Alabama: Crime and Corruption

Alabama bingo corruption probe: Indicted 11 to enter pleas


Casino owner Milton McGregor will plead not guilty when he is arraigned today on federal vote-buying charges, his lawyer said.

"Mr. McGregor is innocent. He will at that time declare he is innocent," McGregor lawyer Joe Espy said in a press conference Thursday evening.

McGregor and 10 others are scheduled to appear in Montgomery federal court this morning to enter pleas on charges that they tried to buy and sell votes on a gambling bill that was before legislators this past spring.

Espy said he expects the other defendants to enter the same plea as McGregor.

Espy said he did not want to discuss evidence in the case. But he did question prosecutors' tactics.

He questioned why McGregor was arrested last week although he had offered to turn himself in to authorities. FBI agents showed up at McGregor's home at about 7 a.m. Oct. 4 and handcuffed him, Espy said.

"What was that about? There was no need for that," Espy said.

All of those indicted were arrested, rather than being allowed to surrender themselves to authorities.

"Not a single one of them was a flight risk," Espy said.

Espy said studies show that media images of a person in handcuffs can influence potential jurors.

Espy also questioned why the charges were brought so close to an election and why a media outlet was outside McGregor's home while he was being arrested.

"We didn't know he was getting arrested at seven o'clock. Ain't but one person that knew it and that's the government," Espy said.

Espy said no decision has been made on whether McGregor will seek to be tried separately from the other defendants. He said he will not ask that the trial be moved out of Montgomery because he has confidence in the potential jurors of the Middle District of Alabama.

The defendant list -- which also includes casino owner Ronnie Gilley, three lobbyists, four legislators, a casino spokesman and a high-level legislative employee -- reads like a who's who of Alabama politics.

Federal prosecutors accuse them of having participated in a broad vote-buying conspiracy. Prosecutors allege generous campaign contributions, a $1 million-a-year job and election-year assistance were offered in exchange for critical yes votes on the gambling bill this spring.

The bill would have let Alabamians vote on whether to allow McGregor, Gilley and a handful of other operators to continue to offer electronic bingo games. It passed the state Senate but died in the House after federal authorities told legislative leaders they had launched the investigation.