How He Got Off

By Leslie-Bernard Joseph

No one disputed that a $2.7 billion accounting fraud took place under Richard Scrushy's nose. But the former HealthSouth chief managed to convince a jury he never smelled a thing. Notebook looks at the five-month trial.

1 By the time jury selection began in his hometown, Birmingham, Ala., Scrushy was widely known for all of the following EXCEPT:

A. his sudden philanthropic largesse

B. starting a local talk show with his wife

C. joining a predominantly black church

D. mowing his lawn while wearing a suit

2 In lieu of a smoking gun, the prosecution presented all of the following EXCEPT:

A. secretly recorded conversations, during which Scrushy asked a top aide, "You're not wired, are you?"

B. an e-mail Scrushy sent out encouraging employees to shred sensitive documents in a timely manner

C. guilty pleas from five former chief financial officers who testified that Scrushy conspired to cook the books

D. a notebook detailing the suspicions of a former treasurer who quit after confronting Scrushy with allegations of fraud

3 The defense team's strategy included all of the following EXCEPT:

A. having Scrushy take the stand to plead ignorance

B. describing one witness as looking as "clean as Winn-Dixie chitlin"

C. addressing the judge as "Ma'am"

D. calling one witness a rat

4 Why was one of the two jurors leaning toward a conviction dismissed after more than two weeks of deliberation?

A. chronic fatigue

B. substance abuse

C. migraine headaches

D. verbal assault

5 What does Scrushy have to look forward to now that his trial is over?

A. spending time with his nine kids

B. pondering the resale value of his 92-ft. yacht

C. wrestling with some 60 civil lawsuits

D. all of the above

Answers: 1-D; 2-B; 3-A; 4-C; 5-D