Smith attorney delivers colorful closing
Written by Sebastian Kitchen
Jim Parkman, the loud defense attorney representing Sen. Harri Anne Smith, referenced Scooby Doo, American Idol and Seinfeld in a colorful closing argument that attacked government witnesses and evidence used by prosecutors.
Smith, an independent senator from Slocomb, is charged for allegedly participating in a scheme in which casino interests tried to bribe state lawmakers to pass gambling legislation.
The Country Crossing development, which is in Smith’s southeast Alabama district, included a bingo pavilion.
Parkman said the prosecution’s case is based on liars, thieves, conmen, egomaniacs, “people that have no respect for women, people that have no respect for Africans-Americans and convicted felons.”
“I’m not just calling them names, I’m telling you what they are,” Parkman told the jury.
Parkman said Smith has supported people voting on gambling legislation since April 2008. Smith had previously introduced a bill to try to keep there from being so-called electronic bingo at Country Crossing.
Parkman said there were some Scooby Doo moments in the trial when people went – “Rut Roh.” He said there were inconsistent statements by Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley and his lobbyist, Jarrod Massey.
He said the depictions about a 2009 dinner at Garrett’s restaurant where all different. Sen. Scott Beason, Rep. Benjamin Lewis, Gilley and Massey all told different depictions in court about the dinner. Beason accused Smith of telling him that those at the dinner could contribute $500,000 to his campaign for lieutenant governor if he supported Country Crossing. Smith denied she ever mentioned any offer to Beason.
“We know about Beason now, but he looked good. All that glitters ain’t gold,” Parkman said.
Parkman also criticized Gilley for singing a line from a song on the witness stand while the future of Smith and her family was on the line. Gilley, Parkman said, thought he was on “American Idol” and wanted to move on to the next round – probation and a lower sentence.
Parkman asked which of the three prosecutors he pointed to would be Paula Abdul.
Gilley, Massey and Pouncy, a lobbyist who worked for Massey, have all pleaded guilty in the case.
Parkman referred to this as a “Wisconsin prosecution” – “It’s got more holes in it than Swiss cheese.”
Parkman also referenced an episode of the hit show Seinfeld and made his own twist on a conversation between characters Jerry and George – “It’s not a bribe if you believe it to be the truth.”
Those watching Parkman appeared to enjoy Parkman’s arguments a little too much. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said he would clear out the audience in the court if spectators continued to react to the activity in the courtroom.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Nevada: How Could A Casino Run By Hooters Girls Go Bankrupt?
How Could A Casino Run By Hooters Girls Go Bankrupt?
Gus Lubin
The Las Vegas Hooters Resort & Casino filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday against more than $162 million in debt.
Although gaming revenue is low everywhere, people are spending money on drinks and nightclubs -- and nationally breastaurants are killing it. So how did this company lose money?
Debt holder Canpartners Realty Holding Company IV slammed management and suggested a possible lawsuit regarding excessive executive pay in a court filing, according to Vegas Inc:
Canpartners noted in a court filing that Deborah Pierce, the chief financial officer of Hooters casino’s parent company, 155 East Tropicana LLC, in early July had an annual base salary of $191,406 – not counting potential bonuses.
"Sometime last month, on the eve of bankruptcy, Ms. Pierce’s base salary was increased by 61 percent (to $307,406)," Canpartners said in the brief.
Canpartners charged that while "hotel and casino revenues have steadily decreased since 2007, the salaries of executive level employees have dramatically increased during this same timeframe."
"Based on the company’s financial statements previously provided to Canpartners by Ms. Pierce, net revenue declined by 34 percent from $66.5 million to $43.7 million from 2007 to 2010, respectively," Canpartners’ filing said. "During that same time period of revenue decline, executive salaries increased 8 percent whereas salaries for all departments excluding executives declined by 26 percent and full-time employees were reduced by 37 percent from 966 FTEs to 605 FTEs."
The brief suggests that Hooters Resort management was fiddling for years while the casino burned. For a lesson in what they should have done, note the radical new pay scheme at Steve Wynn's casinos.
Canpartners may sue to block bankruptcy and allow a foreclosure.
Gus Lubin
The Las Vegas Hooters Resort & Casino filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday against more than $162 million in debt.
Although gaming revenue is low everywhere, people are spending money on drinks and nightclubs -- and nationally breastaurants are killing it. So how did this company lose money?
Debt holder Canpartners Realty Holding Company IV slammed management and suggested a possible lawsuit regarding excessive executive pay in a court filing, according to Vegas Inc:
Canpartners noted in a court filing that Deborah Pierce, the chief financial officer of Hooters casino’s parent company, 155 East Tropicana LLC, in early July had an annual base salary of $191,406 – not counting potential bonuses.
"Sometime last month, on the eve of bankruptcy, Ms. Pierce’s base salary was increased by 61 percent (to $307,406)," Canpartners said in the brief.
Canpartners charged that while "hotel and casino revenues have steadily decreased since 2007, the salaries of executive level employees have dramatically increased during this same timeframe."
"Based on the company’s financial statements previously provided to Canpartners by Ms. Pierce, net revenue declined by 34 percent from $66.5 million to $43.7 million from 2007 to 2010, respectively," Canpartners’ filing said. "During that same time period of revenue decline, executive salaries increased 8 percent whereas salaries for all departments excluding executives declined by 26 percent and full-time employees were reduced by 37 percent from 966 FTEs to 605 FTEs."
The brief suggests that Hooters Resort management was fiddling for years while the casino burned. For a lesson in what they should have done, note the radical new pay scheme at Steve Wynn's casinos.
Canpartners may sue to block bankruptcy and allow a foreclosure.
Georgia: Negotiations continuing in case of illegal casinos
Negotiations continuing in case of illegal casinos
By Joe Johnson - Athens Banner-Herald
Attorneys for a Winder businessman and three area social clubs that ran illegal casinos continue to negotiate with federal prosecutors before they are sentenced.
Sentencing was scheduled for Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Athens.
Page Pate, who represents the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 262 in Winder and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2872 in Athens, said he and prosecutors hadn’t yet reached an agreement on how much restitution his clients will have to make, if any.
Those social clubs and a Moose lodge in Elberton pleaded guilty in May to one count each of violating federal gambling laws.
Raya Gonchikar, owner of Big Don’s and the Universal Game Room in Winder that leased about 30 gambling machines from Athens-based Heritage Amusement Co., pleaded guilty to one gambling count the same day.
They admitted that they conspired with Heritage Amusement to rent video poker machines from the amusement company for illegal gambling and split the profits with the company.
So far, seven people and the three social clubs have pleaded guilty to federal gambling charges as part of an ongoing investigation.
No one affiliated with Heritage Amusement has been charged, but defendants entered into plea bargains in which they agreed to cooperate with prosecutors; some attorneys said their clients already have testified before a federal grand jury.
U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal has sentenced five businessmen each to one year on probation and levied fines of $2,000 or less.
By entering into agreements, the convenience store owners avoided maximum penalties of five years in prison and fines of $250,000.
The government could try to recoup some or all of the money that was made through the illegal use of video poker machines, which is why Pate said he continues to negotiate with prosecutors.
“If their argument is that money was made unlawfully with the machines, the government’s position is some or all of that money should be forfeited,” Pate said. “I’m not sure that’s going to happen in our case, we’re just trying to reach an agreement.”
The sentencing hearing for his clients has been rescheduled for Sept. 7, Pate said.
By Joe Johnson - Athens Banner-Herald
Attorneys for a Winder businessman and three area social clubs that ran illegal casinos continue to negotiate with federal prosecutors before they are sentenced.
Sentencing was scheduled for Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Athens.
Page Pate, who represents the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 262 in Winder and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2872 in Athens, said he and prosecutors hadn’t yet reached an agreement on how much restitution his clients will have to make, if any.
Those social clubs and a Moose lodge in Elberton pleaded guilty in May to one count each of violating federal gambling laws.
Raya Gonchikar, owner of Big Don’s and the Universal Game Room in Winder that leased about 30 gambling machines from Athens-based Heritage Amusement Co., pleaded guilty to one gambling count the same day.
They admitted that they conspired with Heritage Amusement to rent video poker machines from the amusement company for illegal gambling and split the profits with the company.
So far, seven people and the three social clubs have pleaded guilty to federal gambling charges as part of an ongoing investigation.
No one affiliated with Heritage Amusement has been charged, but defendants entered into plea bargains in which they agreed to cooperate with prosecutors; some attorneys said their clients already have testified before a federal grand jury.
U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal has sentenced five businessmen each to one year on probation and levied fines of $2,000 or less.
By entering into agreements, the convenience store owners avoided maximum penalties of five years in prison and fines of $250,000.
The government could try to recoup some or all of the money that was made through the illegal use of video poker machines, which is why Pate said he continues to negotiate with prosecutors.
“If their argument is that money was made unlawfully with the machines, the government’s position is some or all of that money should be forfeited,” Pate said. “I’m not sure that’s going to happen in our case, we’re just trying to reach an agreement.”
The sentencing hearing for his clients has been rescheduled for Sept. 7, Pate said.
Alabama: Jury deliberations begin
Jury deliberations begin Friday in gambling trial
By PHILLIP RAWLS
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
Defense attorneys for four current and former state senators told the jury in the Alabama Statehouse corruption trial Thursday that the lawmakers never agreed to trade votes on pro-gambling legislation for campaign contributions and the prosecution can't present any wiretapped phone calls to prove they did.
The jury heard the second day of closing arguments in the two-month trial. Closing arguments will end Friday morning, and U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said the jury should begin deliberations after lunch.
The senators are on trial with VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor, two of his lobbyists and two others on charges they conspired to buy and sell votes for legislation designed to keep electronic bingo casinos operating.
A lawyer for Democratic Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery said he had supported every gambling bill that ever came before the Legislature.
"How can he participate in the conspiracy when he's always supported electronic bingo?" attorney Lewis Gillis asked.
An attorney for former Republican Sen. Quinton Ross of Talladega told jurors that there are no wiretapped phone calls and no testimony that show he ever sought to trade his vote.
"Not one witness has told you Jim Preuitt asked for one penny," attorney Ron Wise said.
Attorneys for former Democratic Sen. Larry Means of Attalla and independent Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb made similar arguments in their final comments to the jury.
Prosecutors said from the start of the trial there was never any recording where a senator said "I'll do this for that," but it was clear from recordings and testimony that both sides understood what the offer of campaign contributions meant as gambling proponents scrambled to get votes to electronic bingo machines that produced millions in income.
Country Crossing casino developer Ronnie Gilley and two of his lobbyists pleaded guilty to conspiring to offer large campaign contributions to the senators for their votes and testified in the trial.
One of the lobbyists, Jennfier Pouncy, testified last month that Preuitt never sought a contribution, but she offered $2 million at the direction of Gilley and Massey. She said Ross and Means asked for campaign contributions, but they never said their votes hinged on getting the money.
Pouncy testified that Means asked her for a $100,000 campaign contribution about a week before the Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment designed to protect electronic bingo machines.
Means' attorney, Bill Clark, said Means told people that he faced a tough re-election campaign last year and needed help, but he never promised any official action in return for the vote.
"He never asked for a campaign contribution in exchange for a vote. He never agreed to accept a campaign contribution in exchange for a vote," he said.
Gilley and Country Crossing lobbyist Massey testified earlier in the trial about funneling campaign contributions to Smith through political action committees and other donors to hide their connection to gambling interests. Gilley also testified about spending more than $200,000 to throw a fundraising event for Smith with country singers Lorrie Morgan and John Anderson to make sure she maintained her support of gambling legislation.
"I say to you: Nay, nay," defense attorney Jim Parkman said. He said prosecutors recorded 12,000 wiretapped phone calls but couldn't point to one where she swapped her vote for money.
Motioning toward the prosecution, Parkman said Gilley performed like an entertainer on the witness stand, even singing his cell phone's ring tone from Jamey Johnson's country hit "In Color," but his testimony against the senators was designed to win him a prize: A recommendation from prosecutors for probation rather than a prison sentence.
"To him, it's American Idol," Parkman said.
Parkman's flamboyant 90-minute closing argument was written on a hotel napkin and was built around references to TV shows. He said defense attorneys caught the Country Crossing group in so much conflicting testimony that they became "Scooby Doo moments."
"Ruh-roh," he told the jury.
A defense attorney for Ray Crosby, who was the Legislature's point man on writing gambling legislation, acknowledged that his client accepted $3,000 a month for two years from McGregor, but said they weren't bribes. Attorney Tommy Goggans said McGregor reported the monthly checks to the IRS and wanted to show Crosby that he appreciated his hard work.
"That's not wrong. That's hospitality," Crosby said.
Gilley and McGregor ran casinos filled with electronic bingo machines featuring flashing lights and sound effects like slot machines. Former Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force maintained the games were illegal slots and succeeded in closing the casinos in Dothan and Shorter last year.
The legislation designed to protect the games got passed by the Senate on March 30, 2010, with all four senators supporting it. The FBI disclosed its investigation of Statehouse corruption two days later and the bill died in the House without coming to a vote.
Smith and Ross got re-elected after begin indicted, Means got defeated, and Preuitt dropped his re-election bid.
By PHILLIP RAWLS
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
Defense attorneys for four current and former state senators told the jury in the Alabama Statehouse corruption trial Thursday that the lawmakers never agreed to trade votes on pro-gambling legislation for campaign contributions and the prosecution can't present any wiretapped phone calls to prove they did.
The jury heard the second day of closing arguments in the two-month trial. Closing arguments will end Friday morning, and U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said the jury should begin deliberations after lunch.
The senators are on trial with VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor, two of his lobbyists and two others on charges they conspired to buy and sell votes for legislation designed to keep electronic bingo casinos operating.
A lawyer for Democratic Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery said he had supported every gambling bill that ever came before the Legislature.
"How can he participate in the conspiracy when he's always supported electronic bingo?" attorney Lewis Gillis asked.
An attorney for former Republican Sen. Quinton Ross of Talladega told jurors that there are no wiretapped phone calls and no testimony that show he ever sought to trade his vote.
"Not one witness has told you Jim Preuitt asked for one penny," attorney Ron Wise said.
Attorneys for former Democratic Sen. Larry Means of Attalla and independent Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb made similar arguments in their final comments to the jury.
Prosecutors said from the start of the trial there was never any recording where a senator said "I'll do this for that," but it was clear from recordings and testimony that both sides understood what the offer of campaign contributions meant as gambling proponents scrambled to get votes to electronic bingo machines that produced millions in income.
Country Crossing casino developer Ronnie Gilley and two of his lobbyists pleaded guilty to conspiring to offer large campaign contributions to the senators for their votes and testified in the trial.
One of the lobbyists, Jennfier Pouncy, testified last month that Preuitt never sought a contribution, but she offered $2 million at the direction of Gilley and Massey. She said Ross and Means asked for campaign contributions, but they never said their votes hinged on getting the money.
Pouncy testified that Means asked her for a $100,000 campaign contribution about a week before the Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment designed to protect electronic bingo machines.
Means' attorney, Bill Clark, said Means told people that he faced a tough re-election campaign last year and needed help, but he never promised any official action in return for the vote.
"He never asked for a campaign contribution in exchange for a vote. He never agreed to accept a campaign contribution in exchange for a vote," he said.
Gilley and Country Crossing lobbyist Massey testified earlier in the trial about funneling campaign contributions to Smith through political action committees and other donors to hide their connection to gambling interests. Gilley also testified about spending more than $200,000 to throw a fundraising event for Smith with country singers Lorrie Morgan and John Anderson to make sure she maintained her support of gambling legislation.
"I say to you: Nay, nay," defense attorney Jim Parkman said. He said prosecutors recorded 12,000 wiretapped phone calls but couldn't point to one where she swapped her vote for money.
Motioning toward the prosecution, Parkman said Gilley performed like an entertainer on the witness stand, even singing his cell phone's ring tone from Jamey Johnson's country hit "In Color," but his testimony against the senators was designed to win him a prize: A recommendation from prosecutors for probation rather than a prison sentence.
"To him, it's American Idol," Parkman said.
Parkman's flamboyant 90-minute closing argument was written on a hotel napkin and was built around references to TV shows. He said defense attorneys caught the Country Crossing group in so much conflicting testimony that they became "Scooby Doo moments."
"Ruh-roh," he told the jury.
A defense attorney for Ray Crosby, who was the Legislature's point man on writing gambling legislation, acknowledged that his client accepted $3,000 a month for two years from McGregor, but said they weren't bribes. Attorney Tommy Goggans said McGregor reported the monthly checks to the IRS and wanted to show Crosby that he appreciated his hard work.
"That's not wrong. That's hospitality," Crosby said.
