Judge refuses delay in fen-phen retrial

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A federal judge has denied a request to put off the retrial of two attorneys accused of plotting to defraud clients in Kentucky's fen-phen diet-drug case.

U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves said delaying the trial until April would be unacceptable and told a magistrate judge the trial date must be set within 70 days of Sept. 11 -- the date defendants William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham are scheduled to make their first court appearance on eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud numerous clients -- the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reported Friday.

The two are accused of plotting to defraud 440 clients out of $94.6 million awarded to them in a settlement with the maker of fen-phen, which was pulled from the market after it was found to cause heart valve damage.

"Both the United States and the public are entitled to resolution of this matter as directed by the Speedy Trial Act," Reeves said in his order.

A jury was unable to reach verdicts for Gallion and Cunningham in July after an eight-week trial. A third defendant, Melbourne Mills Jr., was acquitted in the trial.