Counrtry Crossing operator Ronnie Gilley surrenders
(Press-Register/Bill Starling)Ronnie Gilley, seen here on Tuesday Nov. 17, 2009, has surrended to U.S. Marshals in Montgomery this afternoon. The indictments come six months after prosecutors and the FBI stunned legislative leaders by informing them that an investigation was under way into vote buying related to the successful effort in the Alabama Senate just days before to pass electronic bingo legislation.
U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors laid out the inducements this morning at a press conference in Washington.
"Today, charges were unsealed against 11 legislators, businessmen, lobbyist and associates who, together, are alleged to have formed a corrupt network whose aim was to buy and sell votes in the Alabama Legislature in order to directly benefit the business interests of two defendants, Milton McGregor and Ronald Gilley," said Lanny A. Breuer, assistant attorney general of the Criminal Division. "The people of Alabama, like all our citizens, deserve to have representatives who act in the public's interest, not for their own personal financial gain. Vote-buying, like the kind alleged in this indictment, corrodes the public's faith in our democratic institutions and cannot go unpunished."
McGregor was arrested at his Montgomery home. McGregor owns VictoryLand in Macon County, the state's largest electronic bingo casino. He has been a controversial figure for a quarter century, operating VictoryLand as first a dog racing track and later building and operating the Birmingham Race Course. McGregor has spent millions over the years trying to influence pro-gambling legislation.
Gilley, who turned himself in at the U.S. Marshal's Office in Montgomery this afternoon, is owner and operator of the state's newest electronic casino, Country Crossing in Dothan. Gilley spent millions building the facility, which opened late last year only to close its doors weeks later when Gov. Bob Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling attempted to raid it. It has remained shut down since Jan. 29.
Others indicted include four state senators -- Larry Means, D-Attalla, Jim Preuitt, R-Talladega, Quinton Ross Jr., D-Montgomery and Harri Anne Smith, I-Slocomb.
Federal prosecutors today said that Preuitt was offered $2 million to cast his vote in support of gambling legislation last April. Preuitt, who had a history of opposing the legislation, voted for it, providing a critical yes vote.
Jennifer Pouncy, a Montgomery lobbyist, pleaded guilty Sept. 28 to conspiracy and said she offered Preuitt the $2 million bribe, which Pouncy said Gilley's lobbyist, Jerrod Massey approved. She also said Massey and Gilley signed off on $100,000 offered to Means, another senator considered a critical swing vote on the issue.
Three other unnamed legislators are mentioned in the indictment as having received offers of bribes for supporting gambling legislation. The Birmingham News has reported that at least three lawmakers agreed to wear wires as part of the investigation. None of the three are charged with wrongdoing.
Last April, Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, said Massey offered him a $250,000 campaign contribution if he voted for gambling legislation. Sanford turned Massey down and voted no on the bill in April. Lawyers for Massey said at the time that Massey had done nothing wrong.
Also indicted are Jarrell W. Walker Jr., who works for Gilley, and Joseph Crosby, an analyst with the Alabama Legislative Reference Service whose duties included work on gambling legislation.
Also indicted and arrested Monday were two of Montgomery's most influential lobbyists, Bob Geddie and Tom Coker.
Geddie, along with partner Joe Fine, has headed one of the capital city's most influential lobbying firms. Fine and Geddie's list of clients make up a who's who of corporate interests, and the firm has been responsible for raising and handling out millions of dollars to various candidates for all manner of offices.
The gambling issue has dominated state politics like no other issue in recent years. Efforts by McGregor and Gilley to persuade lawmakers to pass legislation calling for a statewide vote on electronic bingo has come up against an increasingly hostile environment toward the games led by Riley and the Republican-dominated Alabama Supreme Court.
Riley formed his task force on illegal gambling more than two years ago after having become increasingly dissatisfied with Attorney General Troy King's legal opinions that the games were constitutional and the machines they were played on legal.
Eventually the issue tore Riley and King apart, and Riley's task force, led by Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson, aggressively fought the casinos, attempting to raid VictoryLand and Country Crossing even while the Legislature had the gambling issue before it.
Many saw McGregor and Gilley as being in a battle to provide their lucrative businesses the additional protection of a statewide vote of approval before Riley and Tyson could succeed in shutting them down.
But news of the federal investigation, revealed April 1, doomed efforts in the Alabama House to pass the gaming bill. Pressure from the task force, supported by rulings form the Supreme Court, have shut down all non-Indian electronic bingo casinos in the state.
News staff writers Kim Chandler and Mary Orndorff contributed to this report.
Read:
Full list of those indicted
The full federal indictment here. WARNING: Parts of this document include very strong adult language.
The Alabama bingo files
Full list of those indicted
The full federal indictment here. WARNING: Parts of this document include very strong adult language.
The Alabama bingo files
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