, including Morgan, who was paralyzed after he was shot in 1991 during the robbery of his family’s seafood business.
But, from its early days the investigation was fraught with missteps by federal investigators and prosecutors, whose instances of mishandling of evidence were so numerous and egregious that even U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford questioned in recent weeks whether the lapses were willful.
An evidentiary hearing was originally scheduled for early April at which authorities would have to explain the background of the evidentiary issues. Those issues included the belated discovery and examination of laptops seized during searches and the failure to reveal to defense lawyers the contents of a cellphone conversation that Morgan lawyers maintained was proof of his innocence.
At that hearing, prosecutors faced the likelihood of the airing of internal discussions about the criminal case and the slipshod maintenance of evidence.
Last week, three co-defendants of Morgan, including his son, Todd, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor bank larceny in plea agreements that included probation and no jail time. Robert…
