I’m in Chicago, watching,writing and covering the Blagojevich trial.
One of the enduring images from the Scrushy-Siegelman trial was the rendition of Nick Bailey and Don Siegelman driving up to Birmingham to see HealthSouth CEO, Richard Scrushy. I could envision Bailey in a smart suit, dark shades, black hair slicked back, and the two of them cruising up I-65 singing along to Jimmy Buffet tunes. They pull into the HealthSouth corporate campus and there is a quiet scene while a staffer unlocks the elevator and they ride up to the fifth floor. In Scrushy’s spacious office, he greets them like the old friends they’re not–in perfect southern style–and the three of them sit down at his desk. Behind Scrushy is the sweeping vista of the unfinished Digital Hospital. He flips open a binder of HealthSouth corporate checks. Embellishing my reverie, l have him humming a country song. He dots the “i” in Richard with a flourish and hands Siegelman the check. They shake hands again and Siegelman gets up to leave with Bailey in tow. “Hello Governor,” rings out from the various execs on the fifth floor. Siegelman, ever the politician, stops to chat, something about the sewer system in Mountain Brook. He says he’ll look into it. And they ride back down the elevator, snap in another CD for the ride home, and head back to Montgomery.
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