Extortion trial start postponed
By Editorial Staff
Published December 12, 2000
By Rick Cundiff, Staff Writer, Ocala Star Banner
OCALA — The extortion trial of Dr. James Scott Pendergraft IV, which was scheduled to start in federal court Monday, instead was postponed due to the death of Pendergraft’s grandmother.
Pendergraft’s lawyers, Jacob Rose and Larry Colleton filed an emergency motion for a 10-day continuance Monday morning with Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges. In their motion, the lawyers said Pendergraft’s grandmother, Sally L. Pendergraft, died at 5 a.m. Sunday in a North Carolina Hospital. The motion also said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Devereaux opposed the motion.
With prospective jurors waiting in the courtroom, prosecutors and attorneys for Pendergraft and co-defendant Michael Spielvogel met in Hodges’ chambers to argue the motion. Hodges entered the courtroom at 9:37 a.m. and dismissed the jury pool.
“This is regrettable, but unavoidable,” Hodges told the prospective jurors. The judge elected to postpone the trial until after the holidays, setting a new trial date of Jan. 2.
Pendergraft, Spielvogel and their attorneys left the courtroom without comment.
“We’re gratified by the judge’s compassion,” said Marti Mackenzie, Pendergraft’s spokeswoman.
Pendergraft owns the Ocala Women’s Center on Pine Avenue, which provides women’s health services, including abortions. He also operates four other clinics in Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
Steve Cole, spokesman for the Middle District of Florida U.S. Attorney’s office declined to say what Devereaux’s reaction was to the motion for continuance.
“We’re not going to discuss what was said in chambers,” he said. “We are just preparing for trial in January.”
The motion noted that Pendergraft was needed in North Carolina to direct funeral arrangements and handle other family matters. It also stated that he was close to his grandmother, “who assisted greatly in his upbringing.”
Sally Pendergraft had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke last month. That event prompted an earlier emergency continuance, to give Pendergraft an opportunity to travel to North Carolina to help his family make medical decisions at that time.
James Pendergraft and Spielvogel were indicted in federal court June 13. The five-count indictment alleges that the two men conspired to extort millions of dollars from Marion County government by making false and fraudulent statements in a civil lawsuit Pendergraft filed in December 1998. Hodges dismissed that suit last December.
The indictment alleges Pendergraft and Spielvogel lied in the civil suit by saying County Commissioner Larry Cretul threatened Spielvogel and the clinic. The indictment also alleges that Pendergraft and Spielvogel, through attorney Roy Lucas, threatened to bankrupt the county by asking for a $100 million judgment.
Both men are charged with conspiracy to commit extortion, lying under oath and mail fraud. Spielvogel faces additional charges of offering false testimony and making false statements to FBI investigators. Both Pendergraft and Spielvogel have pleaded not guilty.
Hodges has not yet ruled on two defense motions. The first motion is to move the trial to Orlando, and the second is to question prospective jurors individually, instead of in a group, to determine any bias on the issue of abortion.
A press conference at the Ocala Women’s Center that had been scheduled for the court’s lunch break Monday was canceled after Hodges granted the continuance.
Forerunner - Home » Florida's Murder Industry »
Your comments are welcome!
Abortion Clinic 911 Calls (DVD)
Exposes the Dangers of Abortion to Women!
These shocking eyewitness accounts expose the dangers of abortion not only to unborn children, but to the health and lives women as well. An antidote to the smokescreens of the liberal media, these six short clips show what really happens in and around abortion clinics.
Although the content is emotionally gut-wrenching, these videos have been used in church seminars and small groups to educate Christians on the abortion issue and to lead people toward a pro-life position.
Watch these pro-life videos on-line.
“These videos helped change my mind from pro-choice to pro-life. Your videos are what did it for me. I will be walking in next year’s March For Life in San Francisco.” — A. Jackson, California
“I was going to have an abortion until I saw your video. Praise Jesus!”
