Abortionist Guilty of Extortion

Abortionist Guilty of Extortion

NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, Feb. 2, 2001

OCALA, Fla. (UPI) – A doctor who once bragged of committing more abortions than anyone else in the nation was convicted in federal court Thursday of attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and mail fraud for trying to obtain up to $100 million from the Marion County government.

Dr. James Pendergraft was found guilty on all three counts, while his real estate adviser, Michael Spielvogel of Orlando, was convicted on the same charges and for making false statements and lying to the FBI.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated eight hours before reaching the verdict at the end of the three-week trial. Neither defendant showed any emotion when the verdicts were read.

Although jurors were reluctant to comment, one woman on the panel said they had had a hard time reaching their decision.

During the trial, Spielvogel testified that he had told Pendergraft there had been threats of violence against the abortuary, when there were none, and that he lied to the FBI about it. No evidence of such threats was found.

Pendergraft's attorney, Jacob Rose, attributed the convictions to prosecutorial misconduct.

He said, "At the time Dr. Pendergraft was engaging in conversation about money, he was told that there were threats being made. He believed there were threats being made that would endanger the life of his patients, and it would have been irresponsible of Dr. Pendergraft not to at least pursue and see if that was a possibility."

There was heavy opposition when Pendergraft announced his intention to open an abortuary in a building he bought in 1998. Marion County Commissioner Larry Cretul, who was a key witness, negotiated with Pendergraft to try to keep him from opening the facility.

During the investigation, the government used a wiretap to record phone calls between the men. Pendergraft told Cretul he would not open an abortion "clinic" in the county if he were paid amounts ranging between $100,000 and $100 million. He claimed in his testimony this was reasonable and was not extortion because of his investment in the building and the loss of income he would experience by not opening the abortuary.

An FBI videotape of a meeting between Pendergraft and an attorney for the county was a key piece of evidence, and the jury reviewed it during its deliberations. On the tape, Pendergraft said he would bankrupt the county if necessary and then put up a statue of himself in the town square.

Anti-abortion activists have picketed the abortuary since before it opened. Pendergraft was not allowed to hire off-duty police officers as security guards and has sued the county and the city of Ocala over this. Abortion supporters claim the federal case is in retaliation for these suits.

Pendergraft owns four other central Florida abortuaries.

Pendergraft faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and fines of $750,000, while Spielvogel could get up to 40 years in prison. They will be sentenced later. Both men said they would appeal. Pendergraft said he would keep his five "clinics" open even if he goes to prison.

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