FEDERAL PRISONER INDICTED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that SCOTT L. RENDELMAN, age 54, an inmate confined in the United States Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois, was indicted on August 4, 2009, by the Grand Jury in US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Benton Division, for Criminal Contempt of Court resulting from his refusal to comply with a grand jury subpoena.

The charge alleges that RENDELMAN was ordered by a federal judge to comply with a federal grand jury subpoena requiring RENDELMAN to provide a sample of his handwriting for forensic evaluation. The indictment alleges that RENDELMAN refused to obey that court order, thereby placing himself in contempt of court.

Criminal Contempt of Court is an offense that is punishable by fine, or imprisonment, or both, at the discretion of the District Court.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant and is not evidence of guilt. Under the law, that charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trail at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.