Who in the World is Timothy Cline?

Before I told him to buzz off, I got a question e-mailed from a reporter.  I have no idea what it means.  I figured I’d throw it out to the peanut gallery and see if anyone else has an answer.

The question was basically this: Who is Timothy Ray Cline, and what is his relationship to Justice Elliott “Spike” Maynard?

It looks like Mr. Cline once owned three “Southern Exposure” strip clubs in southern West Virginia.

Back in 1999, in an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court threw out Mr. Cline’s sentence for driving on a suspended license.  Justice Maynard voted with the majority (but so did 3 other justices).

Then, in 2006, the U.S. Justice Department charged Mr. Cline with failing to pay $84,000 in taxes.  He also fraudulently received $35,000 in federal disability payments. 

The charging document alleges that Cline skimmed money from the door receipts of various adult clubs that he owned and operated and did not report these skimmed receipts on his income tax return.  The Information also charges that Cline was fraudulently receiving Social Security disability payments during the time he owned and operated the adult nightclubs.

Mr. Cline pleaded guilty to the charges on March 6, 2007.

Here we are, almost a year later, and I can’t find anything showing if Mr. Cline has ever been sentenced.  But, the DOJ press release said:

CLINE faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on June 6, 2007.

So, has anyone got any clue what the connection is between Mr. Cline and Spike Maynard?