Savannah, Ga. — A New York man charged with trying to extort $200,000 from embattled celebrity cook Paula Deen has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors, according to federal court records.
Prosecutors filed a notice in U.S. District Court in Savannah last Wednesday saying 62-year-old Thomas George Paculis "has signed his plea agreement." A change-of-plea hearing was scheduled Friday afternoon before Judge William T. Moore Jr. No details of the agreement were given in the court filings.
Paculis' defense attorney, Richard Darden, declined to comment Monday. James Durham, chief assistant prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Savannah, also would not discuss the deal.
Paculis of Newfield, N.Y., pleaded not guilty July 16 to two counts of using interstate communications to try to extort money from Deen. The FBI says he contacted one of Deen's lawyers by email a few days after Deen's culinary empire began to crumble when...
Prosecutors filed a notice in U.S. District Court in Savannah last Wednesday saying 62-year-old Thomas George Paculis "has signed his plea agreement." A change-of-plea hearing was scheduled Friday afternoon before Judge William T. Moore Jr. No details of the agreement were given in the court filings.
Paculis' defense attorney, Richard Darden, declined to comment Monday. James Durham, chief assistant prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Savannah, also would not discuss the deal.
Paculis of Newfield, N.Y., pleaded not guilty July 16 to two counts of using interstate communications to try to extort money from Deen. The FBI says he contacted one of Deen's lawyers by email a few days after Deen's culinary empire began to crumble when...
- 8/5/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.