Jonathan Earl Woods, known as Jon Woods (born August 23, 1977, in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
), is a Republican former member of both houses of the
Arkansas General Assembly
The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 ...
, a
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, and a
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
. He is now in federal prison for political corruption, wire and mail fraud, and money laundering.
Woods served in the
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...
from 2007 to 2013 and in the
Arkansas Senate
The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...
from 2013 to 2017. During his legislative career, he sponsored 103 bills that became law, pushed for the establishment of nearly a dozen task forces and commissions, and passed four constitutional amendments.
On March 1, 2017, Woods was found guilty of fifteen federal counts for his collusion in a
kickback scheme involving Oren Paris, III, the president of
Ecclesia College in
Springdale, Arkansas
Springdale is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, fourth-largest city in Arkansas, United States. It is located in both Washington County, Arkansas, Washington and Benton County, Arkansas, Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on th ...
, where Woods resides. Others indicted were Randell Shelton, Jr., of
Alma
Alma or ALMA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film
* ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922
* ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017
* ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
in
Crawford County, Arkansas
Crawford County is a County (United States), county located in the Ozarks region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 61,948, making it the 12th-most populous of Arkansas's 75 counti ...
, and
Micah Neal
Micah Scott Neal (born November 8, 1974) is a businessman and politician. Neal represented part of Springdale in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2013 until 2017. From 2003 to 2011, he was a justice of the peace on the Washington County, ...
, a former
state representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
who pleaded guilty to one act of
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
to commit honest services fraud. The trial has been controversial due in part to the actions of the lead FBI agent, Robert Cessario, who pleaded guilty on August 18, 2022, to destroying exculpatory evidence.
He is the bass guitarist for the rock band,
A Good Fight.
Background
In 1979, Woods and his family relocated from
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
to
Blytheville in
Mississippi County in eastern Arkansas. He attended
Gosnell public schools through the ninth grade, where he played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and ran
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
. He began his involvement in local and state government through the mentorship of Arkansas State Representative Ann Bush, a fellow Republican. Ann and her husband, Allen, part owners of
Bush's Baked Beans
Bush Brothers and Company is a family-owned corporation best known for its Bush's Best brand canned baked beans. The company produces approximately 80 percent of the canned baked beans consumed in the United States, representing estimated annual s ...
, recruited Woods to join the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...
, in which he earned the rank of
Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...
.
Having grown up in the
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...
, Jon was heavily influenced by the music scene in nearby
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
.
In 1993, at the end of Jon's freshman year of high school, his father was offered a job with Allen Canning located in
Siloam Springs
Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded i ...
in
Benton County, Arkansas
Benton County is a county within the Northwest Arkansas region with a culture, economy, and history that have transitioned from rural and agricultural to suburban and white collar since the growth of Walmart, which is headquartered in Benton C ...
. After relocating to
Siloam Springs
Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded i ...
, Woods attended the
John Brown University
John Brown University (JBU) is a Private university, private, interdenominational, Christianity, Christian university in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Founded in 1919, JBU enrolls 2,343 students from 33 states and 45 countries in its traditional und ...
basketball camp during the summer before his sophomore year at which he met John W. Brown, who became a Special Operative
Pararescueman
Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These spec ...
and was killed in action the
2011 Chinook shootdown in Afghanistan.
During Woods' junior year at
Siloam Springs High School
Siloam Springs High School is a comprehensive public high school for grades nine through twelve serving the community of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, United States. Located in the foothill of the Ozark Mountains and within the Fayetteville–Springd ...
, he attended
Arkansas Boys State. While in high school, Jon played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, but chose
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
rather than
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
. Several of the high school soccer team players were
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
s, who inspired Woods to pick up the
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
more seriously. He also took private vocal lessons at
John Brown University
John Brown University (JBU) is a Private university, private, interdenominational, Christianity, Christian university in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Founded in 1919, JBU enrolls 2,343 students from 33 states and 45 countries in its traditional und ...
. During this time, fellow basketball and soccer player, musician, and close friend Tim Berry died in a car accident at the age of sixteen. Years later, Tim would be the inspiration for the band name,
A Good Fight, named for the verse in
II Timothy 4:7. During his high school and college years, Woods lifeguarded at the
Siloam Springs
Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded i ...
municipal pool and Dawn Hill Country Club, where he also taught private swimming lessons. Upon graduation in 1996, Woods attended
Northwest Arkansas Community College
NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) is a public community college with its main campus in Bentonville, Arkansas. Total enrollment for the fall semester of 2018 was 8,308.
History
NWACC was founded by voters in the Bentonville and Roge ...
in Bentonville. He obtained two degrees, an
Associate of Arts
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
and an
Associate of Science in Business.
