 Posted by waltm, on March 23rd, 2011, at 7:57 am The first full hearing in Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion will be February 27, 2012, according to paperwork on file with the Federal Court hearing the case. The February proceeding is supposed to decide who is responsible with a second hearing in July will decide how much and to whom. Any relief looks a long time coming.
The proceedings over of wiretap evidence against Milton McGregor and Ronnie Gilley in the votes for cash corruption case show what “… we’ve come to expect from years of government training” as prosecutors and the FBI seem intent on proving the point. For those with the curiosity, Moritz School of Law has an archive of the case documents as part of their Election Law web pages.
Greenetrack, as expected, has reopened and from press reports, I wonder if machines similar to these are being used. The Greene County amendment appears unique in that it mentions “electronic marking machine”.
Lastly, one of the truisms of Alabama legislating is never give up, never surrender, so once again there is a plan to spend a 100 million per year from the Alabama Trust Fund for road work. Last year, when 57% of us voted no.
Posted by waltm, on February 7th, 2011, at 4:27 pm Thanks to the hard work of Eric Velasco of the Birmingham News, we are to solve at least one mystery of the recent campaign season and get a glimpse of how much gambling interests contributed.
In Alabama gambling money network dissolves, Velasco reports the Poarch donated $2.7M thru various PACS, Milton McGregor, $1.9M, Greenetrack $560K, Gilley (and related interests) $800K and $190K from other sources, all routed thru 143 separate PACs. (The article has a chart for easier reading, copyright concerns keep me from hotlinking). Previous reporting has shown most of these funds went to the Sparks campaign and other Democrats.
In a separate article, Velasco, has traced the funding for Republican Supreme Court candidate, Tracy Cary to a plaintiff’s law firm (Beasley Allen) while incumbent Justice Tom Parker received more than half of his funds from Beasley Allen and Marsh Rickard. Links to Cary and Parker’s FCPA reports. Cary is to be remembered for his clever use of the law to avoid disclosing his donors before the primary. The there’s the thought of Republican judicial candidates taking donations from the plaintiff’s bar but money always finds its own level.
In the Gadsden Times, Dana Beyerle reports on a decline in campaign expenses, with about $70M spent total. BTW, are we seeing the end of print media ads? Ads placed with newspapers were down 50%.
Posted by waltm, on October 10th, 2010, at 8:47 am Eric Fleischauer, of the Times Daily, has taken the considerable time to review a deposition and interview former Republican Lt. Governor, Steve Windom and current Democratic Party AL-05 nominee, Steve Raby. The article details their mutual involvement in (and at one point part ownership of ) an effort to open a second bingo casino in Macon County.
Quite interesting reading. I wonder if it is connected to the other court finding that detailed Victoryland’s profits and charity pay outs.
Posted by Danny, on October 7th, 2010, at 8:42 am Democratic Lt. Governor Jim Folsom’s re-election campaign is on the air statewide with an ad featuring PACT families – parents and grandparents participating in Alabama’s embattled Pre-Paid College Tuition program.
His opponent, Republican state Treasurer Kay Ivey, objects in this Wednesday release:
Continue reading “Jim Folsom TV Spot Features PACT Families”
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Posted by Danny, on October 4th, 2010, at 11:15 am Specific charges from the DoJ:
The defendants named in the indictment unsealed today were charged with the following crimes:
- Milton E. McGregor, 71, of Montgomery, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, six counts of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud;
- Ronald E. Gilley, 45, of Enterprise, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, six counts of federal program bribery, 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, and four counts of money laundering;
- Jarrod D. Massey, 39, of Montgomery, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud;
- Thomas E. Coker, 70, of Lowndesboro, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud;
- Robert B. Geddie Jr., 60, of Montgomery, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of federal program bribery, 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice;
- Jarrell W. Walker Jr., 36, of Lanett, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud;
- Harri Anne H. Smith, 48, of Slocomb, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of federal program bribery, one count of extortion, 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, and four counts of money laundering;
- Larry P. Means, 63, of Attalla, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of federal program bribery, two counts of attempted extortion, and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud;
- James E. Preuitt, 75, of Talladega, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of federal program bribery, one count of attempted extortion, 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, and one count of making a false statement;
- Quinton T. Ross Jr., 41, of Montgomery, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of federal program bribery, two counts of attempted extortion, and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud; and
- Joseph R. Crosby, 61, of Montgomery, Ala., was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The federal program bribery charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of extortion, honest services mail and wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The false statement charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The indictment also contains a notice of forfeiture as to defendants Smith and Gilley.
An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Posted by Danny, on October 4th, 2010, at 10:49 am Indictment details. (Thanks to Kyle Whitmire of Second Front.)
