The following day, at the federal courthouse in Hattiesburg, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District presided over a crowded press conference. Standing beside him was Keith Rudy, and behind them was a row of federal agents. He announced the arrests of Sheriff Albert “Fats” Bowman, three of his deputies, and four drug traffickers from a New Orleans syndicate. On display were one hundred and twenty pounds of cocaine with a street value of $30 million. He alleged that Sheriff Bowman’s cut was 10 percent.
U.S. Attorneys were notorious for hogging the spotlight, but he was quick to give credit to Keith Rudy and his team from Biloxi. Without Mr. Rudy, the bust would not have been successful. Keith spoke and returned the thanks, and said that the work his father began in 1971 had come to fruition. He promised more indictments in state court for the elected officials and criminals who had run roughshod over the law for so long.
The story was huge and had legs, and for days the Gulf Coast Register and other newspapers in the state ran follow-ups. Keith’s handsome face was splashed on front pages from Mobile to Jackson to New Orleans.
At Parchman, Lance Malco cursed the news and faced the reality that he would not be getting out of prison anytime soon. Hugh eventually heard the news but had other concerns. His appeals in state court had been turned down and he faced years of habeas corpus appeals in federal court.
After six months in a county jail, Fats Bowman pled guilty to drug trafficking in federal court and was sent away for twenty years. Before leaving jail, though, he was given a weekend pass to go home and say goodbye to his family. Instead, he drove to his hunting cabin in Stone County, went to the lake, walked to the end of the pier, pulled out a .357 Magnum, and blew his brains out.
Haley Stofer was paroled and ran for his life. The state police coordinated a witness protection program with federal agents and sent him away, with a new name, to live peacefully in Northern California.
Chapter 53
With Lance and Hugh Malco tucked away, and Fats Bowman dead by his own hand, and life relatively quiet on the Strip, Keith became bored with his role as the chief prosecutor on the Coast. The job was his for the foreseeable future, but he wanted a promotion, and a big one. Since having lunch with Governor Bill Waller as a young lawyer, he had dreamed of seeking statewide office, and an opportunity was brewing.
Late in 1982, he drove to Jackson and had lunch with Bill Allain, the current Attorney General, hoping to discuss the future. Allain was rumored to be preparing for a run for the governor’s office and Keith pressed him on it. Allain, ever the politician, would not commit, but Keith left the lunch convinced the AG’s race would soon be wide open. He was only thirty-four and felt too young for such an important office, but he had learned that in politics timing was everything. Mississippi had a tradition of reelecting its attorneys general until they died in office, and if the position was about to be vacant, it was time to make his move.
The AG’s job would certainly be more challenging than that of a local DA, but Keith knew he could handle it. He would have an entire office of dozens of lawyers representing the state’s legal business, civil and criminal, and there would be new challenges every day. It was also a high-profile office, one that could lead to an even higher one.
The only aspect of the job that Keith would not discuss with anyone was the specifics of its Criminal Appeals Division. As the boss, he would have ultimate control over all death penalty appeals. Specifically, those of Hugh Malco.
Keith dreamed of witnessing the execution of the man who killed his father. As the attorney general, he could almost guarantee that day would come sooner rather than later.
The appeals were mired in the usual, interminable delays of post-conviction strategies. But the clock was ticking, if ever so slowly. Malco’s appellate lawyers had so far impressed no one with the merits of his defense. There was little to argue. The trial had been free of serious errors. The defendant had been found guilty because he was in fact guilty.
* * *
In January of 1983, Lance Malco filed an application for parole. He had served eight years of his sentence for prostitution, had been a model prisoner, and was eligible for parole.