The prominent defendants in the Georgia election case use a common service: a bail bondsman

When Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows pleaded guilty to state charges in the Georgia election interference case, they used a service common criminal defendants use: a bail bondsman.

Hiring a guarantor is “a piece of the puzzle,” said the president of the company, which has floated in Fulton County, Georgia.

“It’s no different than paying an attorney,” Daniel Matalone, president of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds, told ABC News. Matalone said he personally handled Giuliani’s bonds as well as those of David Schaeffer and Kathy Latham, two co-defendants in the Georgia case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis.

Willis charged former President Donald Trump and the 18 co-defendants with their allegedly illegal efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

Second Chance Bail Bonds also provided bond to former Trump campaign operative Michael Roman.

Matalone said his relationship with the sheriff’s office makes the surrender process easier.

“There was a lot of communication between me and the sheriff’s office directly,” he explained. When publishing a bond, he said, there are two sometimes three entities involved, and hiring a guarantor, who has all the relationships and connections established, makes the process easier.

Not only does it make financial sense, he said, but having some help during the process makes things easier for the defendants.

After the indictment was issued, he said, his phone started ringing and there was a lot of logistics because some of the defendants were from out of state.

“There are a lot of little details that go into these things that people don’t realize. [and when] “You deal with the person who has relationships from A to Z, and that’s what I have,” he explained. “Why would you want to tie up all that money over the next two years?”

The process of obtaining a bond is considered normal in state fees, especially in Georgia. The bond company posts the surety on behalf of the defendant and the defendant pays the bond company a portion of the bond plus a fee for its services.

Having a former mayor of New York City and a former White House chief of staff with clients does not change the kind of service Matalon provides, he said.

“We’ve done a lot of large, complex and difficult criminal bail bonds for attorneys all over the country,” he said. “We’re the experts in this field. So…it’s business as usual.”

He said there was “a little bit more pressure” because of the press and elements surrounding the high-profile defendants, “but at the end of the day, it’s still the same process.”

Matalone said Giuliani “was great to deal with. He was very appreciative of the help and we tried to make it as easy as possible.”

Matalone said he believed the bonds placed by the attorney general were “fair” — $100,000 for Meadows and $150,000 for Giuliani.

The average bond, according to statistics provided by the company, is just over $7,000, but has ranged from $130 to $600,000.

“I don’t consider these risks to be higher than normal,” he said. “We have every reason to believe so. Each defendant respects the judicial process and will take the necessary steps to comply with the requirements of the bail order and court procedures.”