BingoGate: Gilley cops a plea, rolling up one side of the conspiracy

News broke late yesterday afternoon that Country Crossings owner and developer Ronnie Gilley has decided to flip on the remaining defendants in USA vs. McGregor et al. He will appear in a rare, dramatic Good Friday hearing this morning before US Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel and formally enter his guilty plea.

With the agreement, the Department of Justice swiftly moved to have Gilley released from jail and into the custody of the FBI. Gilley is expected to provide Agents with evidence against the remaining defendants and will remain in their custody up to the scheduled trial date of June 6, 2011.

It is a major development in the case and it represents a potentially devastating blow to the nine defendants still remaining.

 

Gilley, along with fellow casino owner Milton McGregor, several lobbyists and lawmakers, had been charged in a multicount indictment last October, alleging fraud, bribery and conspiracy in connection with a gambling bill making its way through the 2010 Alabama legislative session.

In the original indictment and accompanying court filings, the Department of Justice alleged that Gilley, working in close concert with McGregor, conspired to bribe legislators to secure their votes on the bill. Two lobbyists working for Gilley—Jennifer Pouncey and Jarrod Massey—have already pled guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Gilley’s flip effectively rolls up the Gilley leg of the two-sided conspiracy.

This leaves McGregor and his lobbyists—Tom Coker and Robert Geddie—at the top of the food chain in the case.

With the Court prepared to make its final ruling dismissing the motions to suppress the wiretap evidence, and with Gilley reportedly suffering miserable conditions in the local lockup, a plea deal from him isn’t shocking. In fact, the Court is most likely to dismiss every pretrial motion made by defendants, and it is becoming clear that the prosecution—which nearly bungled this case beyond repair—has seen its greatest moment of peril pass.

This is typically the point where the white flag of surrender goes up.

Exit Question:  The only side of the conspiracy holding fast is the McGregor side. Do we see one or the other of McGregor’s lobbyists blink now? One whole side of the conspiracy has been rolled up and the wiretap evidence will be heard by a jury. If there’s a deal to be had—assuming one has even been offered—who’s the first to take it?

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BingoGate: Busy week on the docket; much more to come

It’s no real surprise, but darned near every defendant in the upcoming bingo corruption trial are filing objections to Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel’s recommendations that their various pretrial motions be denied, along with appeals to US District Judge Myron Thompson to set aside Capel’s recommendation and rule their way.

The chief target of those motions is of course the wiretaps evidence, which form the foundation of the government’s case against Milton McGregor, Ronnie Gilley, their lobbyists and a handful of legislators they are accused of bribing to support a 2010 constitutional amendment legalizing electronic gambling in the state of Alabama.

This is going to be a long and complex trial. There are ten remaining defendants. Assuming Thompson allows the wiretap evidence to be presented, there are nearly 13,000 recorded conversations. There will be mountains of documentary evidence as well, including emails, tax and bank records, campaign disclosure forms, ad infinitum.

A great number of documents have been filed with the Court under seal, meaning no one but the attorneys and the Court knows their contents. But at some point, most—if not all—of this information will become part of the public record.

And boy, will there be an army of lawyers in the courtroom.

It is by far the biggest trial in the modern history of the state, likely overshadowing the Richard Scrushy trials of a couple of years ago. With November’s historic Republican sweep of the Legislature and every important statewide office, combined with equally historic passage of tougher ethics laws in last year’s legislative special session, this trial will close an ugly chapter in the state’s history.

Alabama residents have long suffered the ill effects of a legislative process so toxically ridden with corruption that it would make a billy goat puke. Those cheering for the prosecution in this case are cheering for some of the highest profile players in that chapter to pay the price for their alleged crimes. Those cheering for the defendants are cheering for a return to days gone by, in which powerful individuals with no accountability unduly influence legislation benefitting them and only them. Whether the verdicts come back guilty or not guilty, that door is closed forever.

There are still some viper pits in Montgomery that are in serious need of cleaning out, and those battles are certainly going to be waged in the months and years ahead. But for now, getcha some popcorn and settle in.  This trial is gonna be doozy.

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BingoGate: Geddie files a motion to compel – what could go wrong?

This can’t be good if you’re cheering for the prosecution team. Bingo defendant Robert Geddie has filed a motion to compel, and unfortunately we don’t know what he’s seeking from the government because—like so many other documents in this case—Geddie’s motion was filed under seal and is not accessible by the public.

Geddie, along with his client Milton McGregor and nine other defendants were indicted last October on charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and fraud in connection with an alleged scheme to bribe Alabama legislators into supporting a proposed constitutional amendment allowing voters to approve gambling in the state.

The feds got wind of the scheme, approached an Alexandria, VA Federal Judge and received permission to tap the phones of some of the players. The bill failed in the Alabama 2010 legislative session and the Bingo 11 were rounded up months later.

