FollowUp: Friable Case in Vermont?

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A man who sold investors on a plan to reactivate a Vermont marble quarry – and ended up in federal custody on fraud charges – is now the subject of a court battle that appeared all but settled in late spring.
The Burlington Free Press reported in May that John Byors would plead guilty in U.S. District Court to one count each of mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering in connection with a failed attempt to reopen a red-marble quarry in Swanton, Vt., that ended with his arrest in December 2005.
Byors solicited at least 78 people to rehabilitate and operate the Swanton quarry, but reportedly only repaid 16 of them, according to court documents supporting the indictment. The rest allegedly lost $20,000 to $823,000 each, as papers filed in the case indicated he spent the money on cars, horses and home renovations.
The Free Press also reported in May that federal prosecutors would’ve dismissed 54 other charges against Byors and sought jail time far short of the possible 60 years for all charges. He could’ve received as much as 87 months, less the 15 months he’d served through May while awaiting trial. The plea also required Byors to pay $8,354,424 in restitution to 62 investors.
However, the deal collapsed when Byors unexpectedly withdrew his plea. Defense lawyers then asked a federal district judge in Burlington to dismiss 34 counts of money laundering and bank fraud, according to the Free Press, and also noted that they may ask for the entire indictment to be dropped.
The lawyers also sought a change of venue, noting that Byors, “has been deprived of the presumption of innocence based on media accounts of his scheduled, and aborted, change of plea.”
Federal prosecutors parried with a move to seek a grand-jury indictment to add charges and cure any defects in the goverment’s case against Byors.
Byors had been released on bail following his arrest in late 2005, but was jailed when prosecutors learned he’d approached a quarry investor and solicited a $50,000 loan. Court documents indicate that sum went instead to personal expenses.