Gilley and McGregor ran casinos filled with electronic bingo machines featuring flashing lights and sound effects like slot machines. Former Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force maintained the games were illegal slots and succeeded in closing the casinos in Dothan and Shorter last year.
The legislation designed to protect the games got passed by the Senate on March 30, 2010, with all four senators supporting it. The FBI disclosed its investigation of Statehouse corruption two days later and the bill died in the House without coming to a vote.
Smith and Ross got re-elected after begin indicted, Means got defeated, and Preuitt dropped his re-election bid.
Alabama: Jury could get case today
Gambling corruption trial: Jury could get case today
Written by Sebastian Kitchen
Following a colorful and emotional day of closing arguments Thursday, the judge presiding over a federal corruption case expects to conclude arguments this morning and allow the jury to begin deliberating by 1 p.m.
Attorneys for eight of the nine defendants have concluded their closing arguments, with Susan James set to deliver her arguments on behalf of Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker at 8 a.m. She will have an hour.
Following James, prosecutors will have almost two hours to conclude their closing arguments.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson will then give the jury its instructions, which could be lengthy with more than 35 counts and nine defendants, and said he hopes the jury will begin deliberating by no later than 1 p.m.
Closing arguments in the case, which began in early June, started Wednesday.
James will follow Ron Wise, attorney for former state Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega, who talked Thursday about lobbyists -- who pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the prosecution -- playing on the senator's emotions after the suicide of his grandson.
She will also follow Jim Parkman, attorney for state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, who referred to "American Idol," Scooby-Doo and Seinfeld in his colorful closing argument, one that led Thompson to threaten to clear the courtroom if spectators didn't stifle their laughter at the attorney's sarcasm and stinging statements.
Attorneys for Sen. Quinton Ross, former Sen. Larry Means, and legislative analyst and attorney Ray Crosby also delivered their closing arguments Thursday.
The other defendants are VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and two of his lobbyists, Tom Coker and Bob Geddie.
The nine defendants are accused of participating in a conspiracy in which casino owners and their lobbyists bribed state lawmakers to pass gambling legislation.
Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley and two of his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, have already pleaded guilty in the case.
No respect
Parkman said the prosecution's case is based on liars, thieves, con-men, convicted felons, egomaniacs, and "people that have no respect for women, people that have no respect for African-Americans."
(Page 2 of 4)
"I'm not just calling them names, I'm telling you what they are," Parkman told the jury.
Smith, an independent senator from Slocomb, represents the southeast Alabama district that includes the Country Crossing development, which included a bingo pavilion.
Parkman said Smith has supported people voting on gambling legislation since April 2008. Smith had previously introduced a bill to try to stop so-called electronic bingo at Country Crossing.
Prosecutors have played audio recordings of Smith asking for money from Gilley and have attributed her change in heart to his financial help.
Parkman and Smith said although she opposes gambling, she supported people voting on the issue and supported economic development in her district.
Parkman said there were some Scooby-Doo moments during the trial with people saying "Rut Roh" when there were inconsistent statements by Gilley and Massey.
He said several government witnesses -- state Sen. Scott Beason, state Rep. Benjamin Lewis, Gilley and Massey -- told different versions of a 2009 dinner at Garrett's restaurant. Beason accused Smith of telling him that those at the dinner, which included some country musicians and producers, could contribute $500,000 to his campaign for lieutenant governor if he supported Country Crossing. Smith denied she ever made the offer to Beason.
Parkman also talked about a call Lewis recorded between him and Smith in which she told him to vote his conscience. He said that was clear evidence that she was not part of a conspiracy pushing the gambling legislation.
Parkman also criticized Gilley for singing a line from a song on the witness stand while the future of Smith and her family was on the line. Gilley, Parkman said, thought he was on "American Idol" and wanted to move on to the next round -- probation and a lower sentence.
Parkman asked which of the three prosecutors he pointed to would be Paula Abdul.
Parkman referred to this as a "Wisconsin prosecution" -- "It's got more holes in it than Swiss cheese."
(Page 3 of 4)
He also referenced an episode of the hit show "Seinfeld" and made his own twist on a conversation between characters Jerry and George -- "It's not a bribe if you believe it to be the truth."
Caught in the net
Lewis Gillis, attorney for Ross, said the defendant supported gambling in the state because it helped with education and economic development, and said he was "caught in the net" as he was trying to make calls soliciting campaign contributions while federal authorities were investigating other people.
Gillis said there was no discussion, when Ross called McGregor or those with Country Crossing, about how Ross would vote on gambling legislation and that he did not promise any action for his vote. He said Ross was always expected to vote for the legislation, although prosecutors point to him introducing what they said was competing legislation.
Ross is accused of pushing McGregor and those representing Country Crossing for campaign contributions leading up to the vote on the gambling bill. Pouncy said he became demanding.
Gillis also reiterated that Gilley and Massey would not return phone calls to Ross.
State law
Tommy Goggans, an attorney for Crosby, who McGregor paid $3,000 a month while Crosby worked for the state helping to draft bills, acknowledged his client should have disclosed the payments sooner, but said people are allowed to file amendments. Crosby filed payments on amended statements of economic interests, which certain state employees are required to submit to the Alabama Ethics Commission, after the investigation became public.
"You're not here to decide if someone followed state law or not," Goggans said.
Goggans also pointed out that McGregor wrote the checks from his business.
And with Crosby accused of using his official position to help McGregor, Goggans talked about several pieces of legislation that his client drafted that would have devastated VictoryLand.
Prosecutors have said Crosby knew the payments were wrong because he did not report them for years, and they stopped right after the investigation became public.
(Page 4 of 4)
Memory
Attorneys for Means and Preuitt said Thursday that there was no evidence against their clients and that the case against them is based on the testimony of three admitted liars who have pleaded guilty in the case.
They also said there is no evidence that their clients asked for or requested contributions in exchange for their votes on gambling legislation.
Means, D-Attalla, is accused of what Massey called a "shakedown," asking for $100,000 in campaign contributions leading up to the vote on the legislation, which would have legalized electronic gambling in the state if approved by voters.
"This is Jarrod Massey's word and he did not even talk to Larry Means," said Bill Clark, attorney for Means.
Pouncy, after receiving a text message from the senator, talked to Means in his office. She said on the witness stand that she did not use the word "shakedown."
Massey used it when he called Gilley, who approved paying the money to Means.
Means and Preuitt voted differently or did not vote to bring up the original gambling legislation, but both voted for the version that passed the Senate on March 30, 2010. Clark pointed out that the legislation was dramatically different.
They were both, according to testimony, concerned about Etowah County, which was represented by Means, being treated fairly and being allowed to have a casino location.
Prosecutors accuse the senators of voting for the legislation after being assured by lobbyists for McGregor and Gilley that they would receive significant campaign help.
Pouncy said she offered Preuitt $2 million in help for his campaign. But, when questioned by attorneys, there was some uncertainty about when the meeting occurred and whether Preuitt actually heard the offer because he changed the subject. Pouncy said on the witness stand that she could not remember what happened 25 minutes before.
"Are you going to rely on someone's memory when she can't remember what she said 25 minutes ago," Wise asked.
Wise also pointed to comments from Gilley, who said Preuitt did not want his money and funded his own campaign.
Prosecutors have pointed to Preuitt and Gilley talking after the vote.
"Preuitt never committed to accepting anything for his vote," Wise said.
Written by Sebastian Kitchen
Following a colorful and emotional day of closing arguments Thursday, the judge presiding over a federal corruption case expects to conclude arguments this morning and allow the jury to begin deliberating by 1 p.m.
Attorneys for eight of the nine defendants have concluded their closing arguments, with Susan James set to deliver her arguments on behalf of Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker at 8 a.m. She will have an hour.
Following James, prosecutors will have almost two hours to conclude their closing arguments.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson will then give the jury its instructions, which could be lengthy with more than 35 counts and nine defendants, and said he hopes the jury will begin deliberating by no later than 1 p.m.
Closing arguments in the case, which began in early June, started Wednesday.
James will follow Ron Wise, attorney for former state Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega, who talked Thursday about lobbyists -- who pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the prosecution -- playing on the senator's emotions after the suicide of his grandson.
She will also follow Jim Parkman, attorney for state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, who referred to "American Idol," Scooby-Doo and Seinfeld in his colorful closing argument, one that led Thompson to threaten to clear the courtroom if spectators didn't stifle their laughter at the attorney's sarcasm and stinging statements.
Attorneys for Sen. Quinton Ross, former Sen. Larry Means, and legislative analyst and attorney Ray Crosby also delivered their closing arguments Thursday.
The other defendants are VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and two of his lobbyists, Tom Coker and Bob Geddie.
The nine defendants are accused of participating in a conspiracy in which casino owners and their lobbyists bribed state lawmakers to pass gambling legislation.
Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley and two of his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, have already pleaded guilty in the case.
No respect
Parkman said the prosecution's case is based on liars, thieves, con-men, convicted felons, egomaniacs, and "people that have no respect for women, people that have no respect for African-Americans."
(Page 2 of 4)
"I'm not just calling them names, I'm telling you what they are," Parkman told the jury.
Smith, an independent senator from Slocomb, represents the southeast Alabama district that includes the Country Crossing development, which included a bingo pavilion.
Parkman said Smith has supported people voting on gambling legislation since April 2008. Smith had previously introduced a bill to try to stop so-called electronic bingo at Country Crossing.
Prosecutors have played audio recordings of Smith asking for money from Gilley and have attributed her change in heart to his financial help.
Parkman and Smith said although she opposes gambling, she supported people voting on the issue and supported economic development in her district.
Parkman said there were some Scooby-Doo moments during the trial with people saying "Rut Roh" when there were inconsistent statements by Gilley and Massey.
He said several government witnesses -- state Sen. Scott Beason, state Rep. Benjamin Lewis, Gilley and Massey -- told different versions of a 2009 dinner at Garrett's restaurant. Beason accused Smith of telling him that those at the dinner, which included some country musicians and producers, could contribute $500,000 to his campaign for lieutenant governor if he supported Country Crossing. Smith denied she ever made the offer to Beason.
Parkman also talked about a call Lewis recorded between him and Smith in which she told him to vote his conscience. He said that was clear evidence that she was not part of a conspiracy pushing the gambling legislation.
Parkman also criticized Gilley for singing a line from a song on the witness stand while the future of Smith and her family was on the line. Gilley, Parkman said, thought he was on "American Idol" and wanted to move on to the next round -- probation and a lower sentence.
Parkman asked which of the three prosecutors he pointed to would be Paula Abdul.
Parkman referred to this as a "Wisconsin prosecution" -- "It's got more holes in it than Swiss cheese."
(Page 3 of 4)
He also referenced an episode of the hit show "Seinfeld" and made his own twist on a conversation between characters Jerry and George -- "It's not a bribe if you believe it to be the truth."
Caught in the net
Lewis Gillis, attorney for Ross, said the defendant supported gambling in the state because it helped with education and economic development, and said he was "caught in the net" as he was trying to make calls soliciting campaign contributions while federal authorities were investigating other people.
Gillis said there was no discussion, when Ross called McGregor or those with Country Crossing, about how Ross would vote on gambling legislation and that he did not promise any action for his vote. He said Ross was always expected to vote for the legislation, although prosecutors point to him introducing what they said was competing legislation.
Ross is accused of pushing McGregor and those representing Country Crossing for campaign contributions leading up to the vote on the gambling bill. Pouncy said he became demanding.
Gillis also reiterated that Gilley and Massey would not return phone calls to Ross.
State law
Tommy Goggans, an attorney for Crosby, who McGregor paid $3,000 a month while Crosby worked for the state helping to draft bills, acknowledged his client should have disclosed the payments sooner, but said people are allowed to file amendments. Crosby filed payments on amended statements of economic interests, which certain state employees are required to submit to the Alabama Ethics Commission, after the investigation became public.
"You're not here to decide if someone followed state law or not," Goggans said.
Goggans also pointed out that McGregor wrote the checks from his business.
And with Crosby accused of using his official position to help McGregor, Goggans talked about several pieces of legislation that his client drafted that would have devastated VictoryLand.
Prosecutors have said Crosby knew the payments were wrong because he did not report them for years, and they stopped right after the investigation became public.
(Page 4 of 4)
Memory
Attorneys for Means and Preuitt said Thursday that there was no evidence against their clients and that the case against them is based on the testimony of three admitted liars who have pleaded guilty in the case.
They also said there is no evidence that their clients asked for or requested contributions in exchange for their votes on gambling legislation.
Means, D-Attalla, is accused of what Massey called a "shakedown," asking for $100,000 in campaign contributions leading up to the vote on the legislation, which would have legalized electronic gambling in the state if approved by voters.
"This is Jarrod Massey's word and he did not even talk to Larry Means," said Bill Clark, attorney for Means.
Pouncy, after receiving a text message from the senator, talked to Means in his office. She said on the witness stand that she did not use the word "shakedown."
Massey used it when he called Gilley, who approved paying the money to Means.
Means and Preuitt voted differently or did not vote to bring up the original gambling legislation, but both voted for the version that passed the Senate on March 30, 2010. Clark pointed out that the legislation was dramatically different.
They were both, according to testimony, concerned about Etowah County, which was represented by Means, being treated fairly and being allowed to have a casino location.
Prosecutors accuse the senators of voting for the legislation after being assured by lobbyists for McGregor and Gilley that they would receive significant campaign help.
Pouncy said she offered Preuitt $2 million in help for his campaign. But, when questioned by attorneys, there was some uncertainty about when the meeting occurred and whether Preuitt actually heard the offer because he changed the subject. Pouncy said on the witness stand that she could not remember what happened 25 minutes before.
"Are you going to rely on someone's memory when she can't remember what she said 25 minutes ago," Wise asked.
Wise also pointed to comments from Gilley, who said Preuitt did not want his money and funded his own campaign.
Prosecutors have pointed to Preuitt and Gilley talking after the vote.
"Preuitt never committed to accepting anything for his vote," Wise said.
Love, money and the gang
Love, money and the gang
Written by Sebastian Kitchen
The eighth week of a federal corruption trial had a surprise ending with the nine defendants resting their case without most calling any defense witnesses, but it also had some interesting quotes, comments and tidbits that did not make it into daily stories in the Montgomery Advertiser.
Below are some of those comments and tidbits from the eighth week of the federal corruption trial of VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor, two of his lobbyists, four current or former state senators and two others.
How he rolls
"It's not the way I roll, but some people give money to the party that they think is going to reduce their taxes," McGregor attorney Sam Heldman said of political contributions.
Love interests
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson questioned how Sen. Quinton Ross fit into the alleged conspiracy if he was just pushing hard to raise money for his campaign. Ross, according to the testimony of a witness, said he was "not feeling the love" after sponsoring gambling legislation in 2009.
"Why couldn't it be that he was more interested in love than he was the bill," Thompson asked a prosecutor.
An attorney for Ross, D- Montgomery, told the judge he was glad he waited to make that comment until after Ross' wife left the courtroom. His attorneys have said he was trying to raise funds for his 2010 re-election campaign.
The gang
Jimmy Judkins, attorney for lobbyist Bob Geddie, referred to Gilley, Massey and Pouncy as the "criminal gang" or the "Gilley gang."
Mom and Dad
Ross, according to testimony and wiretapped conversations, called Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley, and his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, trying to raise funds.
Massey and Gilley said they did not return Ross' calls. Pouncy said he was agitated they would not call him back and he became increasingly demanding and aggressive.
"It was clear when Ross wasn't getting what he wanted from Massey and Pouncy, he went from mom to dad," said Eric Olshan, prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section.
(Page 2 of 4)
Duped
Lewis Gillis, an attorney for Ross, said Massey and Gilley "duped" Jennifer Pouncy, a lobbyist who worked for Massey who has also pleaded guilty.
"They took advantage of her," Gillis said.
Several attorneys have said they feel for Pouncy, who had a child in 2009, and feel she was caught up in the criminal activities of her employer.
"The passion I have for (Ross), I could have passion for her," Gillis said of Pouncy.
Where's the money
Jim Parkman, attorney for Sen. Harri Anne Smith, questioned FBI forensic accountant Philip Harrod about what happened to $25,000 that Gilley said he gave to lobbyist Michael Sullivan in 2008.
Gilley and Massey have testified that Gilley gave $25,000 to Sullivan to get to Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, to stop an anti-gambling bill introduced by Smith. Harrod said $15,000 was taken out in cash. He said about $7,300 went into a personal investment account at Merrill Lynch for Sullivan. The agent said the remainder of the money remained in a banking account. Harrod said that much money was never deposited into Singleton's account and none was deposited into Smith's account.
