By Rick Patrick Riverbend News
After numerous delays and continuances, the trial of former U.S. State Attorney Jeff Siegmeister is finally set to begin.
On Wednesday, Feb. 24, a 12-count, 33-page grand jury indictment was filed in the Middle District of Florida’s Jacksonville Division of the U.S. District Court. The indictment alleges that Siegmeister, along with co-defendant Michael O’Steen, a former Dixie County attorney, committed various crimes, ranging from bribery and wire fraud to filing false tax returns. Their trial was initially set to begin in June of this year, but was postponed to August. It was then postponed to September. On Wednesday, Aug. 11, O’Steen’s attorney filed a motion for another continuance. The court granted the continuance, citing additional time was needed due to COVID concerns and to prepare for trial. The court found that “the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendants in a speedy trial.”
According to the indictment, Siegmeister was the elected state attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida, which covers Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylor Counties. Siegmeister served in that capacity from January of 2013 until December of 2019, when he suddenly resigned, citing “personal matters.”
According to a report from WJXT, in Jacksonville, Fla., O’Steen appeared in federal court in Jacksonville and pleaded not guilty prior to his release on a $100,000 bond. Also mentioned in the indictment, former Madison County attorney Ernie Page, IV, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge last year. Page’s sentencing was also continued numerous times and is now scheduled to take place on Monday, Nov. 8, at 2:30 p.m. in Jacksonville’s Federal Courthouse.
Siegmeister was arrested in Flagstaff, Ariz., in March of this year after failing to appear for several court appointments. Siegmeister was ordered to be held without bond by an Arizona judge after being ruled a flight risk.
The trial is now set to begin on Monday, Nov. 1, at 9 a.m. The trial will take place in Jacksonville courtroom 10 B, in the Federal Courthouse. Judge Marcia Morales Howard will be presiding.
If convicted on all charges, Siegmeister could potentially face many years in prison. He could also face the forfeiture of significant amounts of property and money. This would include cash forfeiture of $727,995.71, in addition to 7,372 shares of Coca-Cola Company common stock and two parcels of land in Suwannee County.