Defendants:
Milton McGregor, gambling interest
Ronnie Gilley, gambling interest
Thomas Coker, lobbyist
Bob Geddie, lobbyist
Jarrod Massey, lobbyist
Larry Means, state Senator (D – Attalla)
Jim Preuitt, state Senator (R – Talladega)
Quinton Ross, state Senator (D – Montgomery)
Harri Anne Smith, state Senator (I – Slocomb)
Jarrell Walker, Jr., Gilley employee
Ray Crosby, Legislative Reference Service employee
Also, unnamed but described as “relevant individuals” in the indictment are two state Representatives and one state Senator, all up for re-election. Presumably they are cooperating with the investigation.
One lobbyist unnamed as a “relevant individual” worked for Jarrod Massey. According to the DoJ press conference, Jennifer Pouncy who works for Massey has pleaded guilty on one count. Mary Orndorff of the Birmingham News has more, saying that Pouncy “offered $2 million to state Sen. Jim Preuitt for his vote on pro-gambling legislation.”
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Posted by waltm, on July 21st, 2010, at 12:39 pm 
Update: add link to CBS42 news article which contains a Victoryland press release (pdf).
Like it or not, tax revenue from gambling will come up in the election races this year and the next session of the Legislature. Many feel the need for more state revenue and have painted themselves in corner on raising taxes and/or cutting services. In the past, I’ve been skeptical about the projected revenue of $171 million from a 25% tax on gross revenue from a carefully crafted list of gaming locations.
However, as a result of a blog post at the Clarion Caller and article in today’s Birmingham News, some numbers come up from a court document ( 1MB pdf courtesty of the Opelika-Auburn News) that lead to pondering. In 2007, Victory reported gross revenue (amount left after paying bets) of $126 million and estimated earnings of about the same for 2008. So at 25%, this would yield, $31.5 million or so. Still think we have a ways to go to hit the expected numbers in this time of recession.
Will leave on the floor the low return for Macon County charities, since neither the local amendment nor sheriff’s rules require a certain percentage. While I would prefer we follow Kentucky’s model for charity bingo, tax revenue and reopening closed operations are much more likely to be addressed and the issue of charity gaming has died.
Reading the Court’s Memorandum Opinion and Order, reminded of how the mining bosses, railroad companies, mill owners and plantation owners would co-opt the local leadership and take over a county or state. However that only happens in B movies and never in reality. The issues of collusion and stifling competition will be addressed in Court, so will let that drop on the floor, though we need to watch for same (as always) in the next round of legislation.
Posted by Danny, on May 9th, 2010, at 4:29 pm  After Rep. David Grimes appeared Thursday before the federal grand jury hearing allegations of corruption in the state legislature on the bingo issue, he revealed that the feds had recorded phone conversations, or at least one, as part of their investigation. Grimes said he heard a recorded phone conversation between gambling magnate Milton McGregor and lobbyist Bob Geddie. Thanks to the Raycom politics site, you can hear Grimes talking about it here (in the second video).
There are anxious people in Montgomery.
Posted by Hilary, on April 7th, 2010, at 1:16 pm John Tyson, commander of the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling, has until April 14 to comply with retraction demands made by attorneys for VictoryLand and Milton McGregor or “prepare to head to court,” reports Markeshia Ricks:
In a letter obtained by the Montgomery Advertiser, attorneys J. Mark White and John M. Bolton III accuse Tyson of libel, slander and defamation of McGregor in an op-ed article that Tyson wrote. The article was published in the editorial section of the April 4 paper.
Apparently the letter focused on a list of statewide corruption instances in Tyson’s op-ed that included former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford winning “555 rigged jackpots worth more than $1 million from casinos in Macon and Greene Counties.” McGregor owns VictoryLand, which is in Macon County.
The attorney went on to write that Tyson knew that federal authorities had determined that Langford had not received “favorable treatment” and that the equipment that he had won on was not manipulated to his advantage.
Continue reading “Miltimatum”
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Legislative DispatchBy Joe Hubbard on June 8, 2011 This Thursday will mark the last day of the legislative Session. For some, it was a Session that seemed would never end. For others, it was one that ended much too quickly. It may be early, yet, to write an obit on this Session, but as we approach the finish line, some perspective may be in order.
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AL House, AL Senate, Legislative Dispatch, Uncategorized | By John Merrill on May 24, 2011 As you know, a very important piece of legislation will be presented for our consideration in the House tomorrow in Montgomery – Senate Bill 310 – the “Students First” tenure and fair dismissal reform bill. Like me, many House members have been inundated with phone calls and emails from opponents of this bill, and some have been [...]
Legislative Dispatch | By Cam Ward on May 17, 2011 There are a lot of issues to debate before we begin the final days of this session. In fact, I am quite certain there will be some comments on this post debating many of them. Before we get into the last seven day of the session I wanted to bring up a topic that [...]
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