Greene County Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway Jr. ordered the task force off the property in an order issued sometime after midnight today, said task force commander John Tyson Jr.

Tyson said the task force is complying with the order and is leaving Greenetrack, for now.

“We will appeal the order to vacate to the Supreme Court today,” Tyson said. He would not say where troopers would gather.

The task force raided the Greene County casino Tuesday morning and began confiscating its 800-plus electronic bingo machines when Hardaway issued an order to the task force to stop.

That order, Hardaway’s second such injunction in a little less than two weeks, was appealed to the state’s high court Tuesday afternoon. The court, which tossed out Hardaway’s initial injunction on Monday, has yet to rule on the Tuesday injunction or on Tyson’s motion that Hardaway be removed from the case.

Circuit Court Judge Eddie Hardaway Jr. ordered state police to stop the raid this morning, and that order immediately was appealed to the Supreme Court, Greene County Commission Chairman William L. Johnson told a crowd of about 50 people gathered in front of the track.

Johnson had harsh words for Gov. Bob Riley and the task force after this morning’s raid.

“I’d rather be back in Vietnam where people can respect me because the governor does not give a damn about me,” Johnson said.

Johnson said closing Greenetrack would kill Greene County’s economy.

“We don’t have a prayer in Greene County if this stands. We are being treated like slaves,” Johnson said.

Many of the people milling outside the chain link fence that surrounds the track are employees who showed up to work this morning only to find the entrance blocked by State Troopers. Many of them also are angry and frustrated with today’s raid.

View full size

“I just don’t understand why this is happening,” said Nancy Morgan, a greeter at the bingo hall.

“This is the best job you can find in Greene County and just about any other place in this part of the state if you don’t live in Tuscaloosa. This place is Greene County itself. This place gives us all hope that we don’t have to leave our homes and move to find work,” said Morgan, who has worked at the track since 2003.

Employees who work the overnight shift in the bingo hall still are inside, and some of their spouses and other relatives are waiting anxiously outside the gate for them to be released.

King made filings in circuit court and the Alabama Supreme Court in the White Hall case, but he has yet to take over any cases involving other casinos in the state and has set no timeline to take such action, according to Chief of Staff Chris Bence.

In a statement, King said that his goal is to get a definitive answer on the legality of the slots-like electronic bingo machines at the heart of the gambling controversy.

“To take our eyes off this goal will only create further delays and continue down the course that, for fifteen months, has been long on drama and circus-like theatrics but short on results,” the statement said.

Todd Stacy, Riley’s press secretary, said that Riley disagrees with King’s approach to gambling cases but is happy that courts will decide the matter.

“The governor’s very pleased that the issue of who has authority over the Task Force on Illegal Gambling is before the Supreme Court,” Stacy said. “We’re confident that our position will prevail because the constitution says that the chief of the executive branch in Alabama is the governor, not the attorney general.”

Officials load electronic games onto a truck outside of White Hall Entertainment in White Hall, Ala., on Thursday, March 19, 2009. Attorney General Troy King is attempting to take over the case against the center

Criticizing Riley’s approach to the state’s gambling controversy, King announced last week that he planned to take control of the state’s gambling cases and fire Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. as commander of Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling. Riley and Tyson objected, vowing to fight the move in court. 

Riley and King have long feuded over gambling, and Riley left King off of the task force when he created it in December 2008. Riley believes that slots-like electronic bingo machines are illegal statewide. King contends that they may be legal forms of bingo in some Alabama counties.

King has also criticized the large-scale, pre-dawn attempted casino raids that Riley’s task force has conducted, saying the matter should be resolved in courts through declaratory judgments.

Last month, Circuit Judge Robert Vance ruled that King had authority over the task force and ordered the attorney general to state his position on the group. The governor’s office appealed, and the Alabama Supreme Court has requested that arguments in the case be filed by tomorrow.

• Read Troy King’s filing to the Alabama Supreme Court here.
• Read Troy King’s circuit court filing here.

The Supreme Court refused to dismiss Riley’s appeal of a judge’s order that said the attorney general has authority over the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling if he wants to exercise it.

Attorneys for the White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County had asked the court to dismiss Riley’s appeal. They argued that it was moot because Attorney General Troy King decided to take over the task force Monday and remove the commander, John Tyson.

