is this from this guy? if so I call bull**** on this story....
DEVON RAVINE | Northwest Florida Daily News
Charles "Scott" McKinney listens to Circuit Court Judge Thomas Remington during his sentencing hearing Tuesday. McKinney was sentenced to five years in state prison for defrauding radio show investors.
5-year sentence for talk-show host
Comments 41 | Recommend 8
The local sports talk-show host bilked investors with plans to syndicate 'Southern Sports Tonight''
February 24, 2009 - 12:01 PM
Tom McLaughlin
Daily News
SHALIMAR - Local sports talk-show host Charles "Scott" McKinney was escorted from a courtroom in handcuffs Tuesday after he was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding radio show investors.
Okaloosa County Circuit Judge Thomas Remington was not moved by the "voluminous letters" he said he'd received from McKinney's supporters. He gave McKinney the stiffest penalty possible under a plea agreement reached Jan. 2.
McKinney was charged with 11 counts of fraud and grand theft. Under terms of the plea, he could receive no less than a year in prison and no more than five years.
In addition to the sentence, Remington also ordered McKinney to serve 50 years' probation following his prison term and to pay restitution of $188,508.
McKinney was a sports analyst and talk show host for Star Broadcasting, which broadcasts locally on 98.1 F.M. The Ticket.
He could be heard from 6 to 9 a.m. most weekday mornings as co-host of "The Morning Wrap." He also hosted "Southern Sports Tonight" on the same station. That show ran weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m.
Ron Hale, owner of Star Broadcasting, declined comment Tuesday. It was unclear what changes would be made to broadcast schedules with McKinney gone.
McKinney was arrested in March after six men who had invested in his "Southern Sports Tonight" show claimed he stole nearly $140,000 from them. Authorities said he sold shares in Southern Sports Tonight LLC to investors by claiming he was about to send his show into national syndication.
The shares he sold - some of them for 49 percent ownership each - far exceeded 100 percent stock in the company.
McKinney originally was charged with 16 offenses, but by Tuesday's sentencing that number had been cut to 11. The charges brought included felony investment fraud and grand theft.
Prosecutor Russ Edgar told the court McKinney deserved to serve five years. He said this wasn't the first time investors who involved themselves with him had cried foul after losing money. Edgar cited cases in Mississippi as examples.
"He says he's sorry, but how sorry can he be? He's done it before," Edgar said.
Edgar also produced records he claimed indicated that McKinney spent much of the money he obtained on gambling and an extravagant lifestyle.
The people who spoke on McKinney's behalf said he was a good man who made some bad business decisions. A couple of character witnesses brought up his staying on air for 48 hours after Hurricane Ivan as an example of his devotion to the area.
"We're lucky to have a man of Scott's caliber in this community," said Ed Lowe, owner of Crestview Paint and Body, a frequent sponsor of McKinney's talk show.
McKinney's attorney, public defender Tom Murphy, asked that McKinney receive a suspended sentence and time to pay off the investors.
"He wants to make these victims whole," Murphy said. "Allow him to pay restitution and re-establish his standing in the community."
McKinney's uncle, Birmingham, Ala., attorney Charles Sparks, said of his nephew "he has a servant's heart."
"My dad used to say he never met a stranger," Sparks said.
However, Sparks testified that McKinney was not a good businessman.
"If I thought my nephew had set out to defraud anyone, I would not be here today," he said.
None of McKinney's victims were present at the hearing to hear his apology to them. He also apologized to the people who "listen to me on a daily basis.
"I've let them down," he said.
Contacted after the hearing, victim Brian Campbell said he was "really pleased" with McKinney's sentence.
"I think this is the best thing for everyone, including Scott," he said. "I think Scott needs some time to think long and hard about how he wants to live his life when he comes back out."