Plenty of money
Casino operator Rick Graham, in a conversation with Gilley secretly recorded by the FBI, said he had 90,000 square feet in Piedmont and wanted to be allowed to have 2,000 electronic gambling machines. Graham, who operated in Walker County, said McGregor told him not to open the Piedmont location but later said they would let him have 1,250 machines. Graham said he told McGregor that would not work and said McGregor later rescinded the offer.
"There's plenty of money to go around here," Graham said.
Gilley told him he did not know about the disagreement with McGregor. Graham talked about a meeting in which he said Gilley stood up and said he and McGregor were not together.
Gilley said he had $90 million on the ground at Country Crossing, but all of the doors are locked.
Graham said all he had was $12 million to $15 million.
Exposed
McGregor, in another wiretapped conversation, told his lobbyist, Tom Coker, that he has more financial exposure than everyone in the state. He tells Coker he has borrowed and spent "so much money."
(Page 3 of 4)
"Here I am on the damn note for tens of millions I've got to pay back with interest," McGregor said.
Polling well
McGregor, in a wiretapped conversation with top officials with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, said polls show people in the state want gambling. He said Alabama was an anti-gambling state 10 years earlier, but he thinks that has changed in part because of success in Mississippi.
Not greedy
Elliot Maisel, who said he had interest in the greyhound park in Mobile, asked McGregor what they were going to do about Jefferson County, where McGregor had a facility, but other people wanted to open casinos in Bessemer and other communities. Some operators were trying, as different parties negotiated and worked on the gambling legislation, to ensure that other facilities would be allowed in Jefferson County.
"We'll control that," McGregor told Maisel.
McGregor said legislators came to him and said they needed to have more than one license in Jefferson County to appease people to move forward with the legislation.
"I'm not a greedy person and these are my friends saying if we are going to pass it, we're going to have to have more than your location," he said to Maisel.
One less juror
The jury will have at least one fewer juror when it begins its deliberations. Attorneys acknowledged one of them was no longer there, but would not comment. They said the issue was discussed in private, and they would not delve into it. The jury originally consisted of 12 members and five alternates.
Circles and arrows
Bill Baxley, an attorney for Coker, asked FBI Special Agent Nathan Langmack about a graphic on a monitor in the courtroom that outlined information from calls between defendants and others involved in the case.
Langmack asked Baxley if he was talking about the power point.
"I don't know what you call it, but it's got circles and numbers and arrows on it," Baxley said.
Baxley asked Langmack to figure out a percentage related to some of those calls. Baxley wrote it down longhand as he figured it out while Langmack pulled a calculator out of his pocket. Baxley said he did not know how to use a computer or a cellphone.
(Page 4 of 4)
Baxley turned the calculation over as evidence and joked with the judge that he would like to be graded.
"You'll get your grade," Thompson said.
Lobbying effort
Richard Whitaker of the Medical Association of Alabama said Coker was paid for about 10 years to be a lobbyist for the association. He said he believes Coker was paid about $3,000 a month.
Sincerity
When Judkins began questioning Langmack, the agent told the attorney it was nice to meet him.
Judkins told the agent he did not think he was sincere.
When Judkins finished questioning the agent, Langmack said "It was nice meeting you by the way, sir."
Legal pad
Smith said Parkman told her to "hush" when she was making comments to him during the case.
She said she began writing down her thoughts on a "big notepad" to tell her side of the story.
Smith said it was difficult to listen to the "untruths." She said she became anxious before each witness, wondering what they would say.
"You told the truth," Smith said of her lawyers. "The truth is always the best defense."
Written by Sebastian Kitchen
The eighth week of a federal corruption trial had a surprise ending with the nine defendants resting their case without most calling any defense witnesses, but it also had some interesting quotes, comments and tidbits that did not make it into daily stories in the Montgomery Advertiser.
Below are some of those comments and tidbits from the eighth week of the federal corruption trial of VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor, two of his lobbyists, four current or former state senators and two others.
How he rolls
"It's not the way I roll, but some people give money to the party that they think is going to reduce their taxes," McGregor attorney Sam Heldman said of political contributions.
Love interests
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson questioned how Sen. Quinton Ross fit into the alleged conspiracy if he was just pushing hard to raise money for his campaign. Ross, according to the testimony of a witness, said he was "not feeling the love" after sponsoring gambling legislation in 2009.
"Why couldn't it be that he was more interested in love than he was the bill," Thompson asked a prosecutor.
An attorney for Ross, D- Montgomery, told the judge he was glad he waited to make that comment until after Ross' wife left the courtroom. His attorneys have said he was trying to raise funds for his 2010 re-election campaign.
The gang
Jimmy Judkins, attorney for lobbyist Bob Geddie, referred to Gilley, Massey and Pouncy as the "criminal gang" or the "Gilley gang."
Mom and Dad
Ross, according to testimony and wiretapped conversations, called Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley, and his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, trying to raise funds.
Massey and Gilley said they did not return Ross' calls. Pouncy said he was agitated they would not call him back and he became increasingly demanding and aggressive.
"It was clear when Ross wasn't getting what he wanted from Massey and Pouncy, he went from mom to dad," said Eric Olshan, prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section.
(Page 2 of 4)
Duped
Lewis Gillis, an attorney for Ross, said Massey and Gilley "duped" Jennifer Pouncy, a lobbyist who worked for Massey who has also pleaded guilty.
"They took advantage of her," Gillis said.
Several attorneys have said they feel for Pouncy, who had a child in 2009, and feel she was caught up in the criminal activities of her employer.
"The passion I have for (Ross), I could have passion for her," Gillis said of Pouncy.
Where's the money
Jim Parkman, attorney for Sen. Harri Anne Smith, questioned FBI forensic accountant Philip Harrod about what happened to $25,000 that Gilley said he gave to lobbyist Michael Sullivan in 2008.
Gilley and Massey have testified that Gilley gave $25,000 to Sullivan to get to Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, to stop an anti-gambling bill introduced by Smith. Harrod said $15,000 was taken out in cash. He said about $7,300 went into a personal investment account at Merrill Lynch for Sullivan. The agent said the remainder of the money remained in a banking account. Harrod said that much money was never deposited into Singleton's account and none was deposited into Smith's account.
Plenty of money
Casino operator Rick Graham, in a conversation with Gilley secretly recorded by the FBI, said he had 90,000 square feet in Piedmont and wanted to be allowed to have 2,000 electronic gambling machines. Graham, who operated in Walker County, said McGregor told him not to open the Piedmont location but later said they would let him have 1,250 machines. Graham said he told McGregor that would not work and said McGregor later rescinded the offer.
"There's plenty of money to go around here," Graham said.
Gilley told him he did not know about the disagreement with McGregor. Graham talked about a meeting in which he said Gilley stood up and said he and McGregor were not together.
Gilley said he had $90 million on the ground at Country Crossing, but all of the doors are locked.
Graham said all he had was $12 million to $15 million.
Exposed
McGregor, in another wiretapped conversation, told his lobbyist, Tom Coker, that he has more financial exposure than everyone in the state. He tells Coker he has borrowed and spent "so much money."
(Page 3 of 4)
"Here I am on the damn note for tens of millions I've got to pay back with interest," McGregor said.
Polling well
McGregor, in a wiretapped conversation with top officials with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, said polls show people in the state want gambling. He said Alabama was an anti-gambling state 10 years earlier, but he thinks that has changed in part because of success in Mississippi.
Not greedy
Elliot Maisel, who said he had interest in the greyhound park in Mobile, asked McGregor what they were going to do about Jefferson County, where McGregor had a facility, but other people wanted to open casinos in Bessemer and other communities. Some operators were trying, as different parties negotiated and worked on the gambling legislation, to ensure that other facilities would be allowed in Jefferson County.
"We'll control that," McGregor told Maisel.
McGregor said legislators came to him and said they needed to have more than one license in Jefferson County to appease people to move forward with the legislation.
"I'm not a greedy person and these are my friends saying if we are going to pass it, we're going to have to have more than your location," he said to Maisel.
One less juror
The jury will have at least one fewer juror when it begins its deliberations. Attorneys acknowledged one of them was no longer there, but would not comment. They said the issue was discussed in private, and they would not delve into it. The jury originally consisted of 12 members and five alternates.
Circles and arrows
Bill Baxley, an attorney for Coker, asked FBI Special Agent Nathan Langmack about a graphic on a monitor in the courtroom that outlined information from calls between defendants and others involved in the case.
Langmack asked Baxley if he was talking about the power point.
"I don't know what you call it, but it's got circles and numbers and arrows on it," Baxley said.
Baxley asked Langmack to figure out a percentage related to some of those calls. Baxley wrote it down longhand as he figured it out while Langmack pulled a calculator out of his pocket. Baxley said he did not know how to use a computer or a cellphone.
(Page 4 of 4)
Baxley turned the calculation over as evidence and joked with the judge that he would like to be graded.
"You'll get your grade," Thompson said.
Lobbying effort
Richard Whitaker of the Medical Association of Alabama said Coker was paid for about 10 years to be a lobbyist for the association. He said he believes Coker was paid about $3,000 a month.
Sincerity
When Judkins began questioning Langmack, the agent told the attorney it was nice to meet him.
Judkins told the agent he did not think he was sincere.
When Judkins finished questioning the agent, Langmack said "It was nice meeting you by the way, sir."
Legal pad
Smith said Parkman told her to "hush" when she was making comments to him during the case.
She said she began writing down her thoughts on a "big notepad" to tell her side of the story.
Smith said it was difficult to listen to the "untruths." She said she became anxious before each witness, wondering what they would say.
"You told the truth," Smith said of her lawyers. "The truth is always the best defense."
Weis Says No to Gambling
Weis Says No to Gambling
Jody Weis, the former Chicago police superintendent whom mayor Rahm Emanuel didn’t want to keep around, is now speaking out against Emanuel’s first legislative victory: the still-unsigned gambling expansion bill.
Since leaving the police department, Weis has become deputy director of the Chicago Crime Commission, an anti-Outfit watchdog. On Wednesday, the commission issued a report claiming that the gambling bill contains loopholes that will allow gangsters and politically-connected hacks to get control of slot machines in Illinois.
The bill creates two new regulatory bodies -- the Chicago Casino Development Authority and the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack Authority -- which would take control of the new Chicago casino and the Downstate racetrack slots away from the Illinois Gaming Board.
Commission Executive Vice President Art Bilek analyzed the bill:
To date, the Crime Syndicate has been kept out of legal gambling in Illinois through the unflinching efforts of the current Illinois Gaming Board…This move would essentially put the Chicago casino and the Springfield racino in untested and, most likely, politically connected hands. Moreover, the legislation sows the seeds for conflict of interest and political corruption at the Illinois Gaming Board by requiring that the appointment of the agency’s executive director be by the governor and not the Gaming Board, as is currently the case, and further requiring the advise and consent of the Illinois Senate...These regulatory shortcomings coupled with the almost unbelievable number of new gambling activities provided by the bill will enable the always ingenious and persistent Crime Syndicate to seek out schemes to enrich itself by getting into the state's legal gambling business.
The bill was also condemned by two prominent clergymen, Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church and Bishop Ed Peecher of New Heritage Cathedral. Both predicted that slots would be irresistible to poor people looking for easy money.
“I have significant concern that entire families will be left penniless because Mom or Dad will be spending their entire paycheck at the casinos,” Peecher said.
The bill passed in May, but Quinn has yet to sign it. Indications are, he doesn’t want to sign it. Thanks to Weis, he now has another reason to say no to Mayor Emanuel.
Jody Weis, the former Chicago police superintendent whom mayor Rahm Emanuel didn’t want to keep around, is now speaking out against Emanuel’s first legislative victory: the still-unsigned gambling expansion bill.
Since leaving the police department, Weis has become deputy director of the Chicago Crime Commission, an anti-Outfit watchdog. On Wednesday, the commission issued a report claiming that the gambling bill contains loopholes that will allow gangsters and politically-connected hacks to get control of slot machines in Illinois.
The bill creates two new regulatory bodies -- the Chicago Casino Development Authority and the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack Authority -- which would take control of the new Chicago casino and the Downstate racetrack slots away from the Illinois Gaming Board.
Commission Executive Vice President Art Bilek analyzed the bill:
To date, the Crime Syndicate has been kept out of legal gambling in Illinois through the unflinching efforts of the current Illinois Gaming Board…This move would essentially put the Chicago casino and the Springfield racino in untested and, most likely, politically connected hands. Moreover, the legislation sows the seeds for conflict of interest and political corruption at the Illinois Gaming Board by requiring that the appointment of the agency’s executive director be by the governor and not the Gaming Board, as is currently the case, and further requiring the advise and consent of the Illinois Senate...These regulatory shortcomings coupled with the almost unbelievable number of new gambling activities provided by the bill will enable the always ingenious and persistent Crime Syndicate to seek out schemes to enrich itself by getting into the state's legal gambling business.
The bill was also condemned by two prominent clergymen, Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church and Bishop Ed Peecher of New Heritage Cathedral. Both predicted that slots would be irresistible to poor people looking for easy money.
“I have significant concern that entire families will be left penniless because Mom or Dad will be spending their entire paycheck at the casinos,” Peecher said.
The bill passed in May, but Quinn has yet to sign it. Indications are, he doesn’t want to sign it. Thanks to Weis, he now has another reason to say no to Mayor Emanuel.
Alabama: Closing Arguments
Closing arguments set in Alabama gambling trial
By PHILLIP RAWLS
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
Attorneys in Alabama's gambling corruption trial begin their closing arguments Wednesday, with defense lawyers contending that prosecutors have failed to back up their claims that state government officials were caught up in a bribery scheme "astonishing in scope."
The trial, now in its ninth week, will have two days devoted to closing arguments. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson has given prosecutors five hours and defense attorneys 10 hours to make their final pitches before jurors begin deliberations, most likely on Friday.
Federal prosecutors aren't commenting, but defense attorneys said they will argue that the government hasn't backed up its bold claims about rampant corruption.
"Some of the overt acts the government said it would prove, it did not prove. They did not offer any evidence whatsoever," said Lewis Gillis, attorney for Democratic Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery.
Ross is one of the nine defendants who were arrested in October and accused of using campaign contributions to buy and sell votes for pro-gambling legislation. Prosecutors said casino owners and their lobbyists offered millions to legislators in campaign contributions if they would vote for legislation to thwart Republican Gov. Bob Riley's efforts to shut down electronic bingo casinos.
On the day of the arrests, the chief of the Justice Department's criminal division, Lanny Breuer, said the corrupt scheming was "astonishing in scope ... a full-scale campaign to bribe legislators and others."
On trial with Ross are VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor; two of his lobbyists, Tom Coker and Bob Geddie; independent Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb; former Democratic Sen. Larry Means of Attalla; former Republican Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega; former legislative employee Ray Crosby; and former Country Crossing casino spokesman Jay Walker.
Before the case went to trial, Country Crossing casino developer Ronnie Gilley and two of his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, pleaded guilty. During the trial, the three testified about offering $2 million in campaign help to Preuitt, providing $500,000 in contributions to Smith, and receiving demands from Means and Ross for contributions as a vote on the legislation neared.
Prosecutors reinforced the testimony with wiretapped phone calls and secret recordings made by three Republican legislators helping the FBI.
Those recordings sometimes worked to both sides' benefit. In one recording, state Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale was wearing a recording device for the FBI when he talked with fellow Republican legislators about keeping the gambling legislation from being put before Alabama voters in the November 2010 election because it could bring out more black voters and hurt GOP candidates' chances. In the meeting, Beason referred to customers of a casino in a predominantly black county as "aborigines."
The Senate passed the gambling bill on March 30, 2010. Two days later, the FBI announced its investigation of Statehouse corruption, and the gambling bill died in the House without ever coming to a vote.
FBI agent George Glaser testified in the trial that the FBI took the unusual step of announcing an investigation because Justice Department officials felt they couldn't allow "potentially tainted legislation to progress through the Alabama Legislature."
Walker's attorney, Susan James, said she expects defense attorneys' closing arguments will recall Beason's tape and Glaser's testimony and then use that to question the federal government's motive. She said that if the FBI really wanted to uncover corruption rather than simply kill the bill, it could have waited for the House to act and then cast a bigger net that covered both houses of the Legislature.
"You can't remove politics from this case," she said.
Defense attorneys were so confident about their case that they presented only one witness before resting Friday.
McGregor's attorney, Joe Espy, said the government's testimony showed that McGregor followed the long-standing political practice of giving donations to officeholders who shared his political views on gambling. "There wasn't one thing wrong with it," Espy said.
The trial has been the biggest government corruption case in Alabama since former Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted in a bribery scandal in 2006.
