Liddle placed in Safford federal prison [The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.]

July 06--William Liddle, who was convicted of defrauding AEA Federal Credit Union while employed by the financial institution, has been placed in the federal correctional institution in Safford, Ariz., according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

Liddle, former vice president of business lending for AEA, was convicted in February in U.S. District Court in Phoenix of 54 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering for his role in a kickback scheme that cost the credit union an estimated $25 million in bad loans. The loss led to AEA being placed under conservatorship in December 2010 by the National Credit Union Administration.

On June 1, U.S. Judge Susan Bolton sentenced Liddle, 51, to 15 years in prison. Liddle was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Services immediately following his sentencing and since then had been held temporarily at the prison in Florence. His release date is listed as June 24, 2025.

According to the BOP website, the Safford FCI is a low security institution that houses male offenders. It is located in Southeast Arizona near the city of Safford, about 165 miles east of Phoenix.

Liddle's wife, Rhonda, was convicted of 36 counts of conspiracy and money laundering for her role in the case. On May 21, she was sentenced to 12 months of house incarceration, allowing her to remain with the couple's two daughters, ages 9 and 15.

She currently is appealing her conviction to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Meanwhile, according to the BOP website, codefendant Frank Ruiz was placed at the Florence, Colo., Administrative Maximum prison, the federal system's most secure lockup.

However, Ruiz' attorney, Ashley Adams, said her client actually is housed in a minimum security satellite prison camp that is part of the Florence Federal Correctional Complex.

Ruiz, who pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of money laundering in the kickback scheme, was a key witness against the Liddles. In turn, he was sentenced in April to two years in prison. He surrendered to the Department of Corrections on June 29.

According to the BOP website, the scheduled release date for Ruiz, 63, is March 25, 2014

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853. Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YSJoyceLobeck or on Twitter at @YSJoyceLobeck.

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