He continued his education at the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
in
Fayetteville, and served in the Associated Student Government Senate. He was elected chairman of the
College Republicans
College Republicans are college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States. Many members belong to the organization College Republican National Committee (CRNC), College Republicans United (CRU), or various in ...
and stayed involved with the Republican committees of Benton and Washington counties. He was a member of the
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...
fraternity, Alpha Zeta chapter and was a member of the
intramural
Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...
soccer team for the
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
. While at the University, Jon completed an internship at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, at which he helped small businesses develop through market research and business development. During this time, his non-college activities included taking private
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
and
bass lessons. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
Business Administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
with a focus on Marketing Management from the
Sam Walton College of Business at UA-Fayetteville in 2002.
After graduation, Woods took a job in commercial
bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
ing in Benton and Washington counties. He co-founded the pop rock band
A Good Fight, in 2004, and in 2006, at the age of twenty-nine, was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives and was sworn in on January 8, 2007 as the youngest member of the Arkansas 86th General Assembly.
Music background
Growing up in the
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...
, Woods and his brother, Dustin, were heavily influenced by the
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
Music Scene and events held on
Mud Island
Mud Island is a small peninsula located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River and Harbor Town to the east. Mud Island River Park is located within the Memphis city limits, 1.2 miles fr ...
during the 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1993, after the family relocated from the
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
to
Siloam Springs
Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded i ...
, Dustin Woods began to practice the
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
and was named most talented his senior year, 1997, at
Siloam Springs High School
Siloam Springs High School is a comprehensive public high school for grades nine through twelve serving the community of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, United States. Located in the foothill of the Ozark Mountains and within the Fayetteville–Springd ...
. Dustin Woods had two bands in high school, and both performed in talent shows in his junior and senior years. Because of Jon Woods' interest in
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and
sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
s, he was not as devoted to
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
as his brother during his high school years.
In 2004, Jon and Dustin Woods and Sean Marriott formed
A Good Fight. After a two-year period with thirty auditions, the Woods' and Merriott agreed to select Eddie Love as lead vocalist in 2006. The band released two albums, ''The City Could Be Ours By Morning'' in 2008 and self-titled album ''A Good Fight'' in 2010. Both albums had songs featured on several reality shows on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
and
Sony PlayStation's ''
MLB 13: The Show''. In a short period of time the band performed at several large venues such as the
SXSW Music Festival
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.
While in the legislature in 2009, Woods supported HB1837, Act 497, by J. R. Rogers of
Walnut Ridge. This Act designated a portion of Highway 67 in Northeastern Arkansas to be called "Rock 'N' Roll Highway". Some of the legendary musicians who regularly traveled on this stretch of highway during the 1950s and 1960s included
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
,
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...
,
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
,
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...
,
Conway Twitty
Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...
,
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
, and
Sonny Burgess
Albert Austin "Sonny" Burgess (May 28, 1929 – August 18, 2017) was an American rockabilly guitarist and singer.
Biography
Burgess was born on a farm near Newport, Arkansas to Albert and Esta Burgess. He graduated from Newport High School in ...
. The goal of this legislation was to honor Arkansas' Rock 'N' Roll heritage, and to boost tourism and economic development for the region. Woods also advocated, although unsuccessfully, for moving the
Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame from the
Pine Bluff Convention Center
The Pine Bluff Convention Center is a convention center located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas at One Convention Center Plaza.
Available Facilities
Arena
*An 8,500-seat multi-purpose arena featuring of space and a ceiling height. The arena hosts loca ...
to the River Market District in
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
so that the hall of fame would gain more exposure. The hall of fame houses personal possessions and items of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
musicians and celebrities.
In 2011, Woods produced The Plaid Jackets first album ''The New Adventures of the Plaid Jackets'' Vol 1, which featured the international hit "
Adam West is
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
". This song is featured on the documentary, ''Starring Adam West''.
Political career
Restricted by term limits that then allowed only three terms in the state House of Representatives, Woods decided to run for the
Arkansas State Senate
The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...
for District 7, which includes most of
Springdale,
Tontitown,
Goshen,
Elkins,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
and parts of
Fayetteville and all of eastern
Washington County. In 2012, Woods was elected to the Arkansas State Senate. In 2015, Woods received an award from the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
for performing life saving
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
on a visitor to the
Arkansas State Capitol
The Arkansas State Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the Arkansas General Assembly, and the seat of the Arkansas state government that sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the Capitol Mall in Little Rock, Arkan ...
.
Arkansas House of Representatives 2007-2013
2007-2009 86th General Assembly
During his first term he showed his ability to bring people of differing points of view together by making Arkansas' first Umbilical Cord Blood Bank a reality. This institution harvests primitive stem cells from umbilical cords, helping advance
stem cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
research without abandoning his pro-life convictions. Along with Senator
Johnny Key, Woods was awarded the ''Invest in Life''
award for his work on the project.
