Lawyer Whose Plane Crashed in Sea Pleads Guilty to 5 Felonies

Lawyer Thomas Root, who was plucked from the Atlantic Ocean last year after a mysterious six-hour solo flight during which he was shot, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to five felony charges of misrepresenting clients.

Root faces up to 35 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.

The federal charges involve five clients who had been seeking broadcast licenses from the Federal Communications Commission. A federal grand jury returned a 33-count indictment against Root in March, but the other 28 charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement in which he pledged to cooperate in related investigations.

He was released on his own recognizance. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 6.

The plea bargain was announced one day after Root was named, along with three other people and two companies, in a 2,695-count indictment filed in Nash County, N.C. He was charged there with 455 counts of state securities fraud and conspiracy.

Root, 37, refused to comment after entering his plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court. His attorney, Eugene Propper, said that Root “feels he’s getting a lot more attention” than he otherwise would because of the July 13 flight.

Root told authorities that he blacked out during the flight and that the plane continued on autopilot. But Navy fighter pilots who intercepted the flight said they saw Root moving in the cockpit.

The Cessna 210 crashed in the Atlantic off the Bahamas. When Root was rescued, he had a gunshot wound in his stomach. The wound has not been explained.

Root, who in October filed for bankruptcy, has denied that the flight was connected to financial or legal troubles.