The Supreme Court disagreed unanimously in an order late Wednesday. The court also refused White Hall’s request to extend the deadline for both sides to file legal arguments over whether Riley’s task force needs prior approval from the attorney general.

White Hall’s argument is due Friday, and the deadline for Riley’s side is a week later.

“The casino wanted to drag out the court proceedings and keep the attorney general’s power grab from being reviewed by the court,” Riley’s press secretary, Todd Stacy, said Thursday.

He said Riley has won every issue on electronic bingo that has gone to the state’s highest court. All those issues involve civil lawsuits because the task force has not filed any criminal charges.

White Hall attorney Bobby Segall said the Supreme Court has ruled in the past that the attorney general has control when he and the governor disagree about litigation involving the state’s interests. The question, he said, is whether the court will continue to take that view or will overturn it.

Segall said the court’s deadline for both sides indicates the justices could rule by mid-April.

In political terms, a court with eight Republicans and one Democrat will decide whether a Republican governor or a Republican attorney general comes out on top.

If the Supreme Court rules on the legal issues in mid-April, that would be before the April 26 deadline for the Legislature to complete its 2010 session.

At the Legislature on Thursday, state Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, made no effort to bring up his bill that would make sure electronic bingo is legal and would tax and regulate it. Bedford said he’s still looking for the 21 votes he needs to pass his bill.

House Speaker Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia, said Bedford has improved his legislation by rewriting it to make it much shorter and clearer than the original version, but the changes don’t appear to have gained him any votes in the Senate.

“It is my understanding they are still two votes short to pass any form of that bill,” he said.

Hammett said he doesn’t intend for the House to address the electronic bingo issue unless the Senate passes Bedford’s bill.

(Associated Press Writer Phil Rawls authored this report.)

Source: AL.COM

Alabama republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Johnson, like many junior politicians, has a difficult campaign ahead of him. In Alabama, politics is a tough business and loyalties run deep among party members and supporters who pour millions of dollars into state elections. But what makes Johnson’s candidacy unique is that the Autauga County republican leadership has banned him from addressing republican voters in his home county.

Last December the committee passed a unanimous resolution blocking Johnson from campaigning, accusing him of publicizing “scurrilous charges” about sitting republican Governor Bob Riley.

Johnson has accused Governor Riley of receiving unreported campaign contributions from the Mississippi Choctaw Indians, who operate casinos about an hour away from the Alabama border. He also alleges Riley has violated a number ethics laws including funneling State contracts to his son Rob Riley and the law firm of his son-in-law Rob Campbell.

Johnson, a former Riley congressional staffer and grass roots and logistics coordinator for Riley’s gubernatorial campaigns in 2002 and 2006, was appointed by the governor as director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, a post he held before running for office.

Autauga County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Al Booth told the Associated Press there’s never been a resolution banning a candidate and is urging other committees to do the same.

“They’re working hard to shut me down,” Johnson says.

Meanwhile Booth is calling Johnson an illegitimate candidate. Johnson says Booth admitted the resolution was crafted because he was attacking Governor Riley:

“I told him I was required by law to report those issues and even though the Governor is not a candidate, he is still the Governor and accountable to the taxpayers of Alabama. He doesn’t get a free pass to get his kid on state and county payrolls. And to have republicans come out and say you should’ve broken the law and swept it under the rug and because you didn’t we’re not going to let you speak to us — it’s insane.”

Booth is also the county’s probate judge and county campaign chairman for republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne. While Governor Riley has not endorsed any candidate, he appointed Byrne as Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System. Bryne held this prior to announcing his decision to run for office.

The resolution banning Johnson from addressing members of his party not only violates free speech and freedom of association, it may violate Alabama election laws.

Johnson points out: “This is not what the GOP stands for and if they sanction me, what does it say about the party?”

Booth’s office was contacted on two occasions to determine if Autauga County Republicans support the censoring free speech but calls were not returned.

Inquiries were also made to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele without response.

Johnson says:
“Even though Bradley Byrne’s team leader did it, I think it was orchestrated by the Governor’s office. Governor Riley is trying to shutdown my raising issues with the public. But to me the story is that the Governor is so desperate to get resolutions passed to not have me speak to Republican groups.”
While Autauga County Republicans have nearly made it impossible for Johnson to run a campaign, no investigation has been launched as to why the republican leadership would so fiercely prevent him from speaking out against Governor Riley. Johnson notes:
“This is just another instance, like the New York Congressional election, [sic] that an elite group of republicans are trying to pick a successor and the Governor is involved. I think he’s trying to keep the gravy train going with his son’s contracts and he has some deal with Bradley Byrne.”

