Bishop Martin Sigillito wants a new trial

Last month, a federal jury convicted Martin Sigillito (a lawyer and American Anglican bishop) of running a $66 million Ponzi scheme.

Now, he feels he deserves a new trial. The reason: "sustained governmental misconduct."

In a motion filed Wednesday, Sigillito's attorney, Doug Roller, argued that federal prosecutors "improperly influenced the jury" by referring more than once to Bernie Madoff (a slimeball who needs no introduction). Roller also alleges that they intimidated an expert defense witness, and allowed victims to talk about the case outside of trial.

Read the filed motion after the jump.
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Bisop Sigillito

Martin Sigillito, the American Anglican Bishop and lawyer who was accused of being at the center of a massive real estate Ponzi scheme that fleeced the wealthy and the working class alike here in St. Louis, was found guilty this morning on 20 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. A sentencing date has not been set. 
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Liz Stajduhar-Perigen worked as secretary to Bishop Sigillito

​Martin Sigillito, a Clayton attorney and American Anglican bishop accused of running a $66 million Ponzi scheme, is now defending himself at his federal trial by blaming the secretary who blew the whistle on him.

(See our original feature that broke the story and follow-ups).

The secretary, Liz Stajduhar-Perigen, went to the FBI in May 2010 with documentary evidence of her employer's activities, now known in court filings as "the British Lending Program" that, over a decade, allegedly scammed 150 victims on multiple continents.

The former secretary's hands are not exactly clean, it appears: Right before Sigillito's trial, Stajduhar-Perigen pleaded guilty to tax offenses relating to $300,000 that she herself stole from Bishop Sigillito.
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Trial of Bishop Martin Sigillito Begins Today

​The criminal trial of Martin Sigillito begins today, and it's going to be a doozy -- the federal Eastern District of Missouri has set aside four full weeks for it.

Sigillito, an American Anglican bishop, stands accused of running a real-estate investment scam that fleeced wealthy Racquet Club members and regular Joes alike out of some $66 million. If true, that would be the biggest Ponzi scheme in local history, the feds say. 

(See our original feature that broke the story and our follow-ups).

A total of 83 witnesses (!!!) are reportedly on the list to testify, and the jury will be faced with so much financial documentary evidence that the government has had to produce "summaries."
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J. Scott Brown and Derek Smith admitted to joining in a huge Ponzi scheme worth $52 million.

​Bishop/attorney Martin Sigillito has chosen to continue fighting federal charges that he ran a $52 million Ponzi scheme -- perhaps the biggest in state history (see our feature here).

But now he stands alone.

Both of his co-defendants -- Kansas City-based lawyer J. Scott Brown and English real-estate developer Derek Smith -- originally pleaded "not guilty" to mail and wire fraud, but changed their pleas to guilty on Friday, according to court records.

Sentencing has been scheduled for April. The maximum punishment for each man would be five years in the pen and a quarter-million dollars in fines.

Sure is funny: In August 2010, when Daily RFT asked Brown in a phone interview about the allegations against him, he professed to be "shocked" at what victims were claiming.

He must've regained his memory!

Sigillito's jury trial is set to begin in March. For the Department of Justice's version of the crime, click here.
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Bishop/Attorney Marty Sigillito

​Updated 4:16 p.m. with press release outlining indictment.

We have all but official confirmation that Martin Sigillito -- the Clayton attorney and American Anglican bishop who already stands accused in civil court of running a $45 million ponzi scheme -- has finally been indicted by a federal grand jury.

Again: No official confirmation, but the word is that Sigillito turned himself in today and has already appeared before a federal judge. Stay tuned.
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The feds are comin' after Bishop Marty

​We get asked about this almost weekly since publishing the feature, White Collar Crime, last summer, so here goes: 

Federal authorities have NOT yet indicted Anglican American Bishop Marty Sigillito, who stands accused by dozens of folks for running a multi-million-dollar ponzi scheme.

But the FBI has indeed seized tons of his fancy stuff (country home in Marthasville, Persian rugs, rare books, etc.) And to justify that seizure -- which Sigillito's lawyers have called a "frightening" abuse of power -- the FBI filed a declaration last month that pretty darn well resembles an indictment.

This is the first time the feds have laid out what they think the Bishop has wrought, and it looks worse than RFT originally reported.
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Click here to read the filing!

​Clayton attorney and American Anglican bishop Marty Sigillito stands accused in civil court of running a $45 million Ponzi scheme. He's currently under federal investigation. See our feature, "White Collar Crime."

Bishop Marty Sigillito wants his stuff back.

The feds seized a whole slew of his assets over the past three months, convinced that he'd defrauded dozens of people in a giant scam. Now, Sigillito's attorneys, David Helfrey and Doug Roller, are slamming the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office for "aggressive and inappropriate use of federal search warrants and seizure warrants." And oh, that ain't all:

The lengths to which these officials have gone in their attempt to bring Mr. Sigillito to his knees prior to the initiation of any judicial proceedings are both mind-boggling and frightening....

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Sparks are flyin' in the civil case vs. Sigillito!

​Clayton attorney and American Anglican bishop Marty Sigillito stands accused of running a $45 million Ponzi scheme that fleeced both regular Joes and members of the St. Louis Racquet Club. He's currently under federal investigation. See last week's feature, "White Collar Crime."

Marty Sigillito is attempting to fight off his accusers in federal civil court, but he'll have to do it solo AND in front of a different judge.

Yesterday, the honorable Donald J. Stohr recused himself from hearing the matter any further, without giving specifics (Daily RFT suspects it had something to do with his colleague, judge Henry Autrey, whose clerk happens to be married to Sigillito.)

As for the bishop, he'll be going it alone henceforth because, according to a filing from his erstwhile attorneys, David Helfrey and Doug Roller:

Mr. Sigillito does not have sufficient funds to pay [us] for the work already done on his behalf nor for future representation.

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Super-fast hovercraft? This thing just keeps getting weirder...

​Clayton attorney and American Anglican bishop Marty Sigillito stands accused of running a $45 million Ponzi scheme that, allegedly, fleeced regular Joes and members of the St. Louis Racquet Club alike. He's currently under federal investigation. For more, see our cover story, "White Collar Crime," out on newsstands this week.

Our brethren over at The Pitch in Kansas City did some digging last week and here's what they discovered: It appears that Marty Sigillito and English real-estate developer Derek Smith are linked to a pair of Brits who ran an alleged scam involving giant super-fast hovercraft.

Check out The Pitch's blogpost here.