Former NASCAR team owner acquitted on federal bribery charges

Former NASCAR team owner James Finch was acquitted by a jury on federal bribery charges on Thursday in Lynn Haven, Florida.

Federal prosecutors claimed that payments from Finch totaling $45,000 to then-city commissioner Antonius Barnes was a bribe to receive his vote on Phoenix Construction projects in Lynn Haven. Finch and Barnes say it was a business loan between friends and that Finch never needed the vote for any project.

Finch has operated Phoenix Construction since 1980 and operated a NASCAR team from 1989 to 2013.

During the trial, the defense called two witnesses and both testified that Phoenix Construction had numerous contracts with federal and local government agencies outside of Lynn Haven and that those deals represented a majority of company business.

In other words, Phoenix was not dependent on Lynn Haven business to generate revenue to the point of needing to buy a vote from a councilman.

Phoenix Construction Vice President Ted Schope testified that Finch has supported Lynn Haven in the form of loans for large construction projects and agreeing to be paid back at 2.5 interest over 30 years – that Finch was a steward for the town in which his business resides.

Schope also testified that in 20 years of bringing issues before the Lynn Haven City Commission, Finch had won unanimously on every vote. That proved, according to the defense, that Finch never needed to bribe Barnes.   

In cross-examination, prosecutors suggested that Finch won every vote because other construction contractors avoided Lynn Haven. They argued that contractors treated Lynn Haven like Finch’s turf. Schope responded that Phoenix did jobs at a much lower rate and argued that Finch has a deep connection to Lynn Haven with the company sitting just a few doors down from where he was born.

Ultimately, Finch was acquitted because Barnes was never called to testify by either the defense or prosecution.

Barnes had taken a plea deal and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors but refused to testify in a March trial that Finch had bribed him, resulting in a hung jury, maintaining that the money from Finch was a business loan from an old friend.  

Prosecutors did not call Barnes this week and the defense argued to the jury that they should consider why that might be. The jury asked judge Mark Walker why Barnes was not called and they were told they should only consider the evidence presented to them at the trial.

The jury responded with a not-guilty verdict.

Finch was the only subject involved to not take a plea deal. Eight others, including the former mayor, city manager, and city attorney, accepted plea deals from federal prosecutors.

James Finch celebrates, says he never accepted a plea deal

In celebrating outside the courtroom, Finch told reporters he never accepted a deal out of the conviction that he was innocent.

“I didn’t take one. I was offered several and I told them to stick it in their ass,” Finch said.

Finch also threatened retribution against those who worked against him.

“I’ve got a few lawsuits to file,” Finch said. “I’ve got to prove that I was right and who was wrong. And there was some of them that have been wrong over here that have been totally wrong. That will come out starting tomorrow.”

Finch was adamant that he wouldn’t do anything to take advantage of his hometown.

“The people that knew me, my friends and stuff like that, they didn’t have any problem,” Finch said. “They knew that if there was anything that I wasn’t going to do it is to do something wrong to the city of Lynn Haven and the people that live there.”

He also took exception with the federal government.

“The government people think they’re the dog and all the other people are the hydrant,” Finch said. “If you work for the government your customer is the people. Be nice to your customer.”

While retired from active NASCAR national touring racing, Finch is still involved in the sport at a grassroots level, with numerous sponsorships of Late Model racing teams and series.

His youngest son, Jake, is a prospect who races full-time in the ARCA East division and hopes to move up to the national level in 2024.

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Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.