The trial of Richard Scrushy, took an almost comical turn yesterday. Defence lawyer, Jim Parkman tried to physically distance his client from the alleged $2.7bn fraud. By being on a different floor.

During questioning of FBI agent, Gerry Kelly, Parkman went through a list of HealthSouth executives and asked if they had offices on the fifth floor.

All eleven are implicated in the scheme, to overstate earnings. As Kelly put it "they were the mechanics". Thousands of fraudulent transactions had been entered into the accounts by the eleven employees.

Kelly answered in each case that either the offices were not on the same floor or he did not know.

To counter the tactic, the prosecution, recalled that all five former Chief Financial Officers had their officers on the fifth floor. The former CFOs are the governments prime witnesses.

Scrushy is the first CEO to be prosecuted under the Sarbanes-Oxlye Act. Conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice, are the other charges he faces.

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