Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2005 | 9:12 a.m.
A local businessman who testified in the Ted Binion murder trial in 2000 is now facing legal woes of his own.
Larry Stockett, 59, faces federal wire and security fraud charges, among others, in a trial scheduled to begin today in U.S. District Court.
According to Stockett's indictment, he allegedly urged people to invest money and property in a company, Hightec, and its subsidiary, U.S. Cement, by exaggerating the companies' financial position. The scheme allegedly centered on convincing people to invest in a venture whereby Hightec, through U.S. Cement, would buy and import cement from China and Indonesia.
Two Canadians, Katherine Wiens and George Wiens, allegedly fell victim to Stockett's plan and loaned him $700,000 "based on false pretenses, promises and representations," the indictment says.
Stockett allegedly fled to St. Martin and then Costa Rica to avoid arrest, the indictment stated.
Stockett was in Costa Rica for about 18 months, but was extradited back to the United States in February, Todd Leventhal, his attorney, said.
Leventhal, professing his client's innocence, contends that Stockett himself was "the victim of an overall major fraud scheme that went on around him."
He claims that Stockett was living in Costa Rica to start a business selling pharmaceuticals online.
But a list of exhibits to be introduced against Stockett includes a document seized from his computer with the caption, "Things I could get in trouble for," according to court records.
Stockett gained prominence when he testified in the 2000 murder trial of millionaire Ted Binion, who died in 1998. The trial resulted in the murder conviction -- later overturned on appeal -- of Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and Rick Tabish.
During the 2000 trial, Stockett testified that he attempted to buy MRT Transport, a trucking company owned by Tabish, a few days before Binion died.
While Stockett was living in Costa Rica, the Binion case was retried. In November 2004, a jury found Murphy and Tabish innocent of killing Binion but guilty of burglary and conspiring to commit burglary.
Because he was in living in Central America during last year's retrial, Stockett's testimony was read into the record.
Stockett's current legal problems began in 2002, when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit against him in U.S. District Court, claiming that he violated securities laws by hyping Hightec's worth and viability in press releases.
The SEC complaint also alleges that Stockett lied about his work history, claiming on the "Raging Bull" Web site that, "I have conducted (sic) hundreds of millions in business and have over 2,000 magazine and newspaper articles written about my accomplishments."
Leventhal, however, said that his client was not responsible for sending out the allegedly incorrect press releases, adding that other company employees may have written and distributed inaccurate releases.
"Everything (Stockett) wrote in the press releases was true and correct," he said.
The Justice Department does not allow U.S. attorneys to discuss pending matters, said Natalie Collins, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office.
David Kihara can be reached at 259-2330 or at [email protected].
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