— M. Drew, YouTube Commenter
$4.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)Click here for more information
A Revival Account: Asbury 1970 (DVD)
What is true Revival and Spiritual Awakening?
Discover the answer in this eyewitness account by Dennis Kinlaw, President of Asbury College, Wilmore, Kentucky, who recounts the story of a visitation of the Holy Spirit in 1970. This is the presentation that has continued to spark the flames of Revival in the hearts of people around the world. Contains eyewitness footage from the Revival at Asbury College in 1970 in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Certain to challenge you to greater holiness and a deeper commitment to full-scale revival. Original news and private footage has been included. If you are a student who longs to see a spiritual awakening at your school, you must see this video!
“This simple video does a wonderful job of conveying something of God’s heart and power, Everyone we have ever shown this to has received an immediate impartation of faith for revival and the power of prayer.”
— Bob and Rose Weiner, Weiner Ministries Int’l
Running Time: 40 minutes
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)Click here for more information
The Abortion Matrix: Defeating Child Sacrifice and the Culture of Death (DVD)
Download the free Study Guide!
Is there a connection between pagan religion and the abortion industry?
This powerful presentation traces the biblical roots of child sacrifice and then delves into the social, political and cultural fall-out that this sin against God and crime against humanity has produced in our beleaguered society.
Conceived as a sequel and update to the 1988 classic, The Massacre of Innocence, the new title, The Abortion Matrix, is entirely fitting. It not only references abortion’s specific target – the sacred matrix where human beings are formed in the womb in the very image of God, but it also implies the existence of a conspiracy, a matrix of seemingly disparate forces that are driving this holocaust.
The occult activity surrounding the abortion industry is exposed with numerous examples. But are these just aberrations, bizarre yet anomalous examples of abortionists who just happen to have ties to modern day witchcraft? Or is this representative of something deeper, more sinister and even endemic to the entire abortion movement?
As the allusion to the film of over a decade ago suggests, the viewer may learn that things are not always as they appear to be. The Abortion Matrix reveals the reality of child-killing and strikes the proper moral chord to move hearts to fulfill the biblical responsibility to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 24:11,12; 31:8,9).
Speakers include: George Grant, Peter Hammond, RC Sproul Jr., Paul Jehle, Lou Engle, Rusty Thomas, Flip Benham, Janet Porter and many more.
Ten parts, over three hours of instruction!
Running Time: 195 minutes
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)Click here for more information
God's Law and Society (DVD)
Download the Free Study Guide!
God’s Law and Society powerfully presents a comprehensive worldview based upon the ethical system found in the Law of God.
Speakers include: R.J. Rushdoony, George Grant, Howard Phillips, R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misconceptions related to this volatile issue:
1. Are we under Law or under Grace?
2. Does the Old Testament Law apply today?
3. Can we legislate morality?
4. What are the biblical foundations of government?
5. Was America founded as a Christian nation?
6. What about the separation of Church and State?
7. Is neutrality a myth?
8. What about non-Christians and the Law of God?
9. Would there be “freedom” in a Christian republic?
10. What would a “Christian America” look like?
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal Bible study.
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction!
Running Time: 240 minutes
Watch over 60 on-line video interviews from God’s Law and Society.
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)Click here for more information
Massacre of Innocence (DVD)
Exposing The Occult Roots of Abortion
This presentation looks at the spiritual roots of abortion and exposes the myths surrounding child killing. Little known historical facts about abortion and how they relate to modern feminism are presented logically and accurately. Has been effective in converting many to a pro-life position.
Massacre of Innocence goes where no pro-life presentation has gone before in “tearing the lid off abortion” to reveal the spiritual realities we must battle if we will bring an end to this crime. The presentation is absorbing, fast-paced, informative and incredibly devastating to any attempt to justify abortion.
“… an extraordinary statement … a powerfully articulate presentation about what abortion really means, and why a great and moral nation like the United States must not allow the slaughter to continue.”
— Congressman Robert K. Dornan
Running time: 85 minutes
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)
