LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A federal prosecutor says a former Arkansas lobbyist is a danger to society if he’s released from a Missouri jail where he’s awaiting sentencing in a corruption case involving former Arkansas lawmakers and the Missouri-based nonprofit Preferred Family Healthcare.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that prosecutors on Thursday also said Rusty Cranford may flee if his request to be released is granted.

Cranford has been jailed since March 2018 when a U.S. magistrate in Missouri agreed that he tried to hire someone to kill a cooperating witness. Cranford has not been charged in that case.

Cranford admitted he paid bribes to former Arkansas state Sens. Jeremy Hutchinson and Jon Woods and former Rep. Hank Wilkins IV.

Hutchinson , the nephew of Gov. Asa Hutchinson and son of former U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, and Woods have pleaded guilty. Woods is appealing his conviction.

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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com

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