Alabama: Republicans Don't Favor Gambling

Bingo verdicts unlikely to spur push for gambling bills
By: Lance Griffin

When it comes to speculating about whether the verdicts — or lack thereof — in the gambling corruption trial will spark a renewed effort to pass gambling legislation, the metaphors are plentiful.

The atmosphere is still toxic.

The winds are still blowing in the other direction.

Or, try the one from Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan.

“The water is still very, very muddy and there are still a lot of things that have to be addressed,” Lee said.

Although the 18-month gambling corruption investigation and the 10-week trial failed to secure any convictions, Lee and Rep. Dexter Grimsley, D-Newville, said several factors make it unlikely for there to be another push to pass a legalized gambling bill during the next legislative session.

First, the makeup of the Alabama Legislature changed dramatically during the November elections. Republicans, generally opposed to legalized gambling, now hold solid majorities in the Senate and House.

“This (gambling legislation) has usually been a Democratic party push to this point,’ Grimsley said. “With the majority now being Republican, I don’t know if that could happen or not.”

Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, told the Associated Press that gambling legislation “wouldn’t even be discussed.”

Second, another gambling corruption trial could hang over the 2012 legislative session. Attorneys from both sides are meeting with the court on Monday morning to discuss a possible retrial date.

“I’m not sure anybody on either side of the aisle wants to carry that torch at this particular time,” Lee said.

But the economic outlook for 2012 is less than rosy, and legislators are expected to be faced with finding a way to fill a budget deficit of several hundred million dollars. With Republicans unlikely to push for any new taxes, gambling revenue has always been an alternative to more taxes.

Lee, however, said the Legislature will focus on findings ways to reduce spending instead of raising revenue.

“I think the goal for us last year was to basically cut some areas where there was not an absolute need, things that had been bleeding the system for years. I am sure we will find more areas,” Lee said.

But Grimsley believes an “equitable” gambling bill should be considered.

“We’ve got to find a way to get revenue,” Grimsley said. “If we could find a way to capture that revenue where it was a benefit to every part of the state and not any single part, I think it would be good for Alabama.”

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The court has scheduled a telephone hearing for Monday, Aug. 15, at 11 a.m. to discuss a possible retrial date in the gambling corruption case. Visit Dothaneagle.com for the results of the hearing.





Mask ‘not surprised’ by verdicts in trial
David Goodwin
The Wetumpka Herald

State Rep. Barry Mask, who testified in the federal corruption trial against VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and eight others, said he’s “not surprised” the nine were mostly acquitted Thursday.

“It is what it is, and I have to stand by what (the jury) said,” Mask said.

“Looking at the make up of the jury, and the fact they weren’t sequestered and got to hear all the stuff in the news, I’m not really surprised.”

Mask allowed the FBI to tape his conversations with McGregor leading up to a February 2010 fundraiser in Tallassee, at which prosecutors alleged McGregor and lobbyist Bob Geddie tried to bribe him for a favorable vote on pro-gambling legislation.

Both Geddie and State Sen. Quentin Ross were acquitted of all charges, while the other seven defendants had mistrials declared on some counts and not guilty on others.

Mask said he’s “happy for Bob,” and “I never had anything against him.”

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said a new trial would be scheduled on the mistrial charges, though he gave no sign of when that would be.

Mask said he didn’t know if he’d be called to testify again if the U.S. Attorney takes another swing at the remaining conspiracy, bribery and fraud charges.

“Lord I hope it’s done,” he said. “I don’t want to go through it all again. I’m ready to get on with my life.”

McGregor attorney Joe Espy handled the cross-examination of Mask in June, accusing him of political motives in his cooperation with the government.

Pressure on Mask has continued, as he was hit with an ethics complaint last week using exhibits — such as his ethics filings for the last seven years — that he said were identical to what Espy gave the jury in the federal trial.

“I’m the guy who’s been trashed and slimed,” Mask said. “I’ve been the one on trial in the media.”

Mask said the fact that the jurors were not sequestered to keep them from reading the exhaustive media coverage of the trial allowed Espy and other defense attorneys to affect the trial outside the courtroom.

“They got to hear all the stuff about the trial in the news,” he said.

But if someone came to him with another “questionable” offer or request, he’d do the same thing. “This is why people don’t get involved in politics,” Mask said. “They don’t step forward because you pay such a price for it.”

But, Mask said, he didn’t feel any of the blowback would affect his political future in strongly Republican Elmore County.

“People in my district are pretty smart,” he said. “In time, that’s all going to go away.”