Riley adamantly denies receiving campaign contributions from the Choctaws, who were represented by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But according to a 2002 U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee report Abramoff bragged the Choctaws spent $13 million electing Riley in exchange for keeping gaming out of Alabama. The report further states convicted lobbyist Michael Scanlon, Bob Riley’s former congressional press secretary, received $4.5 million over two years to protect the Choctaw’s gaming interests through the scheme known as “Operation Orange.”

Johnson says in a 2002 meeting with Riley’s Chief of Staff Dan Gans, Gans told Johnson that he coordinating the Mississippi Indian contributions on behalf of Riley’s campaign. Johnson says he didn’t put two and two together until Governor Riley formed his anti-gambling task force and began raiding and shutting down bingo halls that he realized the Choctaw funds could be influencing the Governor’s decision to keep legalized gambling and ensuing revenues out of Alabama.

“I knew about the Abramoff stuff and knew about Mike Scanlon but it never seemed like it was getting close to the Governor until it started to become quid pro quo.”

Coincidentally, David Barber, the head of Riley’s Illegal Gambling Task Force, was compelled to resign in January after he was caught gambling at the Choctaw Indian tribe casino in Mississippi.

Gans denies ever meeting with Johnson and Riley’s office discredits Johnson as a low level employee, who never worked close enough to the Governor to have knowledge of his campaign. Johnson says:

“The Governor’s office coordinated a number of people saying I was lying, that the meeting never took place. Riley even had the current Chair of the GOP say I wasn’t in the position to know that – that it never happened. So I challenged Dan Gans and the Governor to take a polygraph on these issues. Then I figured I should take a polygraph test and I passed.”

It is interesting to note, many of Riley’s business associates and former staffers either worked for or have ties to the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Tribe. Dan Gans left Alabama to work for the Alexander Strategy Group, (ASG) alongside Jack Abramoff. The Mississippi Choctaw Indian tribe was one of ASG’s main clients. Riley’s former governor’s office chief of staff Toby Roth, took a lobbying job at Capitol Resources, which represented the Mississippi Indian casino interests and his former deputy chief of staff Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, also worked there.

Johnson says after he held a press conference regarding Riley’s alleged conflicts of interest, he began receiving threats:

“The first threatening letter that that I got was an old World War II poster. Saying ‘How about a nice big cup of shut the f— up. Think before you say anything stupid.’”

This letter was sent within one hour of Johnson’s announcing his decision to run for governor, which had not yet been made public. Directly after he publicized his campaign, Johnson received a number of threats including a death threat, which he believes came from people close to Governor Bob Riley:

“I got a series of harassing letters. The death threat came after I connected the governor to Indian Gambling [sic] and why he was trying to close down gaming operations here. Remember the famous execution picture from the Viet Nam war where the soldier is holding a pistol to a man’s head? I received that picture with my face superimposed over the head getting shot with the words ‘Say goodbye to Bill,’ and that picture was on the envelope.”

At that point he filed formal complaints against Governor Riley with Attorney General Troy King, a 500 plus page dossier detailing Riley’s alleged wrongdoings, along with press clippings, threat letters and payments made from the Office of Governor to Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP, his son-in-law Rob Campbell’s law firm.

Johnson is calling for an investigation on four separate issues:

Complaint #1 - Conflicts of Interest between Governor Bob Riley, his son Rob Riley and the Jefferson County Occupational Tax
The January 14, 2010 document states while Riley was the lead negotiator for Jefferson County sewer debts, the County Commission approved a $725,000 and $150,000 contract for his son, attorney Rob Riley to represent Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. The funds for Rob Riley’s services would have come from a.05% occupation tax collected by non-licensed wage earners. In 2009 a judge repealed the tax, ruling it ruled was unconstitutional. But the ruling impacted the sheriff’s budget, including funding for Rob Riley’s contracts. Hale, represented by Rob Riley, then sued the Jefferson County Commission to block its attempt to cut the budget by $5.1 million. A local judge ruled in favor of the cuts to the sheriff’s budget. Hale then appealed to Governor Bob Riley for state financial assistance, making sure to provide a letter penned by Rob Riley outlining cuts faced by the sheriff’s office which included Rob Riley’s contract. Governor Riley then lobbied for support to reinstate the Jefferson County Occupational Tax, calling a special session of the Legislature. State lawmakers passed the new occupational tax legislation, which Riley signed into law in August 2009.

