Gilley asks for new sentence in gambling case
Published: July 24, 2013
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2010 file photo, Cross Country gaming facility owner Ronnie Gilley leaves the Federal building in Montgomery, Ala. Gilley has asked a federal judge to reduce his prison sentence. Gilley is making the request because he and his Atlanta-based attorney, Amy Weil, claim that his former attorney, David Harrison, provided ineffective counsel. "Attorney Harrison told me that it was in my best interest to plead guilty because, if I pleaded guilty and cooperated, the court would sentence me to probation or, at worst, house arrest," Gilley wrote. " Gilley pleaded guilty in Alabama's gambling corruption investigation and has admitted he was deeply in debt and out of money when he offered millions in bribes to legislators to support pro-gambling legislation.
DAVE MARTIN — AP Photo
DOTHAN, Ala. — Former Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley has asked a federal judge to reduce his prison sentence.
The Dothan Eagle reported (http://bit.ly/140eKxc ) that Gilley is making the request because he and his Atlanta-based attorney, Amy Weil, claim that his former attorney, David Harrison, provided ineffective counsel.
"Attorney Harrison told me that it was in my best interest to plead guilty because, if I pleaded guilty and cooperated, the court would sentence me to probation or, at worst, house arrest," Gilley wrote.
"Attorney Harrison told me that he could secure a sentence of probation or house arrest because he had a great relationship with the U.S. Attorney's Office."
It has been nearly a year since Gilley was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for multiple counts of bribery and money laundering in connection with a wide-ranging investigation into bribery tied to proposed gambling legislation.
Gilley's current attorney filed a motion to vacate the sentence, saying his former lawyer misled him on the expected range of his sentence. The motion also says, among other things, that Gilley's former lawyer should have called as a witness one of the FBI's lead investigators on the gambling corruption case.
In the motion, Weil also argued that Gilley's former attorney acknowledged to state officials that he offered bribes of more than $2 million when evidence showed that wasn't the case. Weil said the detail is important because sentencing levels increase with the amount of bribes being offered, and he could have gotten less jail time had his former attorney argued the monetary amount of the bribes.
Harrison said he provided effective counsel and is not surprised by the motion.
"It is something that happens in a lot of cases. I have filed a lot of them before and I have been a subject before. I am used to that. It's part of the system," Harrison told the newspaper.
The motion has been passed on to U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel.
Gilley is incarcerated in federal prison in Atlanta and has served more than eight months.
http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/24/5049790/gilley-asks-for-new-sentence-in.html
The Dothan Eagle reported (http://bit.ly/140eKxc ) that Gilley is making the request because he and his Atlanta-based attorney, Amy Weil, claim that his former attorney, David Harrison, provided ineffective counsel.
"Attorney Harrison told me that it was in my best interest to plead guilty because, if I pleaded guilty and cooperated, the court would sentence me to probation or, at worst, house arrest," Gilley wrote.
"Attorney Harrison told me that he could secure a sentence of probation or house arrest because he had a great relationship with the U.S. Attorney's Office."
It has been nearly a year since Gilley was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for multiple counts of bribery and money laundering in connection with a wide-ranging investigation into bribery tied to proposed gambling legislation.
Gilley's current attorney filed a motion to vacate the sentence, saying his former lawyer misled him on the expected range of his sentence. The motion also says, among other things, that Gilley's former lawyer should have called as a witness one of the FBI's lead investigators on the gambling corruption case.
In the motion, Weil also argued that Gilley's former attorney acknowledged to state officials that he offered bribes of more than $2 million when evidence showed that wasn't the case. Weil said the detail is important because sentencing levels increase with the amount of bribes being offered, and he could have gotten less jail time had his former attorney argued the monetary amount of the bribes.
Harrison said he provided effective counsel and is not surprised by the motion.
"It is something that happens in a lot of cases. I have filed a lot of them before and I have been a subject before. I am used to that. It's part of the system," Harrison told the newspaper.
The motion has been passed on to U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel.
Gilley is incarcerated in federal prison in Atlanta and has served more than eight months.
http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/24/5049790/gilley-asks-for-new-sentence-in.html
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