Throughout his legal troubles, Deborah Lyons has stood by her husband, the Rev. Henry Lyons. (AP Photo)

				REV. HENRY LYONS ON TRIAL
				Background Feb. 11 Update Feb. 12 Update Feb. 18 Update Feb. 23 Update March 16 Update March 17 Update March 31 Update (State Sentencing) June 18 Update (Federal Sentencing Analysis)

TAMPA, Fla. (Court TV) — The Rev. Henry Lyons' sentencing on federal tax evasion and fraud charges not only established closure for his case and the nation's largest the black Baptist group, it also gave a black eye to those who claimed his prosecution was racially motivated.

A former president of the National Black Convention USA, Rev. Lyons was sentenced Friday to four years and three months in prison for federal tax evasion and fraud and ordered to pay $5.2 million in restitution. His federal prison sentence will run concurrently with his state sentence for racketeering and grand theft convictions. Lyons pleaded guilty to the federal charges on March 17.

When Lyons' state trial began in January, his loyal supporters from the NBC rallied by his side as he professed his innocence. Despite his admitted "inappropriate relationships" with another woman — allegedly his co-defendant, Bernice Edwards, a Convention employee — Lyons' wife Deborah and his congregation continued to believe in him. His lawyers suggested that the prosecution of Lyons was racially motivated and that state investigators merely did not understand the business dealings on a black Baptist church. To the NBC president's supporters, Rev. Lyons — and the Convention — was on trial.

But as Lyons' state trial progressed, jurors, along with the NBC congregation, found that the case was not about black and white, but rather about green, namely the money trail Lyons left behind. Documents and bank records proved that Lyons, once referred to as "the Black Pope," used a secret bank account to swindle several corporations out of nearly $4 million intended for his organization and maintain a lavish lifestyle that included, among other things, a $700,000 waterfront Florida home.

Then evidence showed he had misused $250,000 from the Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'rith that was intended to rebuild Southern black churches destroyed by fires. Lyons, who had professed his innocence outside of court and said God would reveal the truth, opted not to testify. Without the Reverend's testimony and armed with a paper trail of receipts that suggested wrongdoing, an all-white jury convicted Lyons, but acquitted Edwards.

Some of Lyons most ardent supporters, including the Rev. E.V. Hill of Los Angeles, who testified on Lyons' behalf, claimed that he did not receive a fair trial and urged him not to resign his NBC presidency.

"I had hoped that an all-white jury could have been fair," Rev. Hill told the St. Petersburg Times in March. "I no longer have that hope in St. Petersburg, Florida. ... In my judgment, Lyons did not get a fair trial locally. We've got to get up higher (to appellate judges)."

But some of Lyons' other colleagues, such as the Rev. Michael P. Williams of Houston, said that scandal had embarrassed and brought shame on the convention and called for Lyons' resignation.

Then, in what may have been the first of an admission of guilt to criminal wrongdoing, Lyons resigned as president of the National Baptist Convention USA on March 16. He went on shows such as ABC's "20/20" and NBC's "Today" and told a nationwide audience, ""I think it's best. ... The emphasis now must be on the church, on the convention, on the programs and mission and ministries of the convention. I feel that it's time for me to let that be a priority."

The day after his resignation, Lyons accepted a plea bargain from federal prosecutors who dismissed 49 of 54 charges that included money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion. The minister pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, two counts of tax evasion, and one count each of making false statements to a bank officer and the federal government. Loyal members of Lyons' ministry discovered they had been duped. Lyons himself told his congregation after his plea bargain that his legal problems were not about racism but his own weakness.

"I accept full blame for everything that happened while I was at the helm of the National Baptist Convention," Lyons said in March. "When the devil came to Jesus Christ, he tempted him with fame, power and wealth, and I've fallen far short of the standards set by our Lord. I'm just a man. I have made mistakes, and I'm sorry."

Among the factors that may have brought Lyons down was his status as a man of God. One jury consultant from Florida-based Trial Consultants Inc., said before Lyons' trial that "Men of the cloth tend to be put on a pedestal and tend to be held to a higher stand than 'John Q' normal citizen. Potential jurors from the Baptist church, people with religious beliefs and convictions, may not look kindly on Lyons' defense once they hear the evidence."

The consultant, who did not wish to be named, also claimed that in cases like Lyons', race is not a predominant factor and predicted Lyons at trial could become "just a man in [a] juror's eyes and not be put on a pedestal." That is what happened to Lyons — jurors defrocked him of his religious cloth and the evidence denied his lawyers the race card they apparently hoped to play.

But despite Lyons' ordeal, the National Black Baptist Convention USA will carry on. Led by an interim president, the Rev. S.C. Cureton, NBC leaders have begun re-evaluating the group's business practices. At Lyons' trial, one witness, Lacy Curry, said that Lyons was free to make deals with corporations that wanted to profit from the NBC's congregation and that there was nothing wrong with him reaping some of the rewards of the deals. That, Curry claimed, is the way past Convention presidents have operated.

Now, convention leaders say the group is trying to find a way to prevent future NBC leaders from abusing their authority and preventing cases similar to Lyons'. In a statement on the Convention's Web site, Cureton promises to raise the standards of the Convention and lead the organization into the 21st century. With Lyons behind bars, Cureton may now be able to start on the long road to re-establishing the NBC's respectability among parishioners and investors alike.

— Bryan Robinson

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