Recall that back in December, there were motions filed by defendants Tom Coker, Geddie and Milton McGregor to compel the prosecution to turn over the wiretap binders and other evidence associated with the government’s electronic surveillance last spring.   Those motions led to a flurry of filings, responses and a series of hearings that only concluded earlier this month with US Magistrate Judge verbally lashing the government’s “ridiculous” handling of evidence in the case.

Recall also that the prosecution team also includes Brenda Morris, the career prosecutor who was part of the team that famously botched the Alaska Senator Ted Stevens case. That case turned on guess what? The prosecution’s mishandling of evidence.

Here we are about eight weeks away from jury selection, and the defense is filing another motion to compel. Gee… What could go wrong?

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BingoGate: Sources: Geddie will not plead

The prosecution has failed to persuade BingoGate defendant Robert Geddie to accept a deal for his testimony, according to two independent sources with knowledge of the discussions. It is not known whether a formal offer was made to Geddie, but it is widely believed that the prosecution was keenly interested in getting Geddie or co-defendant Tom Coker to strike a deal.

The two “big fish” in this case are casino owner and political powerbroker Milton McGregor and fellow casino owner Ronald Gilley.  Legal analysts are convinced that Gilley’s defense took a crushing blow when Jarrod Massey decided to cooperate with the government and testify against the Country Crossings owner and developer. Rolling up the other side of the two-sided conspiracy with a deal from Geddie—or Coker—would likely have delivered a similarly damaging blow to McGregor.

As another indication that Geddie will not cooperate with prosecutors in a deal to convict McGregor, Geddie has filed a motion to either sever his case from the other defendants, or in the alternative, join his trial with that of his client, Milton McGregor. If he was considering a plea deal, he wouldn’t be interested in going to trial joined at the hip with the man he could send to federal prison.

It should be noted that Geddie’s lack of cooperation in US vs McGregor et al does not preclude cooperation with prosecutors in any other matters currently under investigation. As is their policy, the FBI will neither confirm nor deny the existence of investigations (unless it’s in their interests to do so).

In other news regarding the case, both Geddie and Coker have filed motions to strike surplusage from the indictment. In plain English, “surplusage” is a term that refers to useless, nonsensical or prejudicial language in a legal document. In this case, the term they are objecting to is “pro-gambling legislation” in reference to the Sweet Home Alabama Act (SB 380). The defendants argue that the indictment’s characterization of the legislation as “pro-gambling” is both inaccurate and prejudicial, and could result in problems seating an impartial jury.

It will be interesting to see the prosecution’s response.

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AUBurgeddon: Newton investigation’s costly price tag and media fail

In a story from the Birmingham News’ Jon Solomon today, we learn that Auburn University has shelled out a hefty $170,000 or so in legal fees in connection with the NCAA investigation of allegations surrounding former Auburn Quarterback, Cam Newton.

That’s not pocket change, and it looks like there’s a lot more moolah to be spent in the months ahead.  The fact that there’s to be a lot more legal expenses going forward might be news to some people, as is explained in a little better detail later on.

Solomon says:

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Auburn University says it has spent approximately $170,000 in attorney fees on the Cam Newton case during the past 4 months.

Auburn Senior Associate Athletics Director Scott Carr said Tuesday the fees started in mid-October and have all gone to Lightfoot, Franklin, White LLC, the university's Birmingham-based legal counsel.

Auburn provided the information in response to an open-records request by The Birmingham News.

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By way of comparison, Solomon notes that the University of Alabama spent a total of $188,443 on the textbook case. He does not note that the textbook matter is altogether closed.

Which leads us to another little nugget of gold provided to the state media cartel’s readers, courtesy of a quote from Mike Slive. Slive was interviewed yesterday by ESPN’s SEC Beat Writer, Chris Low.

The following exchange takes place, and the topmost is repeated in Solomon’s story:

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Does the NCAA’s investigation of Cam Newton and his father, Cecil, remain open?

MS: You’re going to have to ask them, but nobody has written me a letter that says it’s over.

How did you feel about Cecil being there at the end of BCS National Championship Game after telling Auburn officials he would not attend?

MS: If it was up to me, I would have preferred that he not be in the stadium.

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OMG! WTF! You mean the NCAA isn’t through investigating Cam Newton and Auburn?!? Hasn’t fellow cartel writer Charles Goldberg of the venerable Auburn Bureau told us over and over and over again that the NCAA has already investigated the matter and “found nothing wrong?”

Has the fambly called in the dogs and pissed on the fire too soon, Nelly?

