Corruption and moral decay

From the Maine Family Policy Council

“The Alabama case is another example of the culture of corruption and moral decay surrounding legalized gambling,” said Carroll Conley, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine.

Ex-Lobbyist in Alabama Pleads Guilty in Bribery

Jarrod D. Massey, a former Alabama lobbyist at the center of a bribery scandal that has shaken the state government, pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court in Montgomery, Ala., to conspiring to pay state lawmakers in exchange for their votes for pro-gambling legislation.

Mr. Massey is the first defendant to plead out of 11 who were arrested in October in connection with a federal bribery investigation, a group that includes two current and two former state senators as well as two powerful businessmen. In September, Jennifer Pouncey, a lobbyist who worked with Mr. Massey, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in connection with the case.

The trial of those who were arrested is expected to begin in early April.

Before his indictment, Mr. Massey worked for the owner of a large entertainment resort in southern Alabama that was to include so-called electronic bingo machines, the subject of intense debate in the state. In his plea, Mr. Massey admitted that he was involved in offering or paying bribes to all four lawmakers who were arrested, on the understanding that they would support legislation that would help the resort.

The bribes and proposed bribes, some of them more than $1 million, were in the form of campaign donations, purchases at businesses owned by the lawmakers or disguised payments for public relations work.

Mr. Massey faces up to five years in prison for one conspiracy charge and up to 10 years in prison for each of five federal bribery charges, prosecutors said. He could also face over $1 million in fines.

The October arrests led in part to a special session of the State Legislature this month, which passed seven bills as part of an ethics reform package. Gov. Bob Riley signed the ethics bills into law on Monday.