Siegelman attorney Vince Kilborn said defense attorneys must get jurors to focus on parts of the case they have doubts about and stress that prosecutors haven't proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
"It's real simple -- reasonable doubt, reasonable doubt, reasonable doubt. It's in the Constitution. Jurors take it to heart when you emphasize that," he said.
No matter how the trial turns out, it won't change the fact that McGregor's casino in Shorter is closed. Gilley's casino in Dothan reopened last month under new management and with a new name, Center Stage. Its flashing Vegas-style games have been replaced by games played on plain computer screens without flashing lights. Its future is in doubt because the state attorney general has sent the operators a letter to cease using the machines, which is the first step toward trying to close them.
By PHILLIP RAWLS
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
Attorneys in Alabama's gambling corruption trial begin their closing arguments Wednesday, with defense lawyers contending that prosecutors have failed to back up their claims that state government officials were caught up in a bribery scheme "astonishing in scope."
The trial, now in its ninth week, will have two days devoted to closing arguments. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson has given prosecutors five hours and defense attorneys 10 hours to make their final pitches before jurors begin deliberations, most likely on Friday.
Federal prosecutors aren't commenting, but defense attorneys said they will argue that the government hasn't backed up its bold claims about rampant corruption.
"Some of the overt acts the government said it would prove, it did not prove. They did not offer any evidence whatsoever," said Lewis Gillis, attorney for Democratic Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery.
Ross is one of the nine defendants who were arrested in October and accused of using campaign contributions to buy and sell votes for pro-gambling legislation. Prosecutors said casino owners and their lobbyists offered millions to legislators in campaign contributions if they would vote for legislation to thwart Republican Gov. Bob Riley's efforts to shut down electronic bingo casinos.
On the day of the arrests, the chief of the Justice Department's criminal division, Lanny Breuer, said the corrupt scheming was "astonishing in scope ... a full-scale campaign to bribe legislators and others."
On trial with Ross are VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor; two of his lobbyists, Tom Coker and Bob Geddie; independent Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb; former Democratic Sen. Larry Means of Attalla; former Republican Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega; former legislative employee Ray Crosby; and former Country Crossing casino spokesman Jay Walker.
Before the case went to trial, Country Crossing casino developer Ronnie Gilley and two of his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, pleaded guilty. During the trial, the three testified about offering $2 million in campaign help to Preuitt, providing $500,000 in contributions to Smith, and receiving demands from Means and Ross for contributions as a vote on the legislation neared.
Prosecutors reinforced the testimony with wiretapped phone calls and secret recordings made by three Republican legislators helping the FBI.
Those recordings sometimes worked to both sides' benefit. In one recording, state Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale was wearing a recording device for the FBI when he talked with fellow Republican legislators about keeping the gambling legislation from being put before Alabama voters in the November 2010 election because it could bring out more black voters and hurt GOP candidates' chances. In the meeting, Beason referred to customers of a casino in a predominantly black county as "aborigines."
The Senate passed the gambling bill on March 30, 2010. Two days later, the FBI announced its investigation of Statehouse corruption, and the gambling bill died in the House without ever coming to a vote.
FBI agent George Glaser testified in the trial that the FBI took the unusual step of announcing an investigation because Justice Department officials felt they couldn't allow "potentially tainted legislation to progress through the Alabama Legislature."
Walker's attorney, Susan James, said she expects defense attorneys' closing arguments will recall Beason's tape and Glaser's testimony and then use that to question the federal government's motive. She said that if the FBI really wanted to uncover corruption rather than simply kill the bill, it could have waited for the House to act and then cast a bigger net that covered both houses of the Legislature.
"You can't remove politics from this case," she said.
Defense attorneys were so confident about their case that they presented only one witness before resting Friday.
McGregor's attorney, Joe Espy, said the government's testimony showed that McGregor followed the long-standing political practice of giving donations to officeholders who shared his political views on gambling. "There wasn't one thing wrong with it," Espy said.
The trial has been the biggest government corruption case in Alabama since former Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted in a bribery scandal in 2006.
Siegelman attorney Vince Kilborn said defense attorneys must get jurors to focus on parts of the case they have doubts about and stress that prosecutors haven't proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
"It's real simple -- reasonable doubt, reasonable doubt, reasonable doubt. It's in the Constitution. Jurors take it to heart when you emphasize that," he said.
No matter how the trial turns out, it won't change the fact that McGregor's casino in Shorter is closed. Gilley's casino in Dothan reopened last month under new management and with a new name, Center Stage. Its flashing Vegas-style games have been replaced by games played on plain computer screens without flashing lights. Its future is in doubt because the state attorney general has sent the operators a letter to cease using the machines, which is the first step toward trying to close them.
Former Top Cop Blasts Flawed Gambling Expansion Bill
Jody Weis Blasts Gambling Expansion Bill, Hopes Quinn Will Not Sign It
Former Chicago top cop and current Chicago Crime Commission deputy director Jody Weis came out Wednesday in staunch opposition to the massive gambling expansion bill, a measure narrowly approved by the Illinois state legislature and still awaiting Governor Pat Quinn's signature.
Weis feels the bill -- Senate Bill 744 -- "is critically flawed due to a lack of regulatory safeguards and should be reconsidered," according to a statement released Wednesday by the watchdog group, which recently completed their analysis of the legislation. They argue that the vast expansion -- including five new casinos and nearly 40,000 new gaming positions statewide, 4,000 of which are located in Chicago -- should be accompanied with a corresponding increase in regulatory capabilities.
Instead, the state's regulating body -- the Illinois Gaming Board -- will lose oversight of both the Chicago casinos and downstate race tracks downstate, which could put those facilities in "untested and, most likely, politically connected hands," according to the commission's executive vice president Art Bilek.
The Illinois Gaming Board has, in recent months, largely agreed with the commission. In July, the board's chairman Aaron Jaffe described the measure as "409 pages of garbage" and indicated that the would be "flabbergasted" if the Democratic governor signed it into law.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has consistently defended the bill -- particularly with its plan for a casino in downtown Chicago as a job provider and revenue creator that will keep the city economically competitive. He previously said he was hopeful about Quinn signing the measure. Emanuel, of course, made the decision to pass over Weis and hire new Chicago Police Department Superintendent Garry McCarthy earlier this year.
Also fans of the bill likely are many of those who received political contributions -- totaling about $812,000 -- from the gambling industry since the beginning of 2010 and also voted for the bill. Senate President John Cullerton (D), another high-level supporter of the bill, as reported by the Tribune was among the biggest recipients of gaming cash in the state.
Representatives of south suburban Ford Heights, the proposed site of one of the state's new casinos, were incensed by the watchdog group's criticism of their village's ability to oversee such a facility, as one village spokesman called the report "a slap in the face," according to the Northwest Indiana Times.
Meanwhile, Quinn remains publicly undecided and has yet to even officially receive to bill, as the Chicago Tribune reports. Cullerton put a legislative hold on the measure in May reportedly with the hope that the governor, who has previously opposed such widespread gaming expansion, might be talked into it. He appears to still be meeting with folks throughout the state to see how they feel about the bill.
"I think there's some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard," Quinn said of the bill Wednesday to the Tribune.
Former Chicago top cop and current Chicago Crime Commission deputy director Jody Weis came out Wednesday in staunch opposition to the massive gambling expansion bill, a measure narrowly approved by the Illinois state legislature and still awaiting Governor Pat Quinn's signature.
Weis feels the bill -- Senate Bill 744 -- "is critically flawed due to a lack of regulatory safeguards and should be reconsidered," according to a statement released Wednesday by the watchdog group, which recently completed their analysis of the legislation. They argue that the vast expansion -- including five new casinos and nearly 40,000 new gaming positions statewide, 4,000 of which are located in Chicago -- should be accompanied with a corresponding increase in regulatory capabilities.
Instead, the state's regulating body -- the Illinois Gaming Board -- will lose oversight of both the Chicago casinos and downstate race tracks downstate, which could put those facilities in "untested and, most likely, politically connected hands," according to the commission's executive vice president Art Bilek.
The Illinois Gaming Board has, in recent months, largely agreed with the commission. In July, the board's chairman Aaron Jaffe described the measure as "409 pages of garbage" and indicated that the would be "flabbergasted" if the Democratic governor signed it into law.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has consistently defended the bill -- particularly with its plan for a casino in downtown Chicago as a job provider and revenue creator that will keep the city economically competitive. He previously said he was hopeful about Quinn signing the measure. Emanuel, of course, made the decision to pass over Weis and hire new Chicago Police Department Superintendent Garry McCarthy earlier this year.
Also fans of the bill likely are many of those who received political contributions -- totaling about $812,000 -- from the gambling industry since the beginning of 2010 and also voted for the bill. Senate President John Cullerton (D), another high-level supporter of the bill, as reported by the Tribune was among the biggest recipients of gaming cash in the state.
Representatives of south suburban Ford Heights, the proposed site of one of the state's new casinos, were incensed by the watchdog group's criticism of their village's ability to oversee such a facility, as one village spokesman called the report "a slap in the face," according to the Northwest Indiana Times.
Meanwhile, Quinn remains publicly undecided and has yet to even officially receive to bill, as the Chicago Tribune reports. Cullerton put a legislative hold on the measure in May reportedly with the hope that the governor, who has previously opposed such widespread gaming expansion, might be talked into it. He appears to still be meeting with folks throughout the state to see how they feel about the bill.
"I think there's some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard," Quinn said of the bill Wednesday to the Tribune.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Embezzlement Convictions Stand
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Embezzlement Convictions Stand
By Carol Berry
Read More:10th Circuit Court of Appeals Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma Embezzlement Tribal Gaming
Two former Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma officials failed to convince a three-judge panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals July 12 that evidence at trial did not support their sentences for embezzlement and for the theft of tribal funds to purchase vehicles and other items.
William F. Blind Jr. and his co-defendant and wife, Vinita H. Sankey, were indicted in 2008 in Oklahoma on conspiracy and embezzlement charges after the FBI in 2004 began investigating the use of gaming revenues from the tribes’ Lucky Star Casinos by business committee members, including Blind and Sankey, court records showed.
Twelve other people who primarily were business committee members or their employees were also convicted of embezzlement or theft in separate cases related to casino operations and tribal revenues.
Among items purchased with tribal funds by Blind and/or Sankey were a riding lawn mower, computer equipment, portable storage buildings, a 2002 Lincoln Town Car, a 2004 Chrysler 300M, and a 2003 Dodge 1500 Quad Cab pickup truck. A 2002 Dodge Intrepid belonging to the tribes was traded in toward the purchase price of the Chrysler, according to the court.
Tribal procurement procedures mandated that purchases over $5,000 required a sealed bidding process while those above $15,000 also required approval of the Tribal Council, composed of all adult tribal members.
To circumvent those procedures, a portion of cashiers’ checks constituting tribal funds intended for the couple’s tribal districts were deposited only in part and they received a portion back in cash. In addition, when Blind purchased the Lincoln, he paid for it with five cashier’s checks of $15,000 or less, avoiding Tribal Council scrutiny, the court said.
Some of the money from cashier’s checks was deposited into an account for the Barefoot Pow-Wow, an event no longer being held, the court noted, although evidence showed Sankey withdrew cash from the pow-wow account at various times “and used it to pay off her personal loans.”
Witnesses in the lower court said cash transactions were necessary in light of the tribes’ financial problems that had led to the tribes being placed by the BIA on “high risk” status because of mismanagement, although their expenditure of gaming revenues was governed by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Because of the high risk status, many local businesses would not take tribal checks, and Blind argued there was no evidence “he lived an extravagant lifestyle or had an expensive vice,” the court noted.
Both Blind and Sankey contended that because it was possible the cash was used for legitimate tribal purposes the government was required to show it was used for private gain, but the court pointed to strong circumstantial evidence, including transactions structured in an inherently untraceable way and the circumvention of tribal policies to prevent misappropriation.
Blind was convicted on tribal losses of $171,041 and ordered to pay restitution of $121,373, while Sankey was charged with causing losses of $218,387 and was ordered to pay restitution of $193,792. Although the appeals court upheld their convictions, it remanded to the lower court a restitution amount of $11,635 related to travel reimbursements because the government did not present evidence to support its charge that the amount should be repaid.
In June 2010, both Blind and Sankey were sentenced to federal prison, he for 33 months and she for 41 months, with both sentences to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
By Carol Berry
Read More:10th Circuit Court of Appeals Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma Embezzlement Tribal Gaming
Two former Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma officials failed to convince a three-judge panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals July 12 that evidence at trial did not support their sentences for embezzlement and for the theft of tribal funds to purchase vehicles and other items.
William F. Blind Jr. and his co-defendant and wife, Vinita H. Sankey, were indicted in 2008 in Oklahoma on conspiracy and embezzlement charges after the FBI in 2004 began investigating the use of gaming revenues from the tribes’ Lucky Star Casinos by business committee members, including Blind and Sankey, court records showed.
Twelve other people who primarily were business committee members or their employees were also convicted of embezzlement or theft in separate cases related to casino operations and tribal revenues.
Among items purchased with tribal funds by Blind and/or Sankey were a riding lawn mower, computer equipment, portable storage buildings, a 2002 Lincoln Town Car, a 2004 Chrysler 300M, and a 2003 Dodge 1500 Quad Cab pickup truck. A 2002 Dodge Intrepid belonging to the tribes was traded in toward the purchase price of the Chrysler, according to the court.
Tribal procurement procedures mandated that purchases over $5,000 required a sealed bidding process while those above $15,000 also required approval of the Tribal Council, composed of all adult tribal members.
To circumvent those procedures, a portion of cashiers’ checks constituting tribal funds intended for the couple’s tribal districts were deposited only in part and they received a portion back in cash. In addition, when Blind purchased the Lincoln, he paid for it with five cashier’s checks of $15,000 or less, avoiding Tribal Council scrutiny, the court said.
Some of the money from cashier’s checks was deposited into an account for the Barefoot Pow-Wow, an event no longer being held, the court noted, although evidence showed Sankey withdrew cash from the pow-wow account at various times “and used it to pay off her personal loans.”
Witnesses in the lower court said cash transactions were necessary in light of the tribes’ financial problems that had led to the tribes being placed by the BIA on “high risk” status because of mismanagement, although their expenditure of gaming revenues was governed by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Because of the high risk status, many local businesses would not take tribal checks, and Blind argued there was no evidence “he lived an extravagant lifestyle or had an expensive vice,” the court noted.
Both Blind and Sankey contended that because it was possible the cash was used for legitimate tribal purposes the government was required to show it was used for private gain, but the court pointed to strong circumstantial evidence, including transactions structured in an inherently untraceable way and the circumvention of tribal policies to prevent misappropriation.
Blind was convicted on tribal losses of $171,041 and ordered to pay restitution of $121,373, while Sankey was charged with causing losses of $218,387 and was ordered to pay restitution of $193,792. Although the appeals court upheld their convictions, it remanded to the lower court a restitution amount of $11,635 related to travel reimbursements because the government did not present evidence to support its charge that the amount should be repaid.
In June 2010, both Blind and Sankey were sentenced to federal prison, he for 33 months and she for 41 months, with both sentences to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Holyoke Loses 'Respectability'
The Lashinger Group certainly has more experience and required less investment than Herb Strather, the original backer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, yet the similarities are interesting.
After supporting the free-spending Tribe through its recognition process, when Strather's funding ran out he sought local investors to create the missing image of respectability for the project.
For additional history:
Mashpee Wampanoag casino deal sours
Herb Strather Defaults on Detroit's St. Regis Hotel Project
Casino investor Strather has criminal past
The Red Man is getting ripped off by the White Man again
Towns feel effect of Conn. casinos
Selling fast, selling short on gambling
From South African Farm To U.S. Entrepreneurship: 2 Hardworking Brothers Put Their Indelible Mark On The Transformation Of Downtown Hartford
Starwood Capital Group
Abramoff scandal may derail Wampanoag casino
Holyoke Paper City Development casino plan no longer includes David Bartley, Martin Dunn
Mike Plaisance, The Republican
HOLYOKE – Two prominent residents have parted ways with Paper City Development, the group that wants to put a casino resort at Wyckoff Country Club.
David M. Bartley, former president of Holyoke Community College and former speaker of the state House of Representatives, said Tuesday that former Holyoke mayor Martin J. Dunn and himself no longer are involved with Paper City Development.
“We just had a professional disagreement,” Bartley said.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick and legislative leaders have said discussions about whether to legalize casino gambling will resume after Labor Day.
Paper City Development is a limited liability company whose officials say they want to build a $450 million gaming resort with 1,500 jobs at Wyckoff.
