Alabama: Defense: Prosecutors have not made case

Defense: Prosecutors have not made case
Written by Sebastian Kitchen

Defense attorneys said Monday that federal prosecutors have not put together a sound case against nine defendants accused of corruption and that they will ask the judge to drop the charges against their clients today.

Federal prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case this morning. Then outside the hearing of the jury, defense attorneys will make arguments to the judge on why their clients should be acquitted.

The defense would then have the opportunity beginning Wednesday to present witnesses to try to dispel whatever charges remain.

"We think they've failed to meet the burden," said Joe Espy, lead attorney for VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor.

McGregor, two of his lobbyists, four current or former state senators, a casino spokesman, and an attorney for the Legislature are on trial for their alleged roles in a scheme in which casino operators tried to bribe state lawmakers to pass gambling legislation.

"So much of this case is left to speculation and innuendo," said Susan James, attorney for Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker.

Lewis Gillis, an attorney for state Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said the prosecution has "proven simply that legislators will make calls repeatedly to a contributor."

Espy said the prosecution was struggling late in its case and was trying to introduce documents it has had for weeks.

Moving millions

An accountant for the FBI discussed some of those documents, outlining millions of dollars moved between Alabama casino owners, between political campaigns and committees, and into the checking accounts of defendants in the case.

FBI forensic accountant Philip Harrod outlined wire transfers and checks totaling $14.5 million from McGregor to Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley between January 2009 and February 2010.

McGregor and Gilley entered into a consulting agreement on Jan. 22, 2009, the day before the wire transfers began. McGregor's attorneys have said it was a legal business transaction and that McGregor was never paid what he was owed.

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McGregor, according to the contracts discussed earlier in the case, would receive 14 percent of the earnings at Country Crossing and that was increased to 20 percent as he loaned more to the casino. Espy said McGregor's percentage of nothing is -- nothing.

Shannon Holliday, another attorney for McGregor, brought up Gilley saying he had $160 million in debt so the $14 million from McGregor would be less than 10 percent of that.

Gilley and two of his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, have pleaded guilty in the case.

The accountant also outlined monthly payments of $3,000 from McGregor to the account of former legislative analyst and attorney Ray Crosby, another defendant, from June 2008 until April 2010 totaling $72,000. The documents included Crosby's bank statements from Regions bank and the checks from the Macon County Greyhound Park signed by McGregor.

Harrod also helped to outline 104 checks signed by McGregor written from the accounts of his greyhound parks in Jefferson and Macon counties totaling $1,924,000 that were directed to various political action committees in the state. The checks, 52 from each track, were written Dec. 23 and Dec. 30, 2009, and each sent checks to 52 different PACs. Each check was for $18,500.

The accountant also said that state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, an independent from Slocomb, received $15,000 from McGregor on March 10, 2010, and another $10,000 that same week from a PAC funded by McGregor.

Harrod, when asked by Smith attorney Jim Parkman, said the face of the checks would not indicate they came from McGregor.

Then-state Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla, and Ross also each received $25,000 from McGregor for their 2010 re-election campaigns. Smith, Means and Ross are defendants in the case.

Harrod, when asked, said he learned 16 Alabama senators received money from McGregor-funded PACs during the 2010 election cycle with 15 of 16 receiving $25,000. One senator received $8,000, according to testimony.

Harrod said all 16 of those who received those contributions voted for the bill. None of the senators received money after the vote on the gambling bill, according to testimony.

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Federal prosecutor Steve Feaga also had Harrod point out millions in transfers to Gilley as he was trying to open and operate Country Crossing, which included a bingo pavilion along with restaurants.

Those transfers to Gilley and his companies included totals of $9.55 million from Robert Wright and other family members; $5.2 million from Gaughan Gaming; $2.6 million from Mega Bingo Inc.; two $1.7 million transfers from IGT; and $3.45 million from Ted Graham of Specialized Services.

Walker, the former Country Crossing spokesman, also received seven $10,000 payments from an investor in Country Crossing, Express Holdings operated by Ted Graham, from October 2009 to April 2010, according to documents discussed by Harrod. Those payments began just after one of Gilley's companies paid $166,667 to Express Holdings Group LLC on Sept. 11, 2009, followed by another payment of $166,667 on Oct. 16, 2009.

Walker also received $10,000 directly from Gilley on one occasion in July 2010.

Gilley also wrote four $50,000 checks, one to each of four political action committees, in 2010 that he said was intended to go to Smith after a phone call in which she said she needed $400,000 to finish out her Senate re-election campaign.

Harrod testified to all four of those checks going into the accounts for those respective PACs.

The prosecution did not wrap up its case as expected Monday and has one witness, another FBI agent, left to question today.