2009-2011 87th General Assembly
In his second term during the
87th General Assembly in 2009, he became the chair of the technology committee, an unheard of feat for a second term member from the minority party. He sponsored legislation that helped amend the Arkansas State Constitution granting the citizens of Arkansas the right to hunt, fish, trap, and harvest wildlife. It was referred to the voters in 2010 where it passed with 612,495 votes or 82.78% of the vote with 127,444 or 17.22% voting against.
2011-2013 88th General Assembly
In his third and final term in the Arkansas House of Representatives in the
88th General Assembly in 2011, Woods took on sex offenders, increasing the penalties for sex crimes and expanding notification to the public about sex offenders living in their neighborhoods. He also sponsored legislation to create the Office of Health Information Technology to implement electronic health records in Arkansas and co-sponsored legislation to create a
state sales tax
Sales taxes in the United States are taxes placed on the sale or lease of goods and services in the United States. Sales tax is governed at the state level and no national general sales tax exists. 45 states, the District of Columbia, the t ...
holiday weekend for families to buy school supplies.
Arkansas State Senate 2013-2017
2013-2015 89th General Assembly
Woods served on the Senate Insurance and Commerce, Joint Performance Review, Public Retirement & Social Security Programs, and Judiciary committees as well as the Arkansas Legislative Council. Woods sponsored Carter's Law in 2013, creating a comprehensive program of education regarding shaken baby syndrome.
2015-2017 90th General Assembly
In the 90th General Assembly Woods earned the highest civilian recognition from the Arkansas National Guard, and referred his third and fourth ballot measures to the voters.
Political Investigations
Dismissed complaint
In March 2016, Jeff Oland of
Farmington, Arkansas
Farmington is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is nestled in a valley among the Boston Mountains, a subset of the Ozark Mountains. Although the first settlers came from the Deep South in 1828, the community did ...
filed a complaint with the Arkansas Ethics Commission against then State Senator Jon Woods. Oland accused then State Senator Jon Woods of coordinating mailers from his previous 2012-election campaign with a conservative organization called Conservative Arkansas PAC. Oland's complaint triggered an investigation by the Arkansas Ethics Commission. After more than a dozen interviews and reviewing all the evidence, the Ethics Commission determined that there had been no violations and no laws broken. In May 2016, the Ethics Commission voted 3-0 to dismiss Mr. Oland's complaint against Woods.
Wire fraud, honest services fraud, money laundering
On March 1, 2017, Woods was indicted for his alleged collusion in a kickback scheme involving Oren Paris, III, president of
Ecclesia College (a
Christian college
A Christian college is an educational institution or part of an educational institute dedicated to the integration of Christian faith and learning in traditional academic fields.
Christian colleges in the United States
Many Christian college ...
), and Randell Shelton, Jr. Woods' attorney, Patrick Benca, has denied the allegations.
The trial date has been delayed several times and was most recently delayed due to the destruction of evidence by FBI agent Robert Cessario. According to his own court testimony, Cessario wiped his undercover computer clean on three separate occasions since the investigation began. He had it wiped once professionally, then wiped it at least twice more himself. In December, 2017 he was removed from the case and is under investigation by the
Office of Inspector General
In the United States, Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a generic term for the oversight division of a federal or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations within their parent agency. Such offices are attached to ma ...
, according to court documents, and may be facing criminal prosecution.
FBI computer wipe
Two days of pretrial hearings, January 25 and 26, 2018, laid out in detail the circumstances under which the FBI (Cessario's) computer was used to collect copies of the audio files recorded covertly by former State Representative
Micah Neal
Micah Scott Neal (born November 8, 1974) is a businessman and politician. Neal represented part of Springdale in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2013 until 2017. From 2003 to 2011, he was a justice of the peace on the Washington County, ...
. Mr. Neal has denied that the government asked him to conduct the undercover audio recordings and testified that the "pen" used as the recording device was his idea. However, the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agent improperly wiped his laptop sometime in early 2017, December 4, 2017 and then wiped it again December 7, 2017. The erasing of the files cast doubt on whether a true copy of all the files was ever provided to the defense or if the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
had in fact requested
Micah Neal
Micah Scott Neal (born November 8, 1974) is a businessman and politician. Neal represented part of Springdale in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2013 until 2017. From 2003 to 2011, he was a justice of the peace on the Washington County, ...
conduct the recordings. Thirty nine audio recordings were provided to the defense in April, 2017. Gaps in the timeline of the recordings were discovered by the defense, which led them to request that the U.S. Attorney turn over ALL of the audio recordings. This request resulted in the U.S. Attorney finding an additional 79 audio recordings in November 2017. These audios contained recordings of many different people. The words Mr.