Paper City Development includes manager Joseph A. Lashinger Jr., of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a lawyer with casino experience; media consultant Anthony L. Cignoli, of Springfield; and former Springfield City Councilor Anthony W. Ravosa, who now lives in Connecticut.
Wyckoff owner Diane L. Wojtowicz, of Holyoke, has said a casino would fit the vision that her late husband Clarky Wojtowicz had for the site.
In another casino plan for Western Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun has been pitching since 2007 its plan for a $600 million gaming complex in Palmer across from Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 8.
After supporting the free-spending Tribe through its recognition process, when Strather's funding ran out he sought local investors to create the missing image of respectability for the project.
In contrast, the Lashinger Group originated with the local image of respectability that is vanishing.
For additional history:
Mashpee Wampanoag casino deal sours
Herb Strather Defaults on Detroit's St. Regis Hotel Project
Casino investor Strather has criminal past
The Red Man is getting ripped off by the White Man again
Towns feel effect of Conn. casinos
Selling fast, selling short on gambling
From South African Farm To U.S. Entrepreneurship: 2 Hardworking Brothers Put Their Indelible Mark On The Transformation Of Downtown Hartford
Starwood Capital Group
Abramoff scandal may derail Wampanoag casino
Holyoke Paper City Development casino plan no longer includes David Bartley, Martin Dunn
Mike Plaisance, The Republican
HOLYOKE – Two prominent residents have parted ways with Paper City Development, the group that wants to put a casino resort at Wyckoff Country Club.
David M. Bartley, former president of Holyoke Community College and former speaker of the state House of Representatives, said Tuesday that former Holyoke mayor Martin J. Dunn and himself no longer are involved with Paper City Development.
“We just had a professional disagreement,” Bartley said.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick and legislative leaders have said discussions about whether to legalize casino gambling will resume after Labor Day.
Paper City Development is a limited liability company whose officials say they want to build a $450 million gaming resort with 1,500 jobs at Wyckoff.
Paper City Development includes manager Joseph A. Lashinger Jr., of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a lawyer with casino experience; media consultant Anthony L. Cignoli, of Springfield; and former Springfield City Councilor Anthony W. Ravosa, who now lives in Connecticut.
Wyckoff owner Diane L. Wojtowicz, of Holyoke, has said a casino would fit the vision that her late husband Clarky Wojtowicz had for the site.
In another casino plan for Western Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun has been pitching since 2007 its plan for a $600 million gaming complex in Palmer across from Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 8.
Miccosukee Tribe: No Sovereign Immunity
Judge Orders Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express to Turn Over Miccosukee Tribe's Massive Financial Records
Sovereign Immunity Not a Defense in Financial Probe, Morgan Stanley denies having accounts, but Judge disagrees, says Miami-Dade Lawyer Ramon M. Rodriguez
Miami, FL (PRWEB) August 03, 2011
U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold ordered Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express to turn over the Miccosukee tribe's massive financial records to the Internal Revenue Service, a ruling that will shine a light on the tribe's once secretive finances and profits from billion dollar casino revenues. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, CASE NO. 10-23507-CV-GOLD [LEAD CASE]
“The financial consequences could prove to be enormous and the legal precedence ground breaking,” said Miami-Dade lawyer Ramon M. Rodriguez. Rodriguez and his clients have a special interest in the IRS's case.
“The IRS is able to get financial records that my clients have been waiting for,” Rodriguez said. “The tribe owes a great deal of money and they've been using Wall Street firms to hide their wealth. It's been a financial hide and seek that would make Swiss banks proud.”
On July 21, 2011, Miami- Dade County Judge Michael A. Genden ordered sanctions against Miccosukee Tribe members Tammy Gwen Billie, her father, Jimmie Bert, and their Miami lawyer Michael R. Tein and the Coconut Grove, Fla. law firm Lewis Tein, for their abuse of the discovery process during the post-judgment stage of a wrongful death case.
Rodriguez has been trying to collect a $3.177 million judgment against these two Miccosukee tribal members since obtaining a verdict in July of 2009. In the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, General Jurisdiction Division, Case No. 00-25711 CA 20.
The judgment stems from a horrible 1998 head-on collision automobile accident that occurred on Tamiami Trail near the Miccosukee reservation in Miami, Fla. Miccosukee tribal member, Tammy Gwen Billie, crossed the centerline and struck the Bermudez vehicle head-on. Billie was driving a vehicle owned by her father, Jimmie Bert, who is also a Miccosukee tribal member.
The collision killed Gloria Liliana Bermudez and injured her husband, Carlos Bermudez, and their infant son Matthew. According to court documents, Ms. Billie was intoxicated when she drove her father's vehicle and subsequently pled guilty to vehicular homicide, resulting in probation.
In July 2009, a jury awarded the Bermudez family $3,177,000 in damages for the fatal accident in which a husband watched his wife die on the side of a road. The defendants have failed to satisfy the judgment and close to ½ million dollars in interest has accrued.
“The defendants claim to be uncollectible, but Bert and Billie are members of the Miccosukee Tribe which engages in Class II gaming. Court records reflect distributions in excess of $160,000 a year to another Miccosukee tribal member. In addition, private attorneys from day one of the case, which has lasted more than a decade, have defended Bert and Billie. Their lead attorney charges $550 per hour and Tein doesn't work for free.”
In a hodge-podge of secret record keeping involving Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express, the tribe puts money in banks but manages to hide what money goes to whom, says Rodriguez. To date the Miccosukees have been able to hide their gambling revenues and how they distribute profits to tribal members. Court records show they've even failed to file a distribution plan with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
During the tribe's litigation with the IRS, an agent said the IRS learned of “allegations that the tribe regularly hired armored cars to carry cash, somewhere between $6 and $10 million per quarter, from its gambling operation for direct distribution to tribal members without reporting these distributions to the IRS.”
Judge Gold halted the Miccosukee's' numerous attempts to block the IRS from digging into financial records relating to the tribes 600 members. Judge Gold said the IRS's right to financial records supersedes the tribe's sovereign nation status. The ruling covers all internal financial operations of the Miccosukee and their payments of gambling profits from the tribe's casino to members. The documents are held by Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express and cover the years 2006-09.
Rodriguez and his clients are relieved that the profits the tribe receives from its slots and other gambling revenues will finally be made public.
“The Bermudez family was robbed of a mother and a wife in a horrific accident,” Rodriguez said
Sovereign Immunity Not a Defense in Financial Probe, Morgan Stanley denies having accounts, but Judge disagrees, says Miami-Dade Lawyer Ramon M. Rodriguez
Miami, FL (PRWEB) August 03, 2011
U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold ordered Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express to turn over the Miccosukee tribe's massive financial records to the Internal Revenue Service, a ruling that will shine a light on the tribe's once secretive finances and profits from billion dollar casino revenues. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, CASE NO. 10-23507-CV-GOLD [LEAD CASE]
“The financial consequences could prove to be enormous and the legal precedence ground breaking,” said Miami-Dade lawyer Ramon M. Rodriguez. Rodriguez and his clients have a special interest in the IRS's case.
“The IRS is able to get financial records that my clients have been waiting for,” Rodriguez said. “The tribe owes a great deal of money and they've been using Wall Street firms to hide their wealth. It's been a financial hide and seek that would make Swiss banks proud.”
On July 21, 2011, Miami- Dade County Judge Michael A. Genden ordered sanctions against Miccosukee Tribe members Tammy Gwen Billie, her father, Jimmie Bert, and their Miami lawyer Michael R. Tein and the Coconut Grove, Fla. law firm Lewis Tein, for their abuse of the discovery process during the post-judgment stage of a wrongful death case.
Rodriguez has been trying to collect a $3.177 million judgment against these two Miccosukee tribal members since obtaining a verdict in July of 2009. In the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, General Jurisdiction Division, Case No. 00-25711 CA 20.
The judgment stems from a horrible 1998 head-on collision automobile accident that occurred on Tamiami Trail near the Miccosukee reservation in Miami, Fla. Miccosukee tribal member, Tammy Gwen Billie, crossed the centerline and struck the Bermudez vehicle head-on. Billie was driving a vehicle owned by her father, Jimmie Bert, who is also a Miccosukee tribal member.
The collision killed Gloria Liliana Bermudez and injured her husband, Carlos Bermudez, and their infant son Matthew. According to court documents, Ms. Billie was intoxicated when she drove her father's vehicle and subsequently pled guilty to vehicular homicide, resulting in probation.
In July 2009, a jury awarded the Bermudez family $3,177,000 in damages for the fatal accident in which a husband watched his wife die on the side of a road. The defendants have failed to satisfy the judgment and close to ½ million dollars in interest has accrued.
“The defendants claim to be uncollectible, but Bert and Billie are members of the Miccosukee Tribe which engages in Class II gaming. Court records reflect distributions in excess of $160,000 a year to another Miccosukee tribal member. In addition, private attorneys from day one of the case, which has lasted more than a decade, have defended Bert and Billie. Their lead attorney charges $550 per hour and Tein doesn't work for free.”
In a hodge-podge of secret record keeping involving Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express, the tribe puts money in banks but manages to hide what money goes to whom, says Rodriguez. To date the Miccosukees have been able to hide their gambling revenues and how they distribute profits to tribal members. Court records show they've even failed to file a distribution plan with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
During the tribe's litigation with the IRS, an agent said the IRS learned of “allegations that the tribe regularly hired armored cars to carry cash, somewhere between $6 and $10 million per quarter, from its gambling operation for direct distribution to tribal members without reporting these distributions to the IRS.”
Judge Gold halted the Miccosukee's' numerous attempts to block the IRS from digging into financial records relating to the tribes 600 members. Judge Gold said the IRS's right to financial records supersedes the tribe's sovereign nation status. The ruling covers all internal financial operations of the Miccosukee and their payments of gambling profits from the tribe's casino to members. The documents are held by Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express and cover the years 2006-09.
Rodriguez and his clients are relieved that the profits the tribe receives from its slots and other gambling revenues will finally be made public.
“The Bermudez family was robbed of a mother and a wife in a horrific accident,” Rodriguez said
Las Vegas Hooters Bankruptcy Won't Impact Hooter’s Restaurants
Hotel Bankruptcy Won’t Impact Hooter’s Restaurants
By Rachel Feintzeig
This week’s bankruptcy filing by the owner of Las Vegas’s Hooters Casino Hotel may have given some devotees of the risqué restaurant chain a start. After all, the name of their beloved eatery, self-proclaimed as “delightfully tacky yet unrefined,” was splashed on headlines across the country as news of the filing made waves.
Fortunately, patrons can take comfort in the following assurance, straight from hotel owner 155 East Tropicana LLC.
“This action in no way affects the operation of the more than 430 Hooters Restaurants in 44 states and 27 countries which are owned or franchised by Atlanta based Hooters of America LLC,” it said in a statement released late Monday.
155 East Tropicana, formed in 2004 to acquire property that would become the world’s first Hooters-themed hotel and casino, has an exclusive license to splash the brand across its venue. But its own financial struggles are not a reflection of the popularity of “Daytona Beach wings”—which can be ordered in the “three mile island” level of spiciness at Hooters establishments across the country—or low-cut tank tops stamped with the iconic orange owl logo.
No, the hotel casino’s troubles have more to do with the economic downturn that’s kept visitors from flocking to Las Vegas over the past several years and motivated rival hotels to slash room rates, according to its bankruptcy filing.
115 East Tropicana “has been faced with declining hotel and casino revenues based on increased price and promotional competition, additional properties opening on the Las Vegas Strip, reduced consumer spending, a tightened credit market, and an overall weakened economy,” the company’s chief financial officer said.
By Rachel Feintzeig
This week’s bankruptcy filing by the owner of Las Vegas’s Hooters Casino Hotel may have given some devotees of the risqué restaurant chain a start. After all, the name of their beloved eatery, self-proclaimed as “delightfully tacky yet unrefined,” was splashed on headlines across the country as news of the filing made waves.
Fortunately, patrons can take comfort in the following assurance, straight from hotel owner 155 East Tropicana LLC.
“This action in no way affects the operation of the more than 430 Hooters Restaurants in 44 states and 27 countries which are owned or franchised by Atlanta based Hooters of America LLC,” it said in a statement released late Monday.
155 East Tropicana, formed in 2004 to acquire property that would become the world’s first Hooters-themed hotel and casino, has an exclusive license to splash the brand across its venue. But its own financial struggles are not a reflection of the popularity of “Daytona Beach wings”—which can be ordered in the “three mile island” level of spiciness at Hooters establishments across the country—or low-cut tank tops stamped with the iconic orange owl logo.
No, the hotel casino’s troubles have more to do with the economic downturn that’s kept visitors from flocking to Las Vegas over the past several years and motivated rival hotels to slash room rates, according to its bankruptcy filing.
115 East Tropicana “has been faced with declining hotel and casino revenues based on increased price and promotional competition, additional properties opening on the Las Vegas Strip, reduced consumer spending, a tightened credit market, and an overall weakened economy,” the company’s chief financial officer said.
North Carolina Cherokee and the Potential of Default
Cherokee election politics fixed on looming casino debt
Written by Colby Dunn
In the current political debate, the word ‘debt’ has become ubiquitous. Cherokee is no exception, where discussion of the debt of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — and how, precisely, to dispose of it — has dominated the election season since it began this spring.
With one month to go until the election for chief, vice chief and tribal council, voters are standing up at every public forum to ask questions about the debt while candidates are touting their plans to eradicate it.
Meanwhile, the finance department for the tribe has gone on a massive public information campaign: opening a forum on the tribe’s website, starting a hotline where people can e-mail questions and get an answer back from a finance officer and leafleting the reservation with brochures entitled things like “A Closer Look at Tribal Debt.”
One question seems to underlie the whole discussion: how much, exactly, is the debt?
Answers from different sources have been many and varied, and depend very much on where you stand politically. The incumbent chief and vice chief claim the tribe’s debt is manageable. The challengers claim it has ballooned out of control.
It’s often said that numbers don’t lie, and with tribal debt, these are the raw numbers as of June 30, the end of the last fiscal year.
The tribal government has two debts it’s paying off directly: $57.2 million is still owed on the $107 million school complex and $10.8 million is still owed on the Sequoyah National Golf Club.
There’s also an $8.9 million series of loan guarantees that the tribe backs for the Cherokee Historical Association’s line of credit, the Tribal Bingo Enterprise and Balsam West, a broadband enterprise the tribe has a stake in.
If you take the position of the tribe’s finance department and Principal Chief Michell Hicks, that’s all the debt the tribe has — $76.9 million.
But then, of course, there’s the casino debt.
The casino is undergoing a massive expansion project, for which the tribe’s casino enterprise has secured a $650 million line of credit. So far, the enterprise has tapped $494.3 million of it.
Deputy Financial Officer Kim Peone expects that not all of it will be spent when the expansion is complete, and she doesn’t consider that tribal debt at all.
The casino is an entity of the tribe, but is run by a separate group called the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise. The gaming enterprise, not the tribe itself, is responsible for the casino’s half billion in debt.
But here’s where politics comes into play. The current administration running for re-election is adamant that tribal debt shouldn’t include casino loans.
And it’s true that, if the casino defaulted, the bank wouldn’t come looking for the tribal government’s assets.
“We’re not ignoring the impact that a default would have on this tribal government and the services that we provide to this community,” said Peone. “But the casino debt is not guaranteed by the tribe, it’s guaranteed by TCGE.”
From that perspective, there’s $76.9 million in debt. Meanwhile, the tribe’s designated account it makes debt payments from has just over $134 million in it.
Simple math tells you that the tribe could pay the debt off today, but according to Peone, choose not to because that money is earning more interest than the debt is costing.
“Currently, the interest rate on that loan is less than the funds that we’ve invested in,” said Peone. “From year-to-date, that fund has earned 4.5 percent as opposed to 2 percent in a loan.”
On the current schedule, she plans to have both the school and golf course loans paid in full by 2014.
Casino debt part of bigger picture
But opponents say you can’t remove the tribe from the casino; they’re inextricably linked.
For starters, profits from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino accounts for roughly 90 percent of the tribe’s operating budget. If more of those profits were diverted to making debt payments, the tribe’s budget for providing services to enrolled members — such as schools and medical care — would be impacted.
Patrick Lambert, a challenger for the position of principal chief, said he thinks it’s impossible to separate casino debt from the tribe.
“It’s all tribal debt,” said Lambert, pointing out that the tribe’s operating budget would plummet precipitously were anything to happen to the casino debt.
This is Lambert’s second time going for the chief’s seat, and though he lost by a slim margin in the 2007 election, he defeated Hicks in the July primary. He is a lawyer for the Tribal Gaming Commission.
Lambert said he is concerned, too, about just where the tribe is investing its money to get such good returns, asking if such investments are too risky.
