Jury orders F. Lee Bailey to pay $5 million

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal jury found Thursday that disbarred attorney F. Lee Bailey took $2 million in fees that should have gone to the U.S. government, and he was ordered to return it and pay another $3 million in damages.

Bailey, who gained fame representing celebrity clients such as Patty Hearst and O.J. Simpson, said he was "quite disappointed" by the verdict and planned to challenge it.

Prosecutors sued Bailey in civil court after he and other lawyers took the fee after unsuccessfully representing television infomercial salesman William McCorkle and his wife on fraud charges in 1998.

The government argued that it should have the money -- which was in a Cayman Island fund that Bailey set up with McCorkle in 1997 -- because it came from a fraudulent business. Instead, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ralph Lee told jurors, "Mr. Bailey was grabbing the money as quickly as possible."

A federal judge determined in 2000 that the money belonged to the U.S. government. Jurors had to decide Thursday whether Bailey should return it and be forced to pay damages.

Bailey, who represented himself, told the jurors that a verdict against him could jeopardize the ability of other attorneys to represent criminals.

"The defense bar will cease to exist," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ralph Lee declined to comment after the verdict.

Bailey, 69, was disbarred in 2001 in Florida and the following year in Massachusetts for misusing millions of dollars worth of stock belonging to another client.