Neal
Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hono ...
himself used in these recordings is possibly evidence that he was actually doing the recordings on behalf of the government. Upon cross examination of why
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agent Robert Cessario wiped his laptop, the agent said it was because the government owned laptop contained his personal medical records and he didn't want those to become public. Defense attorney Patrick Benca pointed out that Robert Cessario plans a medical malpractice suit that will make his medical issues public record anyway and the excuse of wiping the laptop to prevent medical records from being made public doesn't pass the smell test.
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agent Robert Cessario acknowledged that he does plan on suing his doctor, but said any lawsuit he files is unlikely to get the attention the Woods case has received.
"Do you think what you did was proper?" asked Chad Atwell, attorney for one of Woods' co-defendants. "No. I should not have done that," Cessario replied.
On August 17, 2022, Robert Cessario pleaded guilty to corrupt destruction of record in an official proceeding.
Micah Neal law firm computer crash
U.S. District Judge
Timothy Brooks wondered aloud from the bench Friday, January 26, 2018, why attorneys in the case did not get pristine copies from the computer in the law office of Neal's attorney, Shane Wilkinson of
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adja ...
.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser then told
Judge Brooks that late Thursday, January 25, 2018, the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
sent a computer forensics examiner to Shane Wilkinson's office to make copies of specific files. Mr. Elser then submitted a flash drive to the court which he said contained those specific files. However, upon cross-examination (by the defense) of the expert who collected the copies, it was only then revealed that the files were not taken from the law firm's original hard drive that had stored the audio directly from
Neal
Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hono ...
. The expert had been informed by Mr. Wilkinson's paralegal, Karri Layton, that the hard drive crashed on December 27, 2017, and the whole computer had been replaced, which gives the appearance of a coverup between
Micah Neal's attorney Shane Wilkinson and the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and the
Department of Justice.
Defense Attorney Chad Atwell of
Fayetteville conducted the cross-examination of
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
computer forensics examiner, Rebecca Passmore. It was during this lengthy cross examination that Ms. Passmore revealed the Dec. 27 crash and that the original hard drive was nowhere to be found. "I am at a loss for words," Atwell said, when asked for comment after the hearing. "Our pristine copy just went up in smoke," said defense attorney Shelly Koehler of
Fayetteville.
It was ordered by the court that an investigation be conducted on Feb. 7, 2018, with the help of
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
computer forensics expert, Amy Corrigan, to search for the original hard drive to Wilkinson's law office computer. It was later revealed that attorney Shane Wilkinson had his hard drive replaced at Megabyte in
Bentonville,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
and that Megabyte had backed up his hard drive. Once the backup was reviewed an additional audio was recovered that the
DOJ and defense had never heard. In all, 39 audios were given to the defense in April 2017, 79 additional audios in November 2017, and one audio was discovered in February 2018 for a total of 119 audio files (140 hours) which were covertly recorded by
Micah Neal
Micah Scott Neal (born November 8, 1974) is a businessman and politician. Neal represented part of Springdale in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2013 until 2017. From 2003 to 2011, he was a justice of the peace on the Washington County, ...
.
Conviction
Woods of
Springdale,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, was accused of soliciting and accepting kickbacks for the distribution of government funds. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, twelve counts of wire fraud, and money laundering. Woods was sentenced by
Judge Timothy Brooks to 220 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.6 million in restitution on September 6, 2018. Brooks ordered Woods to serve less than the Federal sentencing guidelines, which called for a term between 324–405 months.
Appeal to the Eighth Circuit
Following conviction, Woods stated his intent to appeal his conviction to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
* Eastern District of Arkansas
* Western Dis ...
.
Woods appealed his trial to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, arguing that the district court erred in denying Woods' motion to dismiss based on the destruction of data by the FBI. On October 16, 2020, the Circuit Court affirmed the district court's conviction, finding that the destroyed evidence lacked exculpatory value and that the information was available by other means.
In April 2022, Woods filed a new appeal to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
* Eastern District of Arkansas
* Western Dis ...
. It was unanimously rejected on August 31, 2022; the panel held that “the purportedly newly discovered evidence buttressed rather than rebutted the case against Woods and was immaterial or previously available”.
Election history
References
External links
Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Jon
1977 births
Living people
21st-century American criminals
21st-century American politicians
American bankers
American fraudsters
American money launderers
Arkansas politicians convicted of crimes
American rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
Republican Party Arkansas state senators
Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina
Northwest Arkansas Community College alumni
People from Blytheville, Arkansas
People from Siloam Springs, Arkansas
People from Springdale, Arkansas
Arkansas politicians convicted of corruption
Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina
Siloam Springs High School alumni
University of Arkansas alumni
21st-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American male musicians