“I think it’s pretty clear on debt. I come from a background of small business, and so I understand about debt and borrowing and those type of issues,” said Lambert. “Debt is a necessity, but it’s also something you can’t let get out of control. We need to control the spending so we can start applying more of the revenues we do have to overall debt.’
Right now, said Peone, the tribe puts 8 percent of every dollar it spends to paying off its non-casino debts.
The casino pays $20 million a year on its debt, plus more on interest.
Both principal chief candidates have promised to pay down the debt if they are elected, though that could be plus or minus a few hundred million depending on what you consider “the debt.”
The current administration is out to prove that the tribe is on sound financial footing, especially compared to other municipal governments.
The opposition is calling for a check on spending and reigning in the debt.
And when voters visit the polls September 1, it may be the best numbers that win.
Written by Colby Dunn
In the current political debate, the word ‘debt’ has become ubiquitous. Cherokee is no exception, where discussion of the debt of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — and how, precisely, to dispose of it — has dominated the election season since it began this spring.
With one month to go until the election for chief, vice chief and tribal council, voters are standing up at every public forum to ask questions about the debt while candidates are touting their plans to eradicate it.
Meanwhile, the finance department for the tribe has gone on a massive public information campaign: opening a forum on the tribe’s website, starting a hotline where people can e-mail questions and get an answer back from a finance officer and leafleting the reservation with brochures entitled things like “A Closer Look at Tribal Debt.”
One question seems to underlie the whole discussion: how much, exactly, is the debt?
Answers from different sources have been many and varied, and depend very much on where you stand politically. The incumbent chief and vice chief claim the tribe’s debt is manageable. The challengers claim it has ballooned out of control.
It’s often said that numbers don’t lie, and with tribal debt, these are the raw numbers as of June 30, the end of the last fiscal year.
The tribal government has two debts it’s paying off directly: $57.2 million is still owed on the $107 million school complex and $10.8 million is still owed on the Sequoyah National Golf Club.
There’s also an $8.9 million series of loan guarantees that the tribe backs for the Cherokee Historical Association’s line of credit, the Tribal Bingo Enterprise and Balsam West, a broadband enterprise the tribe has a stake in.
If you take the position of the tribe’s finance department and Principal Chief Michell Hicks, that’s all the debt the tribe has — $76.9 million.
But then, of course, there’s the casino debt.
The casino is undergoing a massive expansion project, for which the tribe’s casino enterprise has secured a $650 million line of credit. So far, the enterprise has tapped $494.3 million of it.
Deputy Financial Officer Kim Peone expects that not all of it will be spent when the expansion is complete, and she doesn’t consider that tribal debt at all.
The casino is an entity of the tribe, but is run by a separate group called the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise. The gaming enterprise, not the tribe itself, is responsible for the casino’s half billion in debt.
But here’s where politics comes into play. The current administration running for re-election is adamant that tribal debt shouldn’t include casino loans.
And it’s true that, if the casino defaulted, the bank wouldn’t come looking for the tribal government’s assets.
“We’re not ignoring the impact that a default would have on this tribal government and the services that we provide to this community,” said Peone. “But the casino debt is not guaranteed by the tribe, it’s guaranteed by TCGE.”
From that perspective, there’s $76.9 million in debt. Meanwhile, the tribe’s designated account it makes debt payments from has just over $134 million in it.
Simple math tells you that the tribe could pay the debt off today, but according to Peone, choose not to because that money is earning more interest than the debt is costing.
“Currently, the interest rate on that loan is less than the funds that we’ve invested in,” said Peone. “From year-to-date, that fund has earned 4.5 percent as opposed to 2 percent in a loan.”
On the current schedule, she plans to have both the school and golf course loans paid in full by 2014.
Casino debt part of bigger picture
But opponents say you can’t remove the tribe from the casino; they’re inextricably linked.
For starters, profits from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino accounts for roughly 90 percent of the tribe’s operating budget. If more of those profits were diverted to making debt payments, the tribe’s budget for providing services to enrolled members — such as schools and medical care — would be impacted.
Patrick Lambert, a challenger for the position of principal chief, said he thinks it’s impossible to separate casino debt from the tribe.
“It’s all tribal debt,” said Lambert, pointing out that the tribe’s operating budget would plummet precipitously were anything to happen to the casino debt.
This is Lambert’s second time going for the chief’s seat, and though he lost by a slim margin in the 2007 election, he defeated Hicks in the July primary. He is a lawyer for the Tribal Gaming Commission.
Lambert said he is concerned, too, about just where the tribe is investing its money to get such good returns, asking if such investments are too risky.
“I think it’s pretty clear on debt. I come from a background of small business, and so I understand about debt and borrowing and those type of issues,” said Lambert. “Debt is a necessity, but it’s also something you can’t let get out of control. We need to control the spending so we can start applying more of the revenues we do have to overall debt.’
Right now, said Peone, the tribe puts 8 percent of every dollar it spends to paying off its non-casino debts.
The casino pays $20 million a year on its debt, plus more on interest.
Both principal chief candidates have promised to pay down the debt if they are elected, though that could be plus or minus a few hundred million depending on what you consider “the debt.”
The current administration is out to prove that the tribe is on sound financial footing, especially compared to other municipal governments.
The opposition is calling for a check on spending and reigning in the debt.
And when voters visit the polls September 1, it may be the best numbers that win.
Gambling Addict Jailed For Embezzlement
Former Cobbetts clerk jailed for stealing £20,000 from firm
By Vanessa Wozniak
An accounts clerk working at Cobbetts’ Manchester office has been jailed for 15 months after admitting stealing £20,000 from client accounts
James Hollingworth began diverting cash from dormant client accounts and then falsified documents after developing a serious gambling addiction.
The financial irregularities, which went undetected for several months, were exposed by an audit carried out after he resigned from the firm following a disciplinary matter in April.
Hollingworth’s counsel, St Johns Chambers’ Keith Harrison, said that his client’s life had “fallen into the abyss” before he began defrauding his employer, claiming he was not a “callous, hardened criminal” who had enjoyed a life of luxury from the proceeds of his crimes.
The court was told that Hollingworth has personal debts of £18,000, and was unlikely to ever be employed in a position of trust involving money again.
A spokesperson for Cobbetts said: “Cobbetts is routinely audited by external auditors, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and its financial controls are appropriate.
“Cobbetts has its own internal audit procedures and reviews its systems and controls to reflect continuous improvement and best practice. No client of the firm has been affected financially or otherwise from what was an isolated matter.”
By Vanessa Wozniak
An accounts clerk working at Cobbetts’ Manchester office has been jailed for 15 months after admitting stealing £20,000 from client accounts
James Hollingworth began diverting cash from dormant client accounts and then falsified documents after developing a serious gambling addiction.
The financial irregularities, which went undetected for several months, were exposed by an audit carried out after he resigned from the firm following a disciplinary matter in April.
Hollingworth’s counsel, St Johns Chambers’ Keith Harrison, said that his client’s life had “fallen into the abyss” before he began defrauding his employer, claiming he was not a “callous, hardened criminal” who had enjoyed a life of luxury from the proceeds of his crimes.
The court was told that Hollingworth has personal debts of £18,000, and was unlikely to ever be employed in a position of trust involving money again.
A spokesperson for Cobbetts said: “Cobbetts is routinely audited by external auditors, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and its financial controls are appropriate.
“Cobbetts has its own internal audit procedures and reviews its systems and controls to reflect continuous improvement and best practice. No client of the firm has been affected financially or otherwise from what was an isolated matter.”
Alabama: This for that
Bingo prosecutors: Money ties defendants to conspiracy
By: Lance Griffin
MONTGOMERY – This for that. Bribery.
After more than 40 days of testimony, 17 witnesses and 126 recorded conversations played in court, government prosecutors said Wednesday that the gambling corruption case against nine defendants comes down to a short Latin phrase.
Quid pro quo.
“This for that. Bribery,” prosecutor Edward Kang said during government closing remarks. “This case is about corruption and it’s about money.”
Kang quickly sought to reject an oft-used phrase during the trial that efforts to pass pro-gambling legislation in 2009 and 2010 were not politics as usual.
“The politics as usual defense holds no water,” Kang said.
Kang said the nine defendants were all tied together because they all stood to benefit financially if electronic bingo legislation passed, whether through campaign donations, lobbying business, or regular cash payments.
Kang focused primarily on Victoryland owner Milton McGregor, particularly his participation in a Feb. 18 dinner meeting involving McGregor, Sen. Scott Beason, lobbyist Jarrod Massey and Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley. Beason, Massey and Gilley all testified Beason was offered bribes at the meeting.
“And the defense wants you to believe someone as smart and sophisticated as Milton McGregor did not know what was going on at that meeting?” Kang asked.
Prosecutor Louis Franklin also said Sen. Harri Anne Smith was tied to the conspiracy through campaign money given to her by Gilley.
Franklin claimed the evidence against Smith was strong and compelling. He mentioned a call Smith made to Gilley in 2010, asking Gilley for $400,000 in campaign money.
“Smith asks Gilley for $400,000 like you asking your coworker for 60 cents to buy a Coke. That tells you everything you need to know,” Franklin said.
Franklin said Gilley “bought” Smith in May of 2008 when he donated to her campaign after Smith pulled a bill she sponsored that would have hurt Country Crossing if passed by a vote of the people.
“At this point she was bought and paid for by Gilley. Her purpose was representing Gilley, and not the people,” Franklin said.
Franklin also spoke about the defense attacks on Gilley, Massey, and the cooperating legislators who testified for the government at the trial.
“Remember, these same people the defense attorneys have been attacking during this trial were colleagues and friends of the defendants before the trial,” Franklin said.
“The United States of America does not have the luxury of going to some mythical bank and picking witnesses to put on the stand. We take them as we find them. We are not singing their virtues. You will decide if what they told you is true or not,” Franklin said.
“We expect you to reach a decision based on the evidence you saw or heard in this case,” Franklin said.
The prosecution used three of its five hours allotted for closing arguments. After all defendants have made closing arguments, the prosecution will have two hours of rebuttal arguments before the judge instructs the jury on the law. Deliberations are expected to begin Friday.
By: Lance Griffin
MONTGOMERY – This for that. Bribery.
After more than 40 days of testimony, 17 witnesses and 126 recorded conversations played in court, government prosecutors said Wednesday that the gambling corruption case against nine defendants comes down to a short Latin phrase.
Quid pro quo.
“This for that. Bribery,” prosecutor Edward Kang said during government closing remarks. “This case is about corruption and it’s about money.”
Kang quickly sought to reject an oft-used phrase during the trial that efforts to pass pro-gambling legislation in 2009 and 2010 were not politics as usual.
“The politics as usual defense holds no water,” Kang said.
Kang said the nine defendants were all tied together because they all stood to benefit financially if electronic bingo legislation passed, whether through campaign donations, lobbying business, or regular cash payments.
Kang focused primarily on Victoryland owner Milton McGregor, particularly his participation in a Feb. 18 dinner meeting involving McGregor, Sen. Scott Beason, lobbyist Jarrod Massey and Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley. Beason, Massey and Gilley all testified Beason was offered bribes at the meeting.
“And the defense wants you to believe someone as smart and sophisticated as Milton McGregor did not know what was going on at that meeting?” Kang asked.
Prosecutor Louis Franklin also said Sen. Harri Anne Smith was tied to the conspiracy through campaign money given to her by Gilley.
Franklin claimed the evidence against Smith was strong and compelling. He mentioned a call Smith made to Gilley in 2010, asking Gilley for $400,000 in campaign money.
“Smith asks Gilley for $400,000 like you asking your coworker for 60 cents to buy a Coke. That tells you everything you need to know,” Franklin said.
Franklin said Gilley “bought” Smith in May of 2008 when he donated to her campaign after Smith pulled a bill she sponsored that would have hurt Country Crossing if passed by a vote of the people.
“At this point she was bought and paid for by Gilley. Her purpose was representing Gilley, and not the people,” Franklin said.
Franklin also spoke about the defense attacks on Gilley, Massey, and the cooperating legislators who testified for the government at the trial.
“Remember, these same people the defense attorneys have been attacking during this trial were colleagues and friends of the defendants before the trial,” Franklin said.
“The United States of America does not have the luxury of going to some mythical bank and picking witnesses to put on the stand. We take them as we find them. We are not singing their virtues. You will decide if what they told you is true or not,” Franklin said.
“We expect you to reach a decision based on the evidence you saw or heard in this case,” Franklin said.
The prosecution used three of its five hours allotted for closing arguments. After all defendants have made closing arguments, the prosecution will have two hours of rebuttal arguments before the judge instructs the jury on the law. Deliberations are expected to begin Friday.
Unlike Massachusetts, Oppositon to be heard
There's a lot that can be said about the fiscal mismanagement of Illinois and the folly of the massive Gambling expansion, but unlike Massachusetts, it appears the Governor is listening:
“I think there’s some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard,” the Chicago Democrat [Gov. Pat Quinn said]
Oppositon mounts to gaming bill
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday he hadn’t made up his mind about a bill that would massively expand gambling in the state, as a watchdog group sharply criticized the measure and warned it would overwhelm state regulators.
Quinn said he was still meeting with proponents and opponents of the measure that would add five new casinos, including one in Park City, increase gambling at the state’s existing 10 casinos and add slot machines at racetracks in the state and at Chicago’s airports.
“I think there’s some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard,” the Chicago Democrat said after an unrelated bill signing at an animal shelter.
His comments came as the Chicago Crime Commission said Quinn shouldn’t sign the bill because it can’t be properly regulated. Crime Commission Deputy Director Jody Weis, the former Chicago police superintendent, warned in a statement that scandal and corruption were to be expected if the gambling expansion becomes law.
Commission Executive Vice President Art Bilek said the Illinois Gaming Board won’t be able to keep up with the flood of new gambling.
“These regulatory shortcomings coupled with the almost unbelievable number of new gambling activities provided by the bill will enable the always ingenious and persistent crime syndicate to seek out schemes to enrich itself by getting into the state’s legal gambling business,” Bilek said in a statement.
Quinn hasn’t officially received the bill yet.
Lawmakers passed the measure in May, but Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, has put a legislative hold on it. That’s so lawmakers can work out a deal so the governor can sign it.
“I think there’s some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard,” the Chicago Democrat [Gov. Pat Quinn said]
Oppositon mounts to gaming bill
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday he hadn’t made up his mind about a bill that would massively expand gambling in the state, as a watchdog group sharply criticized the measure and warned it would overwhelm state regulators.
Quinn said he was still meeting with proponents and opponents of the measure that would add five new casinos, including one in Park City, increase gambling at the state’s existing 10 casinos and add slot machines at racetracks in the state and at Chicago’s airports.
“I think there’s some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard,” the Chicago Democrat said after an unrelated bill signing at an animal shelter.
His comments came as the Chicago Crime Commission said Quinn shouldn’t sign the bill because it can’t be properly regulated. Crime Commission Deputy Director Jody Weis, the former Chicago police superintendent, warned in a statement that scandal and corruption were to be expected if the gambling expansion becomes law.
Commission Executive Vice President Art Bilek said the Illinois Gaming Board won’t be able to keep up with the flood of new gambling.
“These regulatory shortcomings coupled with the almost unbelievable number of new gambling activities provided by the bill will enable the always ingenious and persistent crime syndicate to seek out schemes to enrich itself by getting into the state’s legal gambling business,” Bilek said in a statement.
Quinn hasn’t officially received the bill yet.
Lawmakers passed the measure in May, but Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, has put a legislative hold on it. That’s so lawmakers can work out a deal so the governor can sign it.
Report: State gambling bill lacks safeguards
Report: State gambling bill lacks safeguards
(CHICAGO) (WLS) -- The Chicago Crime Commission released a critical report Wednesday on the bill that calls for the expansion of legalized gambling in Illinois.
The commission warns the bill lacks regulatory safeguards. Without them, the commission cautions gambling in the state would be ripe for scandal and corruption. Their report comes less than three months after the state legislature passed the gambling expansion bill in May.
"The new gaming act cannot be, should not be made into law in Illinois. Regulatory measures, safeguards are not in this bill and will not stop the corruption that will take place," said Jody Weis, of the Chicago Crime Commission.
The gambling expansion bill remains hung up in Springfield and Governor Pat Quinn has not said yet if he will sign it.
(CHICAGO) (WLS) -- The Chicago Crime Commission released a critical report Wednesday on the bill that calls for the expansion of legalized gambling in Illinois.
The commission warns the bill lacks regulatory safeguards. Without them, the commission cautions gambling in the state would be ripe for scandal and corruption. Their report comes less than three months after the state legislature passed the gambling expansion bill in May.
