Alabama: No convictions in gambling corruption trial

No convictions in gambling corruption trial
By Jack Madison

MONTGOMERY, AL (WAFF) - There was not one guilty verdict in the state's gambling corruption trial, but the jury did hand down several partial verdicts for seven of the nine defendants Thursday.

After more than seven days of deliberations, the jury found them "not guilty" on some counts and failed to reach a verdict on others. The defendants have been accused of buying and selling votes on legislation that supports gambling.

Victoryland Casino owner, Milton McGregor, was found not guilty on three counts. The jury couldn't reach a verdict on the fourteen other counts against him. Lobbyist Bob Geddie, Jr. and State Senator Quinton Ross were found not guilty on all counts.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said he would set a new trial date next month. Huntsville attorney Mark McDaniel, who is not involved in the case, said the Federal prosecutors would go back to work, trying to convict the seven remaining defendants.

"Had the 'not guilty' been on more counts than that, then you have a different outlook on this. But just two of the counts, and the rest the jury couldn't reach a decision on, that's not an overwhelming victory for the defense," McDaniel said.

Five of the remaining defendants were unable to receive "not guilty" verdicts for both conspiracy and bribery.


CBS 8 Experts Break Down the Gambling Corruption Trial
Written by Tamika Bickham

Now that the verdicts have come in, what exactly does this mean legally and politically? What happens next? CBS 8 Experts weigh in.

The jury handed down one 'not guilty' verdict after another. Even with some counts ending in deadlock, it's a win for the defense and not even a hint of success for the prosecution.

"In this case it was a complete and total victory. It was almost like a team beating another team 50-0 in a football analogy and the team that won didn't even play their starters. That's how bad it was. They rested and didn't even show their case," said CBS 8 Political Analyst Steve Flowers.

Even though the defense called only one witness before resting their case, the jury still ruled in their favor on many of the charges.

Attorney James Anderson says that leaves defense attorneys with an upperhand if the undecided counts are retried.

"I think they have an upperhand because they've seen what the prosecution has to offer. The prosecution hasn't seen anything that they can counter with other than the cross examination," said Anderson.

In the mean time these defendants can go back to their families and back to work. Flowers says they can do it without any political consequences.

"I don't think there will be any political repercussions. I think any repercussions that occurred were designed to occur last year during elections because the indictments came down just before the elections," said Flowers.

It's difficult to determine if the indictments directly impacted last years' elections.

While State Senator Jim Prueitt quit his race and State Senator Larry Means was defeated, State Senators Harri Anne Smith and Quinton Ross were still reelected. For now, they can all rest easy.

"In this instance, with nobody found guilty I think all of the defendants are happy," said Anderson.

Anderson also adds while Judge Thompson says he is going to schedule the the new trial next month, that doesn't mean it will happen next month. It remains to be seen who and what charges will be retried by the prosecution if any at all.