HealthSouth Ex-CEO Asks Court to Ease Travel Limits

Fired HealthSouth Corp. Chief Executive Richard Scrushy has asked a judge to ease travel restrictions on his $10-million bond, citing his wife’s pregnancy as a guarantee that he won’t flee.

In a letter made public by the court Tuesday, Scrushy attorney Abbe Lowell said Leslie Scrushy was expecting a child in early September, soon after Scrushy’s scheduled Aug. 23 trial date on an 85-count indictment accusing him of making millions from a scheme to overstate HealthSouth’s earnings.

Seventeen former HealthSouth executives have pleaded guilty to various charges. Scrushy has pleaded not guilty and intends to remain home to fight the charges, Lowell said.

“Mr. Scrushy is not going to abandon his wife and new baby, nor is he going to take the risk of trying to take them on what would be a terrible journey and life as a fugitive,” Lowell wrote the court March 23.

Lowell asked Magistrate Judge T. Michael Putnam to lift a provision restricting Scrushy from traveling to coastal Mobile and Baldwin counties without court permission.

The defense lawyer cited an example in another federal court district, where a judge let former WorldCom Inc. Chief Executive Bernard J. Ebbers travel throughout his home state of Mississippi while facing federal charges.

Scrushy has been “meticulous” in following the conditions of his bond and has gotten “even more involved in the community” by starting a television talk show while free on bond, Lowell told the judge.