Alabama's Victoryland owner back in court

Alabama casino owner drops bid to end monitoring

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Indicted Alabama casino owner Milton McGregor left a court hearing Tuesday with an electronic monitoring bracelet still strapped around his ankle after making a last-minute decision to drop his request to get rid of the device that he said was causing him health problems.

A federal judge had scheduled a hearing on McGregor's request Tuesday, but moments after the hearing began, McGregor's attorney, Joe Espy, announced he was withdrawing the request with McGregor's approval.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Terry Moorer told McGregor's attorney that he "would not look favorably" on the issue being raised again.

McGregor, one of Alabama's most recognized businessmen, was seen for years in flashy gambling ads proclaiming, "You can be a winner, too." But he was quiet as he left the federal courthouse with the shape of the bracelet visible through the black sock covering his right ankle.

McGregor, owner of the closed VictoryLand casino in Shorter and an investor in the closed Country Crossing casino in Dothan, was one of 11 people arrested Oct. 4 on federal charges accusing them of buying and selling votes on legislation designed to get the casinos reopened. He was ordered to wear the bracelet as a condition of his release on bond after an FBI agent testified McGregor threatened him during the arrest.

McGregor had complained that the bracelet was causing him to lose sleep and elevating his blood pressure. His wife, Pat, had also filed court papers saying she heard no threat when the FBI came to their historic Montgomery mansion to arrest her husband.

Before the start of the hearing Tuesday, McGregor's legal team and prosecutors had a disagreement about whether witnesses were supposed to be able to testify. Prosecutors had the FBI agent present, but McGregor did not have his wife there.

After meeting in private with the judge, McGregor and his attorneys dropped their request.

McGregor's attorney said, "There was maybe a little miscommunication." He wouldn't elaborate. But he said McGregor has more important requests pending before the judge, including letting him be tried separately from the other defendants, and they decided to focus on those.

VictoryLand and Country Crossing closed last year under the threat of raids by former Gov. Bob Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling, which contended their electronic bingo machines were really illegal slot machines.

A lawsuit aimed at getting Country Crossing reopened was thrown out Monday by a federal judge.

The county-level government cooperative district that helped develop the Country Crossing project had sued the task force and its commander to try to get an injunction against raids, which would have allowed the casino to reopen.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson dismissed the lawsuit because Alabama's new governor, Robert Bentley, has disbanded the task force and turned over the enforcement of gambling laws to the state attorney general.

Another federal judge, Keith Watkins, threw out a similar lawsuit last month from a bond holder for Country Crossing.

All of Country Crossing's attractions, including restaurants, RV park, concert amphitheater and inn, are closed. Its developer, Ronnie Gilley, was among those indicted with McGregor. Two of Country Crossing's lobbyists have pleaded guilty to trying to bribe legislators.

At McGregor's VictoryLand, 15 miles east of Montgomery in Shorter, the 6,000 machine casino, golden-colored hotel and upscale restaurant are shut down, but his dog track is still holding races.