Complaint #2

- Governor Rob Riley received illegal campaign contributions during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign from the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Tribe. Johnson says according to Dan Gans, the campaign was to receive some $3 million dollars from
Choctaw gambling interests. – Governor Bob Riley’s attempts to revise state law to ethics statutes by altering clauses regarding “family members.” Riley attempted to change statute wording to “household” members, which would exclude his son Rob Riley and his son-in-law Rob Campbell from being considered conflicts of interest.- Conflicts of interest between Governor Bob Riley, his son-in-law Rob Campbell and the law firm Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP., where Campbell is a senior partner.
Documents indicate while Governor Riley was leading negotiations for the Jefferson County Sewer debts, he allowed Campbell’s firm to negotiate Jefferson County’s potential bankruptcy. The Governor also awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to Bradley-Arant while Campbell was senior partner at the firm. Bradley-Arant is also the law firm that coordinates much of the State’s litigation activity. Johnson says: 

Alabama republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Johnson, like many junior politicians, has a difficult campaign ahead of him. In Alabama, politics is a tough business and loyalties run deep among party members and supporters who pour millions of dollars into state elections. But what makes Johnson’s candidacy unique is that the Autauga County republican leadership has banned him from addressing republican voters in his home county.

Last December the committee passed a unanimous resolution blocking Johnson from campaigning, accusing him of publicizing “scurrilous charges” about sitting republican Governor Bob Riley.

Johnson has accused Governor Riley of receiving unreported campaign contributions from the Mississippi Choctaw Indians, who operate casinos about an hour away from the Alabama border. He also alleges Riley has violated a number ethics laws including funneling State contracts to his son Rob Riley and the law firm of his son-in-law Rob Campbell.

Johnson, a former Riley congressional staffer and grass roots and logistics coordinator for Riley’s gubernatorial campaigns in 2002 and 2006, was appointed by the governor as director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, a post he held before running for office.

Autauga County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Al Booth told the Associated Press there’s never been a resolution banning a candidate and is urging other committees to do the same.

“They’re working hard to shut me down,” Johnson says.

Meanwhile Booth is calling Johnson an illegitimate candidate. Johnson says Booth admitted the resolution was crafted because he was attacking Governor Riley:

“I told him I was required by law to report those issues and even though the Governor is not a candidate, he is still the Governor and accountable to the taxpayers of Alabama. He doesn’t get a free pass to get his kid on state and county payrolls. And to have republicans come out and say you should’ve broken the law and swept it under the rug and because you didn’t we’re not going to let you speak to us — it’s insane.”

Booth is also the county’s probate judge and county campaign chairman for republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne. While Governor Riley has not endorsed any candidate, he appointed Byrne as Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System. Bryne held this prior to announcing his decision to run for office.

The resolution banning Johnson from addressing members of his party not only violates free speech and freedom of association, it may violate Alabama election laws.

Johnson points out: “This is not what the GOP stands for and if they sanction me, what does it say about the party?”

Booth’s office was contacted on two occasions to determine if Autauga County Republicans support the censoring free speech but calls were not returned.

Inquiries were also made to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele without response.

Johnson says:
“Even though Bradley Byrne’s team leader did it, I think it was orchestrated by the Governor’s office. Governor Riley is trying to shutdown my raising issues with the public. But to me the story is that the Governor is so desperate to get resolutions passed to not have me speak to Republican groups.”
While Autauga County Republicans have nearly made it impossible for Johnson to run a campaign, no investigation has been launched as to why the republican leadership would so fiercely prevent him from speaking out against Governor Riley. Johnson notes:
“This is just another instance, like the New York Congressional election, [sic] that an elite group of republicans are trying to pick a successor and the Governor is involved. I think he’s trying to keep the gravy train going with his son’s contracts and he has some deal with Bradley Byrne.”

