Judge applauds prosecutors in bingo corruption case

VIDEO: Judge applauds prosecutors in bingo corruption case

MONTGOMERY, Ala. --- A federal judge applauded prosecutors Wednesday for the phone recording documents they turned over to him in the bingo corruption case.

Judge Wallace Capel had scolded government lawyers Tuesday for their failure to surrender all records relevant to FBI wire taps in the case.

He even threatened to sanction them if they did not provide more records by 5:00 pm Tuesday.

Defense lawyers told the judge Wednesday they had received betweetn 150-200 documents by Tuesday's deadline.

Ten people are charged with carrying out a vote-buying scheme to try and pass pro-gambling legislation in Alabama last year.

The bill failed after the bingo corruption probe was announced.

Much of the case is based on secret FBI phone recordings and defense lawyers have challenged the wire taps.

They have claimed federal agents did not follow legal guidelines during the process of recording phone calls the defendants had with each other along with those not in the case.

Defense attorneys had also accused prosecutors of not surrendering all relevant materials so they could properly challenge the recordings in court.

Now that additional records have been provided, there will be another hearing on the matter Thursday in Montgomery's federal courthouse.