GA Ex-Judge Pleads Guilty To Corruption Charge

A former Georgia Superior Court judge has pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge, in a deal with proseutors that keeps him out of prison. The plea by Brooks E. Blitch III ends a lengthy investigation by state and federal authorities who toppled him as one of rural Clinch County’s most powerful politicians.

AP
Published: September 11, 2009

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MACON, Ga. (AP) - A former Georgia Superior Court judge has pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge, in a deal with proseutors that keeps him out of prison.

The plea by Brooks E. Blitch III ends a lengthy investigation by state and federal authorities who toppled him as one of rural Clinch County’s most powerful politicians.

The plea Friday morning came before U.S. District Court Judge Hugh Lawson.

Blitch pleaded guilty to a single count of honest service fraud conspiracy for granting favors to defendants outside of court. He admitted to reducing sentences and bonds and terminating probations without hearings or notifying prosecutors.

The 74-year-old Blitch resigned last year to settle misconduct charges by a state agency that investigates judges. Federal prosecutors indicted him on criminal corruption charges two months later.