Riley adamantly denies receiving campaign contributions from the Choctaws, who were represented by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But according to a 2002 U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee report Abramoff bragged the Choctaws spent $13 million electing Riley in exchange for keeping gaming out of Alabama. The report further states convicted lobbyist Michael Scanlon, Bob Riley’s former congressional press secretary, received $4.5 million over two years to protect the Choctaw’s gaming interests through the scheme known as “Operation Orange.”

Johnson says in a 2002 meeting with Riley’s Chief of Staff Dan Gans, Gans told Johnson that he coordinating the Mississippi Indian contributions on behalf of Riley’s campaign. Johnson says he didn’t put two and two together until Governor Riley formed his anti-gambling task force and began raiding and shutting down bingo halls that he realized the Choctaw funds could be influencing the Governor’s decision to keep legalized gambling and ensuing revenues out of Alabama.

“I knew about the Abramoff stuff and knew about Mike Scanlon but it never seemed like it was getting close to the Governor until it started to become quid pro quo.”

Coincidentally, David Barber, the head of Riley’s Illegal Gambling Task Force, was compelled to resign in January after he was caught gambling at the Choctaw Indian tribe casino in Mississippi.

Gans denies ever meeting with Johnson and Riley’s office discredits Johnson as a low level employee, who never worked close enough to the Governor to have knowledge of his campaign. Johnson says:

“The Governor’s office coordinated a number of people saying I was lying, that the meeting never took place. Riley even had the current Chair of the GOP say I wasn’t in the position to know that – that it never happened. So I challenged Dan Gans and the Governor to take a polygraph on these issues. Then I figured I should take a polygraph test and I passed.”

It is interesting to note, many of Riley’s business associates and former staffers either worked for or have ties to the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Tribe. Dan Gans left Alabama to work for the Alexander Strategy Group, (ASG) alongside Jack Abramoff. The Mississippi Choctaw Indian tribe was one of ASG’s main clients. Riley’s former governor’s office chief of staff Toby Roth, took a lobbying job at Capitol Resources, which represented the Mississippi Indian casino interests and his former deputy chief of staff Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, also worked there.

Johnson says after he held a press conference regarding Riley’s alleged conflicts of interest, he began receiving threats:

“The first threatening letter that that I got was an old World War II poster. Saying ‘How about a nice big cup of shut the f— up. Think before you say anything stupid.’”

This letter was sent within one hour of Johnson’s announcing his decision to run for governor, which had not yet been made public. Directly after he publicized his campaign, Johnson received a number of threats including a death threat, which he believes came from people close to Governor Bob Riley:

“I got a series of harassing letters. The death threat came after I connected the governor to Indian Gambling [sic] and why he was trying to close down gaming operations here. Remember the famous execution picture from the Viet Nam war where the soldier is holding a pistol to a man’s head? I received that picture with my face superimposed over the head getting shot with the words ‘Say goodbye to Bill,’ and that picture was on the envelope.”

At that point he filed formal complaints against Governor Riley with Attorney General Troy King, a 500 plus page dossier detailing Riley’s alleged wrongdoings, along with press clippings, threat letters and payments made from the Office of Governor to Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP, his son-in-law Rob Campbell’s law firm.

Johnson is calling for an investigation on four separate issues:

Complaint #1 - Conflicts of Interest between Governor Bob Riley, his son Rob Riley and the Jefferson County Occupational Tax
The January 14, 2010 document states while Riley was the lead negotiator for Jefferson County sewer debts, the County Commission approved a $725,000 and $150,000 contract for his son, attorney Rob Riley to represent Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. The funds for Rob Riley’s services would have come from a.05% occupation tax collected by non-licensed wage earners. In 2009 a judge repealed the tax, ruling it ruled was unconstitutional. But the ruling impacted the sheriff’s budget, including funding for Rob Riley’s contracts. Hale, represented by Rob Riley, then sued the Jefferson County Commission to block its attempt to cut the budget by $5.1 million. A local judge ruled in favor of the cuts to the sheriff’s budget. Hale then appealed to Governor Bob Riley for state financial assistance, making sure to provide a letter penned by Rob Riley outlining cuts faced by the sheriff’s office which included Rob Riley’s contract. Governor Riley then lobbied for support to reinstate the Jefferson County Occupational Tax, calling a special session of the Legislature. State lawmakers passed the new occupational tax legislation, which Riley signed into law in August 2009.

