Go Directly to Jail

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA: Defense attorney F. Lee Bailey may be headed for jail. U.S. District Judge Maurice Paul has denied Bailey's last ditch appeal in a tax case, meaning the famed defense lawyer has until 10 a.m. EST Friday to come up with $21 million or be jailed on contempt of court charges. Paul had given Bailey until February 29 to turn over the $3 million in cash and $18 million dollars worth of stock that Bailey maintains he received in lieu of fees and expenses from a former client, drug trafficker Claude Duboc. The government claims it has the right to the money because Duboc had agreed to forfeit his assets after pleading guilty on charges of conspiring to import tons of marijuana. Bailey lawyer Roger Zuckerman had argued that his client needed more time to transfer the stock, which is currently being held in a Swiss bank. In court Thursday, Bailey said he had worked hard to comply: "I've tried to raise the millions the order requires. I have worked day and night in every quadrant where I have any clout whatsoever to come up with the money." But U.S. Attorney David McGee countered that Bailey was stalling: "The only way to get Mr. Bailey to comply is to keep his feet to the fire."