"The new gaming act cannot be, should not be made into law in Illinois. Regulatory measures, safeguards are not in this bill and will not stop the corruption that will take place," said Jody Weis, of the Chicago Crime Commission.
The gambling expansion bill remains hung up in Springfield and Governor Pat Quinn has not said yet if he will sign it.
“Operation Last Man Standing”
Sheriff: Bribe offered to keep illegal activity under radar
Jordan-Ashley Baker
SHELBY — A Gaston County man faces charges of bribing an undercover deputy in the hope of keeping his illegal video gaming businesses in Cleveland County under law enforcement’s radar.
More than $24,000 in bribes and three illegal gambling machine raids later, officials say Artie Stevenson Smith’s luck ran out. Sheriff Alan Norman said the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office conducted “Operation Last Man Standing” on Wednesday to end 63-year-old Smith’s alleged illegal video gaming business and months of bribery.
Norman said Smith approached a Sheriff’s Office narcotics sergeant in the hope of protecting his video poker businesses on South Post Road in Shelby and Cherryville Road in Waco. That meeting tipped off a more than four-month-long investigation into Smith, his video poker business and allegations of bribing a government official.
“This sends a statement that this agency has zero tolerance when it comes to public corruption,” Norman said. “When his deputy was approached, he immediately informed his supervisor, and it immediately became an investigation with the Sheriff’s Office narcotics division.”
Norman said the sergeant met with Smith nine times – eight of which Smith gave the undercover officer cash payments ranging from $500 to $10,000. In total, Smith paid out $24,500 in cash, Norman said.
Smith was arrested Wednesday and both of the gaming businesses he allegedly operates were raided simultaneously. Norman said deputies removed 26 video gaming machines used for Smith’s illegal gambling operation.
Sheriff’s deputies hoisted the large black machines onto hand trucks Wednesday, strapped the machines tightly into place and wheeled them into a trailer emblazoned with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office logo. Sheriff’s vehicles in the parking lot of Susan’s Sweepstakes aren’t an unfamiliar sight for neighbors and passersby on South Post Road.
Wednesday marked the second time in as many months that the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office raided Smith’s business and seized the gaming machines. Norman said Smith refurbished his business with more machines since the first raid, and, to date, the Sheriff’s Office has seized 42 of Smith’s machines.
‘A law enforcement nightmare’
The bulky machines, painted black with gold trim along the edges, had TV monitors to view the games and slots where dollar bills could be inserted. Norman said illegal video gaming machines are a multibillion-dollar industry with cash profits.
Smith, a convicted felon, had more than $3,600 in cash in his possession when he was arrested, Norman said. Officers executed a search warrant at Smith’s home on Anne Neely Road outside Gastonia, where they found a handgun, according to Norman.
North Carolina passed a law banning video poker machines in 2006. Sweepstakes machines replaced video poker in the following years as trial judges ruled that the video poker statutes didn’t apply to some types of electronic sweepstakes devices. Lawmakers voted to make sweepstakes gaming illegal last year, but the judges continue to hear challenges to the law in North Carolina courts.
“It’s my wish that the General Assembly would undertake the study of video poker and legalize it through the state of North Carolina or make it totally illegal to possess the machines, because it is a law enforcement nightmare,” Norman said. “And this is a prime example of what could occur in a neighboring county or in any county in North Carolina. It’s something that the state needs to decide what they’re going to do with these machines or this industry.”
Norman two other Cleveland County video sweepstakes businesses, that are no longer in operation, reported armed robberies at their locations where perpetrators displayed handguns.
Smith is charged with eight counts of bribery of a government official and two counts of felony possession of video gaming machines. Officers took Smith to the Cleveland County Detention Center on Wednesday, and he was given a $500,000 secured bond. Norman said Smith’s first court appearance is scheduled for today.
Law enforcement officers from Gaston County and Shelby Police Department assisted the Sheriff’s Office with “Operation Last Man Standing.”
Jordan-Ashley Baker
SHELBY — A Gaston County man faces charges of bribing an undercover deputy in the hope of keeping his illegal video gaming businesses in Cleveland County under law enforcement’s radar.
More than $24,000 in bribes and three illegal gambling machine raids later, officials say Artie Stevenson Smith’s luck ran out. Sheriff Alan Norman said the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office conducted “Operation Last Man Standing” on Wednesday to end 63-year-old Smith’s alleged illegal video gaming business and months of bribery.
Norman said Smith approached a Sheriff’s Office narcotics sergeant in the hope of protecting his video poker businesses on South Post Road in Shelby and Cherryville Road in Waco. That meeting tipped off a more than four-month-long investigation into Smith, his video poker business and allegations of bribing a government official.
“This sends a statement that this agency has zero tolerance when it comes to public corruption,” Norman said. “When his deputy was approached, he immediately informed his supervisor, and it immediately became an investigation with the Sheriff’s Office narcotics division.”
Norman said the sergeant met with Smith nine times – eight of which Smith gave the undercover officer cash payments ranging from $500 to $10,000. In total, Smith paid out $24,500 in cash, Norman said.
Smith was arrested Wednesday and both of the gaming businesses he allegedly operates were raided simultaneously. Norman said deputies removed 26 video gaming machines used for Smith’s illegal gambling operation.
Sheriff’s deputies hoisted the large black machines onto hand trucks Wednesday, strapped the machines tightly into place and wheeled them into a trailer emblazoned with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office logo. Sheriff’s vehicles in the parking lot of Susan’s Sweepstakes aren’t an unfamiliar sight for neighbors and passersby on South Post Road.
Wednesday marked the second time in as many months that the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office raided Smith’s business and seized the gaming machines. Norman said Smith refurbished his business with more machines since the first raid, and, to date, the Sheriff’s Office has seized 42 of Smith’s machines.
‘A law enforcement nightmare’
The bulky machines, painted black with gold trim along the edges, had TV monitors to view the games and slots where dollar bills could be inserted. Norman said illegal video gaming machines are a multibillion-dollar industry with cash profits.
Smith, a convicted felon, had more than $3,600 in cash in his possession when he was arrested, Norman said. Officers executed a search warrant at Smith’s home on Anne Neely Road outside Gastonia, where they found a handgun, according to Norman.
North Carolina passed a law banning video poker machines in 2006. Sweepstakes machines replaced video poker in the following years as trial judges ruled that the video poker statutes didn’t apply to some types of electronic sweepstakes devices. Lawmakers voted to make sweepstakes gaming illegal last year, but the judges continue to hear challenges to the law in North Carolina courts.
“It’s my wish that the General Assembly would undertake the study of video poker and legalize it through the state of North Carolina or make it totally illegal to possess the machines, because it is a law enforcement nightmare,” Norman said. “And this is a prime example of what could occur in a neighboring county or in any county in North Carolina. It’s something that the state needs to decide what they’re going to do with these machines or this industry.”
Norman two other Cleveland County video sweepstakes businesses, that are no longer in operation, reported armed robberies at their locations where perpetrators displayed handguns.
Smith is charged with eight counts of bribery of a government official and two counts of felony possession of video gaming machines. Officers took Smith to the Cleveland County Detention Center on Wednesday, and he was given a $500,000 secured bond. Norman said Smith’s first court appearance is scheduled for today.
Law enforcement officers from Gaston County and Shelby Police Department assisted the Sheriff’s Office with “Operation Last Man Standing.”
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Men guilty of targeting casino winners
Men guilty of following, robbing casino winners
Written by Kimball Perry
Kenyatta Erkins and Ugbe Ojile woke up each day and went to work, toiling to do the best job they could.
They were so good, impressed Hamilton County prosecutors said Tuesday, that they stole tens of thousands of dollars – maybe more – from dozens of victims returning from Southeast Indiana’s riverboat casinos.
“This was their job. They went to work each day at the same time. These guys treated this as a profession. They truly were professional robbers,” Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier said.
Erkins, 36, of College Hill, and Ojile, 34, of New York, were convicted Tuesday of a combined 23 felonies in a string of robberies that ended with an undercover sting.
The convictions came two months after Common Pleas Court Judge Nadine Allen heard the case without a jury at the request of Erkins and Ojile.
Erkins went in the casinos alone to look for prey, largely because Ojile had been banned from Hollywood Casino after he was accused of robbing a patron there.
If Erkins saw someone win a big jackpot or count large amounts of money, he tailed them and called Ojile, sitting in a car in the casino parking lot. The men then often followed their victims – sometimes together and sometimes in separate cars – to their homes and robbed them.
Prosecutors say Erkins and Ojile targeted women, older and smaller victims or those whose first language isn’t English. Several of the victims, Assistant Prosecutor Rick Gibson said, are professional poker players.
“The robberies were getting progressively more violent,” Gibson said.
“It was only a matter of time before they shot somebody,” Piepmeier said.
That was a reason police decided to send the undercover officer inside Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, where he acted feebly and flashed a wad of cash.
Casino videos clearly show Erkins targeting the undercover officer and calling Ojile to follow him.
It worked. Shortly after the undercover officer left the casino, the pair followed him and soon was arrested.
Prosecutors said the complicated verdict – they also were found not guilty on a combined 13 charges – means Erkins faces a maximum prison term of 90 years in prison and Ojile faces 116 yeas [sic]. They are to be sentenced Sept. 29.
Erkins and Ojile were convicted in part by Amy Hoover, who was indicted with the men. She is Erkins’ girlfriend and gave birth to his baby while in jail on the charges.
Hoover, 26, of Colerain Township, pleaded guilty in April to her role in five of the robberies. She faces 50 years in prison when she is sentenced Aug. 10 but because she testified against Erkins and Ojile, prosecutors expect her sentence to be far less.
Written by Kimball Perry
Kenyatta Erkins and Ugbe Ojile woke up each day and went to work, toiling to do the best job they could.
They were so good, impressed Hamilton County prosecutors said Tuesday, that they stole tens of thousands of dollars – maybe more – from dozens of victims returning from Southeast Indiana’s riverboat casinos.
“This was their job. They went to work each day at the same time. These guys treated this as a profession. They truly were professional robbers,” Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier said.
Erkins, 36, of College Hill, and Ojile, 34, of New York, were convicted Tuesday of a combined 23 felonies in a string of robberies that ended with an undercover sting.
The convictions came two months after Common Pleas Court Judge Nadine Allen heard the case without a jury at the request of Erkins and Ojile.
Erkins went in the casinos alone to look for prey, largely because Ojile had been banned from Hollywood Casino after he was accused of robbing a patron there.
If Erkins saw someone win a big jackpot or count large amounts of money, he tailed them and called Ojile, sitting in a car in the casino parking lot. The men then often followed their victims – sometimes together and sometimes in separate cars – to their homes and robbed them.
Prosecutors say Erkins and Ojile targeted women, older and smaller victims or those whose first language isn’t English. Several of the victims, Assistant Prosecutor Rick Gibson said, are professional poker players.
“The robberies were getting progressively more violent,” Gibson said.
“It was only a matter of time before they shot somebody,” Piepmeier said.
That was a reason police decided to send the undercover officer inside Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, where he acted feebly and flashed a wad of cash.
Casino videos clearly show Erkins targeting the undercover officer and calling Ojile to follow him.
It worked. Shortly after the undercover officer left the casino, the pair followed him and soon was arrested.
Prosecutors said the complicated verdict – they also were found not guilty on a combined 13 charges – means Erkins faces a maximum prison term of 90 years in prison and Ojile faces 116 yeas [sic]. They are to be sentenced Sept. 29.
Erkins and Ojile were convicted in part by Amy Hoover, who was indicted with the men. She is Erkins’ girlfriend and gave birth to his baby while in jail on the charges.
Hoover, 26, of Colerain Township, pleaded guilty in April to her role in five of the robberies. She faces 50 years in prison when she is sentenced Aug. 10 but because she testified against Erkins and Ojile, prosecutors expect her sentence to be far less.
Alabama: Judge Dismisses Some Counts
Judge dismisses some counts against Crosby, McGregor in gambling corruption trial
Written by Sebastian Kitchen
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Monday dropped all but one count against legislative analyst Ray Crosby and dropped one of the charges against VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor in the ongoing federal corruption case. The charge dropped against McGregor was for allegedly attempting to bribe state Rep. Barry Mask, R-Wetumpka.
The jury will decide the fate of all of the charges against the four current or former state senators on trial as Thompson declined to drop any of those.
Thompson ruled that McGregor was acquitted on count 3, which charged McGregor and lobbyist Bob Geddie with trying to bribe Mask, who was cooperating with the FBI and recorded phone conversations with McGregor and others. They were both charged with federal programs bribery and aiding and abetting.
"As to count 3, the evidence presented by the government under the theory it asserted to the court is insufficient to support a conviction under this count," Thompson wrote in his order.
McGregor still is charged with conspiracy, five counts of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services fraud.
Citing insufficient evidence to move forward, Thompson dropped the conspiracy charge and all 11 of the honest services charges against Crosby. All of those counts charged all nine of the defendants.
There is one count of federal programs bribery and aiding and abetting remaining against Crosby, who was paid $3,000 a month by McGregor while he also was being paid to help draw up potential bills for the Legislature.
Thompson denied motions for acquittal by lobbyist Tom Coker; former state Sens. Jim Preuitt of Talladega and Larry Means of Attalla; current state Sens. Quinton Ross of Montgomery and Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb; and former Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker.
They are charged for their alleged roles in a scheme in which casino interests bribed state lawmakers to vote for gambling legislation.
Closing arguments will begin Wednesday.
Thompson has ordered that the jury be sequestered from Wednesday until they finish their deliberations.
(Page 2 of 3)
The judge ruled Monday that the prosecution would have five hours for its closing argument and the defense would have 10 hours to be split among the nine defendants. His order stated that those 15 hours would be split evenly between Wednesday and Thursday.
Lewis Gillis, attorney for Ross, said leaving the courthouse Monday before the orders were issued that they did not expect any of the charges against Ross to be tossed out based on their conversations with Thompson. Attorneys and defendants met with Thompson in private Monday morning.
Gillis said he felt the charges against Ross should have been tossed out from the beginning.
"I am absolutely confident they have not proven what they alleged against Senator Ross," he said.
Gillis said that McGregor and Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley, who already has pleaded guilty in the case, never contributed to Ross in 2010 despite Ross' calls seeking contributions. He said they never talked about Ross' vote in those conversations.
Prosecutors have not talked to the media during the trial, so comment from them was unavailable concerning the judge's orders.
Bribing Mask
McGregor called Mask and left a voicemail on Feb. 14, 2010, about the same time a VictoryLand employee called a woman putting together a fundraiser for Mask in Tallassee. The VictoryLand employee, according to testimony, said he wanted to buy all of the tickets to the fundraiser. She said, after consulting with Mask, that they were out of tickets, but the man said they would come to the event anyway.
Mask, on the witness stand, said he had not talked to McGregor in about two years and became concerned. He contacted the attorney with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, who put him in touch with federal authorities, who came to his Wetumpka office on Feb. 15, 2010. Mask called McGregor with the FBI in his office and secretly recorded the conversation.
McGregor said, in the recorded conversation, that he would find significant help for Mask if the legislator would support pro-gambling legislation. Mask asked how much help he could expect and asked McGregor if he would have anyone attending the fundraiser that night. McGregor said he did not know about it.
(Page 3 of 3)
Geddie and Ben Patterson, another lobbyist with Fine Geddie &Associates, attended the Feb. 15, 2010, fundraiser for Mask at McGregor's request, according to testimony. They brought two checks for $2,500 each from political action committees operated by Fine Geddie.
McGregor said in a recorded conversation the next day that he sent the lobbyists to the fundraiser.
Defense attorneys have since argued those contributions came from Great Southern Wood and Protective Life Corp., who also wereclients of Geddie's well-respected lobbying firm that handles large companies based both inside and outside of Alabama.
Geddie still is facing an obstruction of justice charge for having an employee of the lobbying firm change a ledger at the firm that kept up with which payments were being made on behalf of which clients. Geddie's lawyers, in court, have argued the original entry was a mistake, and that the money did not come from McGregor and instead from those two other businesses.
An attorney for Geddie, Jimmy Judkins, also has argued that, if Geddie was trying to conceal the information, he would have blacked out the data, but that the original entry still was visible when it was turned over to federal authorities. The ledger, according to testimony, was kept for internal records and was not required.
Written by Sebastian Kitchen
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Monday dropped all but one count against legislative analyst Ray Crosby and dropped one of the charges against VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor in the ongoing federal corruption case. The charge dropped against McGregor was for allegedly attempting to bribe state Rep. Barry Mask, R-Wetumpka.
The jury will decide the fate of all of the charges against the four current or former state senators on trial as Thompson declined to drop any of those.
