Records detail Higgins’ plea deal
State Supreme Court disciplinary board will decide status of his law license
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BEDFORD -- Court records reveal the former Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins signed a plea agreement and waiver set forth by the Office of Attorney General on April 4, the same day that he was arraigned and pleaded not guilty in front of Judge Kathy Calhoun.
But a plea agreement does not become official until a defendant pleads guilty publicly in court, according to Andrew Shubin, an attorney who had a leading role in the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case.
It wasn't until May 30 when Higgins publicly pleaded guilty to all 31 misdemeanor counts in front of Pres. Judge Thomas Ling, accepting a plea bargain which guaranteed no jail time and no filing of felony charges.
Higgins pleaded guilty to charges alleging he exchanged sexual favors for overly lenient sentences of female drug dealers and revealed the identities of undercover informants, among other accusations.
The county retirement board of trustees approved the withdrawal of county pension contributions and interest last week. Higgins has until June 19 to submit his plea to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court disciplinary board, who decides the status of his law license.
The agreement and waiver states the defendant, Higgins, acknowledges the Commonwealth could charge him with felony charges of bribery in official and political matters, solicitation to commit perjury and conspiracy to commit drug delivery.
The record also states Higgins must resign from his DA position within four hours of signing the agreement, waive his preliminary hearing and enter a guilty plea to misdemeanor charges of obstructing administration of law, hindering apprehension or prosecution, official oppression, intimidation of a witness and recklessly endangering another person.
"The Defendant and the Commonwealth have agreed to a non-custodial sentence to be set by the Court," the agreement states. "Sentencing in this matter shall be left to the discretion of the Court."
Higgins, his defense attorney Steven Passarello, Senior Deputy Attorney General Tomm Mutschler and Pennsylvania State Police Corporal James Aughinbaugh all signed the agreement April 4.
Shubin added the timeline of the plea agreement makes sense and gives the defendant an opportunity to keep all of his options open. He said criminal defense attorneys will always encourage their clients to plead not guilty due to this.
When pressed more about the plea agreement, Office of Attorney General Communications Director Joe Grace said the goal was to remove Higgins from office immediately so the "cloud" over the community could be lifted and integrity restored.
"The perpetrator has resigned his office, he is going to lose his pension, he's likely to lose his law license and he's pleaded guilty to multiple criminal counts in connection with this case," he said.
Grace added there had been rumors for years about Higgins, but that no one had enough evidence to bring charges forward until their office stepped in. He said Higgins received no special treatment in the case and is no longer "plaguing the community."
The plea agreement provides certainty, while trial presents risk and uncertainty, Grace said.
According to the record, Higgins also agreed to be sentenced within 90 days of his plea. Ling rescheduled the sentencing hearing Friday; it now will be held at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 17 in Courtroom 2.
The probation office will conduct a pre-sentencing investigation prior to the August hearing. Ling will decide whether to accept or reject the plea bargain then. If Ling rejects the plea bargain, the status of Higgins' case reverts back to not guilty, Shubin said.
"It could be that Mr. Higgins goes back to ground zero here if the judge rejects the plea," Shubin said. "The judge certainly would have a basis to reject the plea if you just refer to what he has said about the devastation to the community and to the system. He would be on very strong footing in rejecting the plea as too lenient, given the circumstances."
Ling said Higgins had "eroded" and done "tremendous harm" to the court system by abandoning his duties as an elected official during the May 30 arraignment.
While Judge Travis Livengood recused himself from the Higgins case April 9, Ling remained on the case, a scenario which Shubin described as "curious."
Some community members expressed frustration at the plea bargain's promise of no incarceration time.
"I think they are right in saying if this was an ordinary citizen, then this kind of case would've been treated much differently, much more severely," Shubin said. "The prosecution wouldn't have walked away from the felonies, and there would be a jail sentence, a significant one."
Although Higgins could avoid jail time, Shubin pointed out that the victims involved still could file a civil rights lawsuit against Higgins if they choose to come forward.
The civil rights attorney added it might be difficult for the prosecution, the Office of Attorney General, to support their charges against Higgins if their witnesses do not want to come forward publicly at trial.
"The prosecution may be faced with victims who are afraid or who are unwilling to place themselves in the public light in a trial context," Shubin said. "So ironically, it could be that the very reason that Higgins chose these women as his sexual harassment victims -- because of their vulnerabilities, their exposure to long jail sentences and the fact they have criminal histories -- that people might not believe them. The very reason he chose these victims may be the reason he winds up getting a plea deal that is a very favorable one."
Should Higgins retaliate against any witnesses, violate any requirements of the agreement, revoke his guilty plea or file motions or appeals, the Commonwealth's obligations under the agreement "are terminated."
Mirror Staff Writer Shen Wu Tan is at 946-7457.