Alabama: Gilley continues testimony - testifies about phony support

The tactic described below has been employed in Massachusetts to create the false illusion of widespread support of gambling legislation. The phony posters regurgitate Casino Industry propaganda and post vicious personal attacks of opponents.

It's been pretty conspicuous.

Watch for it.


He also testified that when articles about the casinos or pro-gambling legislation appeared on news media websites, he and McGregor paid a viral marketing firm to post comments to give the impression that a majority of people supported the legislation.


Defense grills witness in Ala. gambling trial
By PHILLIP RAWLS

Defense attorneys in Alabama's gambling corruption trial put so much pressure on government witness Ronnie Gilley that he told a defense attorney Thursday, "You are sweating me out up here."

The casino developer's comment came as he was challenged all day long by the defense on details such as dates and amounts of money spent on alleged bribes and entertainment.

Gilley and two of his lobbyists have pleaded guilty to offering bribes to legislators. Gilley was the first of the three to testify in the federal trial of nine people, including four present and former state senators, accused of using campaign contributions to buy and sell votes on pro-gambling legislation. Thursday was Gilley's sixth day on the witness stand.

After he stepped down late Thursday afternoon, one of his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey, testified that he has pleaded guilty to offering bribes to the four senators to pass pro-gambling legislation supported by Gilley. He said Gilley was paying him up to $16,500 a month for his work. Massey will return to the witness stand Friday.

During Gilley's lengthy testimony, he said he gave a $5,000 campaign donation to indicted state Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb during a fundraising reception for her congressional campaign May 27, 2008. He testified she returned the check a few days later, thanked him for running ads against her primary campaign opponent and discussed ways the gambling operator could contribute to her campaign without the money appearing to come from him.

Under cross-examination from Smith's attorney, Gilley said he couldn't remember the exact date Smith returned the donation, but it was "within a matter of days" of the fundraiser.

Defense attorney William White then showed Gilley information showing the ads he testified about didn't start airing until early July.

White contended the meeting with Smith never occurred, but Gilley said it did.

"I distinctly remember her bringing the check back to me," he testified.

Smith's attorney pointed out other errors by Gilley about the date or time an event happened.

"I have a major problem with dates," Gilley acknowledged.

Smith's lawyer contended that Gilley also has a problem with exaggerating.

He quizzed Gilley about a fundraising concert he organized for Smith's legislative re-election campaign in December 2009 and asked if Gilley had announced from the stage that the event raised $250,000.

"I did," Gilley testified.

He admitted, however, that the event only netted about $7,000 for her campaign. He blamed the less-than-expected revenue on tornado warnings keeping people away.

Gilley testified earlier that he spent $217,000 putting on the fundraiser, including paying $60,000 for performances by two country entertainers associated with his Dothan casino, Lorrie Morgan and John Anderson.

On Thursday, Smith's lawyer offered financial records from Gilley's company showing the two entertainers cost about $40,000.

Gilley insisted that no matter what the correct numbers are, his work on behalf of Smith's re-election was contingent upon "her supporting our legislation."

Gilley was trying to pass a proposed constitutional amendment to protect electronic bingo machines at his casino and others from raids by state police. The Senate passed the bill March 30, 2010, but it died in the House after the FBI disclosed it was investigating Statehouse corruption. The bill drew support from Smith and the three other present and former senators now on trial.

During Gilley's previous appearances on the witness stand, prosecutors offered a wiretapped phone call in which he proposed buying the vote of an indicted senator by going to his car dealership with country singer George Jones and buying a fleet of trucks.

Gilley admitted Thursday there was nothing to his talk about using Jones or buying trucks to get the vote of former Republican Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega.

"The George Jones scenario was a joke," he testified.

Under questioning by the prosecution, Gilley said he was serious when he told Preuitt after the Senate's favorable vote that he would furnish big-name country music singers to perform a fundraising concert for Preuitt's re-election campaign.

Former state Attorney General Bill Baxley, defense lawyer for lobbyist Tom Coker, said the defense was trying to show that Gilley wasn't being truthful during his guilty plea in April when he called himself a politically naive person who got caught up in the flames of corruption in the capital city.

"He is not one caught up in the flames. He is the flames," Baxley said.

Prosecutors sought Thursday to show Gilley's financial ties to one of the defendants, Milton McGregor, owner of the VictoryLand casino in Shorter. They presented financial agreements where McGregor provided $13.3 million to Gilley for the Country Crossing casino and his Bama Jam outdoor music festivals in Enterprise. Gilley testified there was another $700,000 not included in the documents, bringing the total to $14 million.

Gilley said he promised McGregor 14 percent of the casino's revenue in return.

"He was supposed to be getting the lion's share of my project," Gilley said. But he said Country Crossing never turned a profit before closing last year.

He also testified that when articles about the casinos or pro-gambling legislation appeared on news media websites, he and McGregor paid a viral marketing firm to post comments to give the impression that a majority of people supported the legislation. He said the firm was headed by Country Crossing investor Jeff Rubin.

Gilley said he and McGregor needed to pass the bill because they were deeply in debt from building their attractions.

"We had the same motive to get the legislation passed," he testified.