This is a dark, dark day for denizens of the 334 area code, folks. Especially those who don’t surf the net or read reputable national sportswriters such as Thayer Evans of Fox Sports or Pete Thamel of the New York Times. These and other notable journalists have reported on the very active, very much ongoing nature of the NCAA investigation. Conversely, the state media cartel has cheerfully kept up the fambly meme that the NCAA already finished it’s looky-see and declared them all clean and innocent.

It looks like that $170,000 is a mere down payment. A retainer fee, if you will. Because the ongoing nature of the NCAA investigation of the Newtons and Auburn isn’t all the state media cartel fails to report on.

They fail to note that Lightfoot Franklin & White is the same firm representing Auburn Trustee, booster and puppeteer Bobby Lowder in the Colonial Bank Employees’ class action lawsuit against him, in which the former employees allege that he mismanaged, swindled and otherwise ruined their financial interests in running his bank into the ground.

They fail to note that the sitting Athletic Director, Jay Jacobs, once ran the athletic department’s fundraising colossus, Tigers Unlimited Foundation, which paid out millions to the lobbying firm of Robert Geddie. You know… the Auburn graduate who is one of the 11 people indicted and charged in the BingoGate case. For the slower folks in the 334 Fambly, let me spell that out for you in clear, fifth grade language: Your AD has a documented business relationship with a man who will stand trial as part of a conspiracy to commit fraud, bribery, extortion and money laundering. That is, unless he flips. After all, he’s being represented by the same firm who represents Auburn in the Cam Newton case and Lowder in the Colonial class action case. Franklin’s skills as a negotiator are legendary in the legal community. He represents his clients professionally and thoroughly.

All of’em.

I can’t be too harsh on the state media cartel. In truth, the Birmingham News went all rogue and stuff when they filed the open records request. Solomon often sometimes controls his homerism, plays it straight down the middle and reports the news. Press-Register Sports Editor Randy Kennedy is about as professional as they come. But our state media cartel is clearly dropping the ball on this story and potentially missing out on the opportunity to win Pulitzers.

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Five bona fide reasons why BingoGate and AUBurgeddon are probably connected

I’m sure you’ve seen or heard about the MEGATHREAD at www.tidefans.com (link fixed).

Maybe you’ve also seen and heard about the ATPB thread at www.tigerdroppings.com. (UPDATE: Thread restored)

Together, these two forums have combined for thousands of pages, tens of thousands of posts and quite literally millions of page views. If there is ever going to be an entry in Websters for “Going Viral,” right next to the definition would be links to these two URL’s.

It’s also worth noting that loony conspiracy sites like Alex Jones’ Infowars and Dylan Avery’s Loose Change have also generated tons of traffic for their owners by hyping the black helicopterism of global plots to take down the US of A, or something.

One of the things that allows Jones and Avery to perpetuate their loony theories is the narrative that they are “just asking questions.” That sounds legitimate enough, until you realize that as soon as they’re given real answers (by reputable scientists and writers at Popular Mechanics), they dismiss the answers and come up with a whole new set of questions. Much like a video game villain or monster comes back after you mash the RESET button.

So what’s the difference between the black helicopterists at Jones’ and Avery’s sites and the theories spun by the denizens of the MEGATHREAD and ATPB? Aren’t they both wildly speculative and don’t they all describe a plot that’s just too crazy to be true?

There is some stuff out there that stretches the limits of credibility, and some folks have taken speculative reasoning as Gospel truth. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t factual information there, nor does it mean that because it all can’t be true, none of it is.

In truth, some of it is certainly true and it can be documented by court filings, media reports and other credible sources.  Here are five reasons showing that the Auburn recruiting scandal surrounding Cam Newton, the pay-for-play allegations and political corruption in Alabama are all part of the same monster:

1. Milton McGregor’s ties to Auburn University, Colonial Bank and politics in Alabama. It is no secret, nor is it speculation, that the one-time statewide political powerbroker has connections to all three sides of the AUBurgeddon triangle. McGregor and former Colonial CEO Bobby Lowder are tight. Or, they were tight. McGregor sat on Colonial’s Board of Directors. McGregor has given millions to Auburn. McGregor will stand trial for attempting to corrupt the legislative process by conspiring with lobbyists and bribing politicians. He is of course, innocent until proven guilty but the prosecution is confident.
2. The FBI’s interview with John Bond. The FBI does not go on fishing expeditions. They did not just wake up one chilly morning in November and decide to go hassle a former Mississippi State quarterback about possible violation of NCAA recruiting regulations. The FBI doesn’t do NCAA investigations. They do criminal investigations, and during the conduct of those investigations, they only interview witnesses that they believe have legitimate, useful information in developing a criminal case against one or more defendants. Each and every interview with such persons of interest is documented on federal form FD-302.
3. Business relationship between AU Athletic Director Jay Jacobs and indicted co-defendant Robert Geddie. Again, no speculation, no secrets. Auburn graduate Robert Geddie used to head up the lobbying firm Fine-Geddie (along with an Alabama graduate, Joe Fine). As documented by his seminal piece in the Tuskegee News, Paul Davis outlines the relationship between Geddie’s firm and Auburn’s Tigers Unlimited Foundation. TUF paid millions to Geddie’s firm over several years. Current AU Athletic Director Jay Jacobs was TUF’s first president and resigned that post when he was selected as AU’s AD. For the naysayers and skeptics out there, let me lay it out for you: The current athletic director of a major college sports program has a demonstrated business relationship with a man indicted on charges of conspiracy, money laundering and bribery. Like McGregor, Geddie is innocent until proven guilty and deserves his day in court.
4. Bobby Lowder. Duh! If you’re running a improper benefits scam, where’s the money gonna come from? How about the former CEO of the once mighty Colonial BancGroup, who also happens to be a sitting Auburn Board of Trustees member, who chairs the BOT’s finance committee, who has poured millions into the school, who has been fingered by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a micromanager of both academic and athletic affairs at Auburn, who cements alliances with other BOT members through loans and other business relationships, who provided the aircraft in the infamous JetGate scandal? Like I’m telling you something new here, right?
5. Sam Franklin is the Golden Thread, tying it all together. Sam Franklin is a senior partner in the Alabama Powerhouse law firm of Lightfoot Frankin White. Sam Franklin represents Bobby Lowder in the class action lawsuit filed by former Colonial employees. Sam Franklin represents Auburn University in the Cam Newton case, and has represented the school in all NCAA compliance matters, dating back to AU’s most notorious run-in with the NCAA, the Ramsay Tapes Scandal. But on November 30, 2010, Franklin got a new client—Robert Geddie. But Franklin doesn’t practice criminal law, so his hiring as Geddie’s lead counsel in a criminal proceeding is an eyebrow raiser at worst and at best, slam dunk evidence that the cases are all tied together.

We also know that federal investigators are wrapping up an expanded probe that goes beyond the scope of the original documents and, judging from the language in the prosecution’s court filings and statements from BingoGate defense attorneys, there is a likelihood that a new round of indictments is forthcoming. DOJ is notoriously tight-lipped about ongoing investigations and only disclosed the expanded probe’s existence because they had to in order to avoid compromising it and protect the evidence. But going back to the FBI’s interview of John Bond and media reports that the FBI was also exploring ties between McGregor and the Newton recruitment, it is not black helicopterism to suggest that investigators are making their way up I-85.

In their court filings, the prosecution indicated that the picture would become clearer on January 31, 2011. That date is now less than a week away and by this time next week, we should have a much better idea of who, and what comes next.

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BingoGate: Court orders the release of wiretap binders

In what could be a significant development (jackpot?) in the US v McGregor et al case, aka, “BingoGate,” US Magistrate Judge Wallace Cappel has GRANTED Thomas Coker’s motion to compel the government to produce unredacted wiretap binders and unredacted versions of the 302s. Wiretap binders contain information about the contents of recordings made during authorized and voluntary telephone surveillance. FD-302s are forms used by federal agents during witness interviews. They consist of information provided by the subject in the form of notes taken by agents.

Cappel gave the government until January 31, 2011 to produce the material. If two of the defendants—Massey and his former boss Ronnie Gilley—wish to assert privilege and redact portions of the binders, they will have to do so by tomorrow, January 14, 2011. If they fail to assert privilege, the binders will be released to the remaining defendants for their review.

The defendants moving the court to compel the release of the materials have complained that not having access to unredacted records hampers their ability to mount an effective defense in the case.

Tom Coker, the defendant whose motion the court granted yesterday, was one of the two lobbyists employed by Milton McGregor. Robert Geddie also worked for McGregor. McGregor’s connections to Auburn University and Auburn Trustee Bobby Lowder have led many to believe that some of the wiretapped conversations may have included discussions of alleged shady dealings at AU.  That belief gained momentum by the revelation last week that federal investigators had expanded their probe beyond the scope of the original US v McGregor et al indictments. It was further strengthened when it was learned that Sam Franklin of Lightfoot, Franklin and White, who represents Auburn in all NCAA compliance matters, is also representing Robert Geddie in the criminal trial and representing Bobby Lowder in ongoing federal bank fraud investigations.

The government has told the court and defense counsel that its expanded probe may be compromised if it released the unredacted materials that Coker requested. However, the government also told the court that this would no longer be the case on or about January 31, 2011.

In other words, between now and January 31, we can expect other significant developments in this case. If investigators are close to concluding their expanded investigation, we might also have some significant developments in brand new criminal cases.

You will stay tuned, won’t you?