Thompson ruled that McGregor was acquitted on count 3, which charged McGregor and lobbyist Bob Geddie with trying to bribe Mask, who was cooperating with the FBI and recorded phone conversations with McGregor and others. They were both charged with federal programs bribery and aiding and abetting.
"As to count 3, the evidence presented by the government under the theory it asserted to the court is insufficient to support a conviction under this count," Thompson wrote in his order.
McGregor still is charged with conspiracy, five counts of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services fraud.
Citing insufficient evidence to move forward, Thompson dropped the conspiracy charge and all 11 of the honest services charges against Crosby. All of those counts charged all nine of the defendants.
There is one count of federal programs bribery and aiding and abetting remaining against Crosby, who was paid $3,000 a month by McGregor while he also was being paid to help draw up potential bills for the Legislature.
Thompson denied motions for acquittal by lobbyist Tom Coker; former state Sens. Jim Preuitt of Talladega and Larry Means of Attalla; current state Sens. Quinton Ross of Montgomery and Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb; and former Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker.
They are charged for their alleged roles in a scheme in which casino interests bribed state lawmakers to vote for gambling legislation.
Closing arguments will begin Wednesday.
Thompson has ordered that the jury be sequestered from Wednesday until they finish their deliberations.
(Page 2 of 3)
The judge ruled Monday that the prosecution would have five hours for its closing argument and the defense would have 10 hours to be split among the nine defendants. His order stated that those 15 hours would be split evenly between Wednesday and Thursday.
Lewis Gillis, attorney for Ross, said leaving the courthouse Monday before the orders were issued that they did not expect any of the charges against Ross to be tossed out based on their conversations with Thompson. Attorneys and defendants met with Thompson in private Monday morning.
Gillis said he felt the charges against Ross should have been tossed out from the beginning.
"I am absolutely confident they have not proven what they alleged against Senator Ross," he said.
Gillis said that McGregor and Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley, who already has pleaded guilty in the case, never contributed to Ross in 2010 despite Ross' calls seeking contributions. He said they never talked about Ross' vote in those conversations.
Prosecutors have not talked to the media during the trial, so comment from them was unavailable concerning the judge's orders.
Bribing Mask
McGregor called Mask and left a voicemail on Feb. 14, 2010, about the same time a VictoryLand employee called a woman putting together a fundraiser for Mask in Tallassee. The VictoryLand employee, according to testimony, said he wanted to buy all of the tickets to the fundraiser. She said, after consulting with Mask, that they were out of tickets, but the man said they would come to the event anyway.
Mask, on the witness stand, said he had not talked to McGregor in about two years and became concerned. He contacted the attorney with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, who put him in touch with federal authorities, who came to his Wetumpka office on Feb. 15, 2010. Mask called McGregor with the FBI in his office and secretly recorded the conversation.
McGregor said, in the recorded conversation, that he would find significant help for Mask if the legislator would support pro-gambling legislation. Mask asked how much help he could expect and asked McGregor if he would have anyone attending the fundraiser that night. McGregor said he did not know about it.
(Page 3 of 3)
Geddie and Ben Patterson, another lobbyist with Fine Geddie &Associates, attended the Feb. 15, 2010, fundraiser for Mask at McGregor's request, according to testimony. They brought two checks for $2,500 each from political action committees operated by Fine Geddie.
McGregor said in a recorded conversation the next day that he sent the lobbyists to the fundraiser.
Defense attorneys have since argued those contributions came from Great Southern Wood and Protective Life Corp., who also wereclients of Geddie's well-respected lobbying firm that handles large companies based both inside and outside of Alabama.
Geddie still is facing an obstruction of justice charge for having an employee of the lobbying firm change a ledger at the firm that kept up with which payments were being made on behalf of which clients. Geddie's lawyers, in court, have argued the original entry was a mistake, and that the money did not come from McGregor and instead from those two other businesses.
An attorney for Geddie, Jimmy Judkins, also has argued that, if Geddie was trying to conceal the information, he would have blacked out the data, but that the original entry still was visible when it was turned over to federal authorities. The ledger, according to testimony, was kept for internal records and was not required.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Casino Shootout Survivor Offers Suggestions
Lessons aplenty to be learned from casino shootout survivor
Karrie Collins of Black Diamond was too busy trying to stop violence here and abroad to celebrate her 37th birthday.
KATHLEEN MERRYMAN; STAFF WRITER
Karrie Collins of Black Diamond was too busy trying to stop violence here and abroad to celebrate her 37th birthday.
She was occupied with gang prevention work with Tacoma’s Safe Streets. She’s close to earning her master’s degree in psychology, and she was working on a paper. Her focus, with her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, is on effective ways to reduce violent behavior. She had her volunteer work with a group advocating peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people.
But on July 23, a few weeks after her birthday, friends persuaded her to take a break and go to Club Galaxy at the Muckleshoot Casino near Auburn.
“It’s only the second time in my life I’ve ever been in that casino,” Collins recalled. “There’s a dance club in the center. They have a DJ, and it was really packed. Really, really, really packed.”
She monitored the crowd, and when she saw what she suspected were gang members getting together, she got nervous.
“I told my friends we should go,” she said. “We went out onto the floor one last time.”
They were dancing when she heard “clack, clack.”
“I knew what it was. I’ve been in shootings before,” she said. “I was at the optometrist’s at the Walmart shooting of the armored car driver.”
A friend who had arrived from Iraq two months ago froze. She grabbed him and ran toward the bar to get behind it.
“When more shots came, we dove down and hit the deck really hard. I hurt my knee, and people started trampling over us.”
People desperate to get behind something flipped tables over and hid. People desperate to get out tripped over tables and chairs and each other. The “clack, clack, clack” went on until seven people had been shot.
Cesar Vielma-Chaparro, 42, is accused of shooting his estranged wife, the man she was dancing with, her sister and four people he didn’t know. They were hit in the face, the chest, the head, the torso.
He is jailed on $1 million bond and, if convicted, faces a sentence of 89 to 101 years.
It is beyond irony that a woman whose life is about making and keeping peace was mere feet away from the shooter.
It is also a chance to learn from her perspective. That includes a youth misspent on drugs, fighting and gangs, and an adulthood salvaged through military service in the Balkans in the late 1990s.
Collins has a list. Every idea on it is complex, and every one, done right, will save lives and trauma.
• “Domestic violence is really out of control,” she said. “That is really what happened that night.”
Attack it from every angle, she says: education, counseling, treatment, prison, eliminating prostitution, cutting abusers’ access to guns, creating safe places for victims.
• “Why don’t these casinos have metal detectors?” she demanded. “They have a lot of money, a lot of alcohol. When you mix alcohol and money and things like that, you are bound to have some violence.”
• Invest in diverting kids away from gangs. A mass shooting at a south King County car show the same weekend reportedly involved gangs.
School policies, and teachers, geared to help kids hurt and humiliated at home can do it. Neighborhood programs that provide safety and encouragement can do it. They’re cheaper than chucking a kid into a life of courts and prison.
“That’s why I do prevention,” she said. “It saves money. If you are able to stir their spirit back to life, they know they can still do the things they dreamed of as kids.”
• Cut the drama.
“There are so many young people living under occupation and war who would just give anything to have a chance to live peacefully,” Collins said. “It’s really interesting the way youth in America think. It’s crazy. We’ve really addicted them to drama and violence.”
We can do better by them.
If we do, we might make the weekends safe for dancing and car shows. And for people like Karrie Collins to take a well-deserved break.
Karrie Collins of Black Diamond was too busy trying to stop violence here and abroad to celebrate her 37th birthday.
KATHLEEN MERRYMAN; STAFF WRITER
Karrie Collins of Black Diamond was too busy trying to stop violence here and abroad to celebrate her 37th birthday.
She was occupied with gang prevention work with Tacoma’s Safe Streets. She’s close to earning her master’s degree in psychology, and she was working on a paper. Her focus, with her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, is on effective ways to reduce violent behavior. She had her volunteer work with a group advocating peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people.
But on July 23, a few weeks after her birthday, friends persuaded her to take a break and go to Club Galaxy at the Muckleshoot Casino near Auburn.
“It’s only the second time in my life I’ve ever been in that casino,” Collins recalled. “There’s a dance club in the center. They have a DJ, and it was really packed. Really, really, really packed.”
She monitored the crowd, and when she saw what she suspected were gang members getting together, she got nervous.
“I told my friends we should go,” she said. “We went out onto the floor one last time.”
They were dancing when she heard “clack, clack.”
“I knew what it was. I’ve been in shootings before,” she said. “I was at the optometrist’s at the Walmart shooting of the armored car driver.”
A friend who had arrived from Iraq two months ago froze. She grabbed him and ran toward the bar to get behind it.
“When more shots came, we dove down and hit the deck really hard. I hurt my knee, and people started trampling over us.”
People desperate to get behind something flipped tables over and hid. People desperate to get out tripped over tables and chairs and each other. The “clack, clack, clack” went on until seven people had been shot.
Cesar Vielma-Chaparro, 42, is accused of shooting his estranged wife, the man she was dancing with, her sister and four people he didn’t know. They were hit in the face, the chest, the head, the torso.
He is jailed on $1 million bond and, if convicted, faces a sentence of 89 to 101 years.
It is beyond irony that a woman whose life is about making and keeping peace was mere feet away from the shooter.
It is also a chance to learn from her perspective. That includes a youth misspent on drugs, fighting and gangs, and an adulthood salvaged through military service in the Balkans in the late 1990s.
Collins has a list. Every idea on it is complex, and every one, done right, will save lives and trauma.
• “Domestic violence is really out of control,” she said. “That is really what happened that night.”
Attack it from every angle, she says: education, counseling, treatment, prison, eliminating prostitution, cutting abusers’ access to guns, creating safe places for victims.
• “Why don’t these casinos have metal detectors?” she demanded. “They have a lot of money, a lot of alcohol. When you mix alcohol and money and things like that, you are bound to have some violence.”
• Invest in diverting kids away from gangs. A mass shooting at a south King County car show the same weekend reportedly involved gangs.
School policies, and teachers, geared to help kids hurt and humiliated at home can do it. Neighborhood programs that provide safety and encouragement can do it. They’re cheaper than chucking a kid into a life of courts and prison.
“That’s why I do prevention,” she said. “It saves money. If you are able to stir their spirit back to life, they know they can still do the things they dreamed of as kids.”
• Cut the drama.
“There are so many young people living under occupation and war who would just give anything to have a chance to live peacefully,” Collins said. “It’s really interesting the way youth in America think. It’s crazy. We’ve really addicted them to drama and violence.”
We can do better by them.
If we do, we might make the weekends safe for dancing and car shows. And for people like Karrie Collins to take a well-deserved break.
Parx: 2nd child left in car in less than a week
UPDATE: Another Child Left Unattended in Parx Parking Lot
A father left his 6-year-old child in locked car Saturday while he gambled.
According to a report on PhillyBurbs.com, Michael Roytman, 29, of Oakwood Drive, Huntington Valley, left his 6-year-old daughter in his car in the parking lot of Parx Casino on Saturday at about 1:35 p.m. while he gambled.
Parx security officers discovered the child, who had been unattended for less than 10 minutes, according to a report on Philly.com.
"Our security identified the situation within mere minutes," Parx spokeswoman Carrie Nork-Minelli told Philly.com. "The most important thing was that the child was okay."
Bensalem police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Anisman confirmed the incident Sunday and released additional information today.
“This is the second case in less than a week,” he added.
In today's release, Anisman said the temperature was over 90 degrees at the time of the incident and witnesses described the child as being sweaty, hot and her face was flush. He said the child was treated at the scene by Bensalem Rescue and released.
Roytman was arraigned in district court late Saturday on charges of endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. He was lodged in Bucks County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail, according to PhillyBurbs.
Similar incidents have occurred at Parx over the past year or so, including the following:
•On July 16 at 6:55 p.m., Parx security observed three children left alone inside a running vehicle. Bensalem police found a 1-year-old boy, a 2-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl in the car for at least 17 minutes. Frances Casey, 39, of Abington, the children's aunt, said she went into the casino to redeem a promotional voucher for free pots and pans. She also played two slot machines before returning to her vehicle. Casey was charged with endangering the welfare of children. She will appear in court at a later date.
•In April, Sharon Balek, 35, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to two years of probation and banned from Pennsylvania casinos for leaving her two daughters in the parking lot at Parx Casino while she played slot machines for over six hours.
•In January, Donald Waige, 60, of Philadelphia, plead guilty to child endangerment for leaving his 15-month-old son in a parked car in June 2010 while he played penny slots.
In addition to criminal charges, individuals who leave children unattended in the casino parking lot are placed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on its involuntary Exclusion List, which forbids him from entering state casinos.
A father left his 6-year-old child in locked car Saturday while he gambled.
According to a report on PhillyBurbs.com, Michael Roytman, 29, of Oakwood Drive, Huntington Valley, left his 6-year-old daughter in his car in the parking lot of Parx Casino on Saturday at about 1:35 p.m. while he gambled.
Parx security officers discovered the child, who had been unattended for less than 10 minutes, according to a report on Philly.com.
"Our security identified the situation within mere minutes," Parx spokeswoman Carrie Nork-Minelli told Philly.com. "The most important thing was that the child was okay."
Bensalem police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Anisman confirmed the incident Sunday and released additional information today.
“This is the second case in less than a week,” he added.
In today's release, Anisman said the temperature was over 90 degrees at the time of the incident and witnesses described the child as being sweaty, hot and her face was flush. He said the child was treated at the scene by Bensalem Rescue and released.
Roytman was arraigned in district court late Saturday on charges of endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. He was lodged in Bucks County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail, according to PhillyBurbs.
Similar incidents have occurred at Parx over the past year or so, including the following:
•On July 16 at 6:55 p.m., Parx security observed three children left alone inside a running vehicle. Bensalem police found a 1-year-old boy, a 2-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl in the car for at least 17 minutes. Frances Casey, 39, of Abington, the children's aunt, said she went into the casino to redeem a promotional voucher for free pots and pans. She also played two slot machines before returning to her vehicle. Casey was charged with endangering the welfare of children. She will appear in court at a later date.
•In April, Sharon Balek, 35, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to two years of probation and banned from Pennsylvania casinos for leaving her two daughters in the parking lot at Parx Casino while she played slot machines for over six hours.
•In January, Donald Waige, 60, of Philadelphia, plead guilty to child endangerment for leaving his 15-month-old son in a parked car in June 2010 while he played penny slots.
In addition to criminal charges, individuals who leave children unattended in the casino parking lot are placed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on its involuntary Exclusion List, which forbids him from entering state casinos.
Pennsylvania: Child left in car in Parx casino lot
Man jailed for leaving child in car in Parx casino lot
By Sandy Bauers
Inquirer Staff Writer
A 29-year-old local man was arrested and jailed Saturday after security officers at Parx Casino in Bensalem discovered a 6-year-old child unattended in a locked car in the parking lot.
Bensalem police said Sunday no one was available to provide details. However, Parx spokeswoman Carrie Nork-Minelli confirmed the incident.
According to news reports, the man was gambling in the casino at the time. The child had been in the car for less than 10 minutes and was unharmed.
"Our security identified the situation within mere minutes," Nork-Minelli said. "The most important thing was that the child was OK."
The man was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person, and was arraigned late Saturday before District Judge M. Kay Dubree, whose office is in Ottsville. Bail was set at $75,000, and he was sent to Bucks County Prison, according to news reports.
Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said Sunday that because the case was handled in district court, he did not yet have details.
Nork-Minelli said casino staff was vigilant about such situations.
Nine similar incidents were reported at the casino last year between June 15 and Oct. 11. More recent information was unavailable.
By Sandy Bauers
Inquirer Staff Writer
A 29-year-old local man was arrested and jailed Saturday after security officers at Parx Casino in Bensalem discovered a 6-year-old child unattended in a locked car in the parking lot.
Bensalem police said Sunday no one was available to provide details. However, Parx spokeswoman Carrie Nork-Minelli confirmed the incident.
According to news reports, the man was gambling in the casino at the time. The child had been in the car for less than 10 minutes and was unharmed.
"Our security identified the situation within mere minutes," Nork-Minelli said. "The most important thing was that the child was OK."
The man was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person, and was arraigned late Saturday before District Judge M. Kay Dubree, whose office is in Ottsville. Bail was set at $75,000, and he was sent to Bucks County Prison, according to news reports.
Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said Sunday that because the case was handled in district court, he did not yet have details.
Nork-Minelli said casino staff was vigilant about such situations.
Nine similar incidents were reported at the casino last year between June 15 and Oct. 11. More recent information was unavailable.
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