JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- A new round of felony indictments in a failed state-sponsored beef processing plant could cause political trouble for former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who's now running for the U.S. Senate.
Musgrove was not charged or named in the indictments of three executives of a Georgia-based architecture, construction and engineering company. But an attorney for one of the executives is asking the court for permission to use two polygraph examinations that his client took in 2006.
Papers filed with the court Tuesday night show that Robert Moultrie, chairman and chief executive officer of The Facility Group, was asked during one of the exams about Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat who was Mississippi governor from January 2000 to January 2004 -- the period covering the development and failure of the beef plant.
The document says the polygraph examiner asked: ''Did you ever have an agreement with anyone that your company would get work on the Mississippi Beef Project in return for making contributions to Musgrove's campaign?''
The document said Moultrie replied: ''No.''
The person conducting the polygraph examination also asked Moultrie: ''Did anyone ever communicate to you that your company would be provided work on the Mississippi Beef Project in return for contributions to Musgrove's campaign?''
The document said Moultrie replied: ''No.''
Musgrove was defeated by Republican Haley Barbour in the 2003 election and is now running for U.S. Senate against Republican Roger Wicker.
Musgrove did not immediately return calls Tuesday from The Associated Press.
Although Moultrie said in the polygraph exam that he did not expect a payoff for contributing to Musgrove in 2003, political foes are sure to seize on any chance to connect Musgrove's name to the failed beef plant. The project has been a hot topic for years on talk radio and among people who say the facility was a waste of taxpayer money.
Moultrie, 67, of Smyrna, Ga., and two other executives of The Facility Group appeared in federal court in Oxford Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to felony charges for their alleged part in a beef processing plant that failed in 2004 in north Mississippi.
Court records show the others charged in newly unsealed 16-count indictment are:
--Nixon E. Cawood, 58, of Woodstock, Ga., chief operating officer of The Facility Group.
--Charles K. Morehead, 57, of Lilburn, Ga., executive vice president of the Project Quality Control Management Group for The Facility Group.
The court records show each of the men was indicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The other counts for each are on ''frauds and swindles.''
The Mississippi Beef Processors plant was open only a few weeks before it failed in 2004 and left 400 people out of work. Mississippi was stuck with $55 million in state-backed loans for the 140,000-square-foot plant.
The indictment accuses Moultrie and Cawood of devising and carrying out ''a scheme and plan to corruptly give, offer and agree to give more than $5,000 in campaign contributions to the re-election campaign'' of a Mississippi official. Mississippi puts a $1,000 limit on campaign contributions from corporations.
The official is not named or charged in the indictment.
The indictment says the campaign money in 2003 was intended ''to influence and reward the public official'' for the state's selection of The Facility Group to manage the completion and design of Mississippi Beef Processors.
''Robert Moultrie categorically denies all of the charges in the indictment, has entered his plea of absolutely not guilty today on all charges and looks forward to proving his complete innocence at trial,'' his attorney, Tom Freeland of Oxford, said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Also indicted was Facility Holding Corp. of Smyrna, Ga., which does business as The Facility Group, Facility Management Group Inc., Facility Construction Management Inc. and Facility Design Group Inc.
James Tucker of Jackson, the attorney representing the companies, said the companies also pleaded not guilty.
''The Facility Group is a fine engineering company,'' Tucker said. ''We will defend these charges vigorously.''
Moultrie, Cawood and Morehead were released on bond after making their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Allan Alexander in Oxford. Alexander set a May 19 trial date before U.S. District Judge Michael Mills in Oxford.
Court records show the indictments were sealed Feb. 13 and opened Tuesday.
The Facility Group's Web site says company has built distribution plants for several large corporations and schools and prisons in several states.
In a message on the company Web site, Moultrie wrote: ''With The Facility Group on your team, your project will be on time, within budget, and it will exceed your expectations. That's more than a promise, it is a total commitment from all the individuals who make up The Facility Group.''
Frederick Brink, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Mississippi, said some investigations are slow to develop, and the beef plant probe is in that category.
''However, this investigation is not closed, nor will it be, until every individual criminally responsible for this massive financial loss to the citizens of Mississippi, and to many innocent contractors and subcontractors, has been identified and prosecuted,'' Brink said.
Court records show that a conviction on the first count of the indictment carries penalties of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Conviction on any of the remaining counts would carry up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