Complaint #2

- Conflicts of interest between Governor Bob Riley, his son-in-law Rob Campbell and the law firm Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP., where Campbell is a senior partner.
Documents indicate while Governor Riley was leading negotiations for the Jefferson County Sewer debts, he allowed Campbell’s firm to negotiate Jefferson County’s potential bankruptcy. The Governor also awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to Bradley-Arant while Campbell was senior partner at the firm. Bradley-Arant is also the law firm that coordinates much of the State’s litigation activity. Johnson says:

” I thought at first there were a few million in contracts. But we’re talking tens of millions in contracts — $4.7 million in July 2009 going to Bradley-Arant.”

Complaint #3

- Governor Rob Riley received illegal campaign contributions during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign from the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Tribe. Johnson says according to Dan Gans, the campaign was to receive some $3 million dollars from
Choctaw gambling interests.

Johnson has yet to receive a response from King and says his lawyers had hoped the Alabama attorney general would have found probable cause and taken the complaint to a circuit judge who would then appoint a special grand jury to review the documents.

When reached for comment, King’s office responded, “It is a general policy of this office to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.” An odd response considering attorney generals across the country routinely hold press conferences to announce major investigations and indictments. The Alabama attorney general is no different. In December 2009, King publicly announced he was leading an investigation into Senator Ben Nelson’s trade off for health care reform vote. King also seemed to violate his office’s policy when he announced his ban and subsequent investigation of those using “immoral sex toys.”

But King has his own problems and was under federal investigation concerning an alleged relationship with gambling interests and selective prosecutions of some electronic bingo operators. Grand jury proceedings were held in Montgomery, home of U.S. Attorney Leura Canary while the investigation was run in Birmingham, U.S. Attorney Alice Martin’s district.

Johnson believes Canary’s decision to reopen the King investigation influenced King’s decision making with regards to Johnson’s complaints against the Governor. Last week a grand jury cleared King of all charges.

Johnson also turned over the documents last year to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District Alice Martin’s office but never heard anything. He also met with the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity head Matt Hart. Hart was also former Alabama Assistant U.S. Distrtict Attorney and the lead prosecutor in former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman’s case. During proceedings, Judge U.W. Clemons reprimanded Hart for a lack of prima facie evidence to move forward with the case.

Yet there may be underlying reasons for Martin’s alleged inaction, her ties to Governor Bob Riley. Both Martin and Canary were identified by Siegelman whistleblower Dana Jill Simpson as Riley operatives. During congressional testimony, Simpson described a November 18, 2002 conference call between Karl Rove’s longtime friend Bill Canary (Leura Canary’s husband), Governor Riley’s son Rob and other Riley campaign aides. Simpson alleged Bill Canary said “Rove spoke with the Department of Justice” about “pursuing” former Governor Don Siegelman and advised Riley’s staff “not to worry about Siegelman” because “his girls would take care of” him.

The “girls” allegedly referenced by Canary were his wife, Leura Canary and Alice Martin. Simpson also testified she was told by Rob Riley that Judge Mark Fuller was deliberately chosen to prosecute the Siegleman case and that Fuller would “hang” Siegelman.”

Johnson thought things would change when President Obama appointed U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance to replace Martin:

“To be honest, Vance’s office seemed to be very disinterested in this information. I was actually more confident with the response by Matt Hart.”

The Department of Justice’s seeming lack of interest in Johnson’s complaints could be related to Governor Bob Riley and Karl Rove’s ties to Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder’s former law firm Covington Burling represented George W. Bush during the 2000 Florida recount and the Republican National Committee during the White House email scandal. Rove used the RNC email system for 95-percent of his email communication. This may also explain why Holder’s solicitor general Elena Kagan filed a petition, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny hearing Siegelman’s appeal.

Bill Johnson’s circumstance is not the first case of political injustice in Alabama and many critics suspect, won’t be the last. Johnson points out, not all Alabama republicans support such chicanery but few take action:

“Republicans are not holding other republicans’feet to the fire for ethics violations. Even if it was a conflict of interest, Governor Riley is on our team and he’s making us look bad. What I did is first of all, morally right and what I’m legally obligated to do. It’s an absolute injustice. It’s government for sale.”

King said he will institute a “temporary moratorium on raids” of Alabama casinos and  ask courts to decide, through declaratory judgments, whether the gambling machines at such venues are legal.

King has been contemplating such action for more than a month and held several, closed-door meetings with Gov. Bob Riley and his lawyers – one as recent this weekend, King said.

