Richard N. Hall Jr. will begin serving his eight-year sentence for his role in a failed beef plant that cost Mississippi millions of dollars on Oct. 1 in a Texarkana, Texas, federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers signed an order earlier this month designating the site and time for Hall to report. Biggers said Hall would report on his own with a U.S. marshal escort.

Hall was sentenced Aug. 17. He was released a few days later on temporary basis.

Hall was the driving force behind Mississippi Beef Processors LLC, and persuaded state officials to support the plan. The Oakland plant closed in August 2004, just three months after it opened.

The failure of the 140,000-square-foot facility left 400 people out of work. The state, which backed loans on the project, was stuck with $55 million of debt.

Besides the eight-year sentence, Hall was ordered to pay $751,000 in restitution. He has already paid $173,000, the same amount of a kickback Hall got from a construction company owner.

Sean Carothers, whose firm built the plant, was sentenced to 21 months, a $40,000 fine and $250,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say Carothers admitted paying Hall the $173,000 kickback and helping him hide the money.

Biggers ordered Carothers to report to the federal prison in Pensacola, Fla., on Oct. 1.