Alabama: Defense grills FBI agent in gambling trial

Defense grills FBI agent in gambling trial
Written by Brian Lyman

Defense lawyers had no shortage of topics to bring up Friday while cross-examining an FBI agent in a trial over alleged corruption in a scheme to pass pro-gambling leg­islation.

The five lawyers discussed everything from legisla­tive procedure to FBI regulations on investigative sources, and played a tape in which VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor and former Senate Rules Com­mittee chairman Lowell Barron were heard trying to use reverse psychology to secure the support of then-Sen. Jim Preuitt, a defendant in the case.

FBI Special Agent John McEachern, who began testi­fying Wednesday and remained on the stand all day Fri- day, was questioned closely at the beginning and end of the day, but at times ap­peared to be an afterthought in the arguments in U.S. Dis­trict Judge Myron Thomp­son's courtroom.

Ben Espy, an attorney for Milton McGregor, was re­buffed in an attempt to ques­tion whether McEachern and the FBI had adequately in­vestigated the motives of three legislators who taped their colleagues during the investigation.

The agent was on the stand Thursday, when tapes were played in which then-Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla, and Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, asked for fin­ancial assistance from McGregor shortly before a vote on bingo legislation. The bill would have submitted a constitutional amendment to voters on whether to ap­prove bingo.
"Mr. McEachern has been allowed to testify broadly to his knowledge of the case," Espy said after prosecutors objected to the questioning. "I think we're allowed to test the boundaries of his knowl­edge and his credibility in in­terpreting these tapes."

Prosecutors objected that those questions suggested nullification issues, and should have been raised in pre-trial filings. Thompson allowed limited questioning on the issue but stopped Espy when he asked about whether McEachern had properly investigated those motivations, saying the quali­ty of the FBI's work was not at issue.

McEachern testified that he did not believe the legisla­tors who wore wires -- Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, Rep. Barry Mask, R-We­tumpka and former Rep. Benjamin Lewis, R-Dothan -- were politically motivated.

'All the exposure ... is on our side of the table'

Espy and attorney Bill Baxley, representing lobby­ist Tom Coker, argued that McGregor had few guaran­tees under the bill that passed and put his business at risk after the legislation was revised following a de­feat in early March 2010.

"It's amazing to me, it's disgusting to me we have re­acted to what the opposition wanted," Espy quoted McGregor saying in a March 20, 2010, conversation. "We changed a 46-, 47-page bill to eight. We took out controver­sial stuff . . All the exposure, the risk is on our side of the table."

Espy also cited conversa­tions in which McGregor seemed willing to delay a fight over tax rates on bingo in a special session that would have been called had voters approved the amend­ment. "He had no guarantees the tax rate wouldn't be 25 percent, 27 percent or 97 percent," Espy said.

McEachern, however, cited other phone conversa­tions in which McGregor said a tax rate over 25 per­cent would be ruinous to his business.

"There are other tele­phone conversations where McGregor said he was not going to stand for 27 per­cent," McEachern said.
A 'strong scheme'

Baxley played a tape in which Milton McGregor and former Senate Rules Com­mittee chairman Lowell Bar­ron, D-Fyffe, tried to use re­verse psychology to secure Preuitt's support for the leg­islation.

In the tape, recorded on March 23, 2010, McGregor tells Barron that he had 20 votes to pass the legislation, but was working on securing Sen. Jim Preuitt, R-Tallade­ga. Twenty-one votes are needed to pass a constitu­tional amendment through Senate.
McGregor adds that he's told Preuitt the vote is a "matter of survival" for him.
"The risk is on the opera­tor," McGregor told Barron. "I don't know if under this proposal if I'll get license or not."

Barron responded that he "ain't backing off that son of a b-----."
"We need to get into this pretty good, strong scheme that I am against this damn bill," Barron said. "That Low­ell won't do it. That he's act­ing like he's for this bill but doing everything can to get you p----- off to kill the bill."

Barron recommended that McGregor "cuss and give me hell" to make it convincing. "I'll do whatever it takes to make my part look authen­tic," Barron said.

Baxley played additional tapes in which McGregor called Coker later that day and told him Barron was fu­rious with him for not con­tributing to the Democratic caucus, while asking him to go "eyeball to eyeball" with Preuitt to secure his vote.

McGregor attorney Joe Espy said he thought the tape was "pretty funny."

"It was a story," he said. "I do think it clearly shows no­body tried to buy Jim Pre­uitt. If he'd been bought, no one would try to come up with a story of a feud going on."

Preuitt voted for the legis­lation on March 30.

Preuitt attorney Ron Wise said during his cross-exami­nation of McEachern that the situation resembled "two children on a playground."

"Mr. McGregor and Sena­tor Barron were playing on his heart and emotions, be­cause they wanted him to vote for the bill," he said.

Bill Clark, an attorney for Means, argued that Means became a supporter of the bill only after it was short­ened and protections for Eto­wah County, a portion of his district, were included.

"Legislators can have many legitimate reasons for either not voting one time and then voting another time," said Clark, such as legislation being changed or constituents providing input.

Under questioning from Clark, McEachern said that no contributions were made from McGregor to Means following a March 22, 2010 conversation between the men.

Wise also asked McEa­chern if he had tapes of Pre­uitt soliciting money or any other objects in exchange for his vote. McEachern said no.

Defense attorneys will continue to cross-examine McEachern when the trial reconvenes Tuesday. Gilley, whose testimony was inter­rupted this week after he suffered dehydration, is ex­pected to resume the stand afterward.