“I have candidly told them that we have tried it their way for 14 months. It is now time to try it a different way,” he said. “Today is a new day, and we will take a new approach, an approach designed to bring order to this chaos.”

Riley and King, who was appointed attorney general by Riley in 2004 and won re-election in 2006, have long feuded over gambling, and Riley left King off of the task force when he created it in December 2008.

King has criticized the task force’s attempted large-scale, pre-dawn raids of gambling venues throughout Alabama and has said that so-called electronic bingo machines may be legal. 

Riley has defended the raids and maintains that the machines — which look and play much like slots, an illegal game, but dole out winnings based on quick, computerized games of bingo, a game allowed in parts of the state — are against the law.

“It is my earnest hope that Gov. Riley will embrace this approach and not delay the resolution of this issue with additional, needless legal maneuvers and turf battles,” King said.

Circuit Judge Robert Vance ruled earlier this month that King had the authority to take over the task force and must give his position on the task force no later than today. The state Supreme Court lifted that deadline on Friday and asked that arguments be filed before the court by April 2.

Douglas McElvy, a Montgomery attorney and former president of the Alabama State Bar Association, will be the state’s new lead lawyer in gambling litigation, King said.

King asked that Tyson, who is also district attorney for Mobile County, turn over all evidence collected by the task force.

He also wrote to the leaders of the state Department of Public Safety and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, asking that they refrain from participating in further raids.

King said he strongly opposes gambling but is taking control of the task force because the law should be enforced “in the proper way and in the proper venues.”

He added that the Alabama Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether or where in the state bingo can be played on electronic machines.

“As soon as a definitive ruling is obtained, I will lead the aggressive enforcement of the law,” King said.

Source: AL.COM

The Montgomery Advertiser reports Sunday that figures supplied by Gov. Bob Riley’s administration show it has paid the Bradley Arant Boult Cummings law firm $536,115 to assist the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

The administration’s contract with the law firm allows the state to pay up to $650,000.

Task force Commander John Tyson Jr. testified Friday in a court hearing he receives no compensation as commander.

Riley’s press secretary, Todd Stacy, said the legal costs are less than half of the $1.3 million the task force has seized in raids on gambling halls. Court hearings will determine whether the state government keeps the entire amount.

Source: AL.COM

The Supreme Court acted late Friday, shortly after a circuit judge in Macon County scaled back an order that had prevented the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling from operating in 66 of Alabama’s 67 counties. The judge’s revised order allows the task force to operate in every county except Macon, where Alabama’s largest electronic bingo casino is open.

“We are absolutely back in business again,” task force Commander John Tyson said Saturday.

A judge hearing litigation over the closed electronic bingo casino in Lowndes County had ruled March 8 that Attorney General Troy King had legal authority over the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling if he wanted to exercise it. Circuit Judge Robert Vance said King had criticized the governor’s efforts, but had stayed on the sidelines. He gave King until Monday to take a position on the task forces’ efforts.

At the request of the governor and task force, the Alabama Supreme Court unanimously issued an order late Friday putting Monday’s deadline on hold.

The court gave attorneys for the task force and White Hall Entertainment Center until April 2 to file legal arguments and then the justices will issue a ruling that could define the balance of power between the attorney general and governor on law enforcement matters.

White Hall attorney Bobby Segall said the attorney general should intervene and tell the Supreme Court where he stands because the authority of the attorney general’s office is about to be decided. “This is a last chance opportunity for the attorney general to take a position,” Segall said.

King, a Republican who is seeking re-election, said Saturday he was reviewing the matter.

Riley, a Republican who leaves office in January, recently held two private meetings with King to discuss what position he might take in court, but neither would comment on their talks.

The governor created his Task Force on Illegal Gambling a year ago to crack down on electronic bingo machines that he calls “illegal slots.” The unit has closed several gambling halls and caused others to shut down out of fear of being raided. But Victoryland in Macon County and Greenetrack in Greene County are open, as are three Indian casinos that are not regulated by the state.

In court, Tyson has argued that the governor has legal authority to enforce Alabama’s gambling laws when state and county prosecutors aren’t. His opponents have argued the governor and his task force are usurping the power of the state attorney general and county district attorneys.

A circuit judge hearing litigation over the task force’s attempt to raid Victoryland had issued an order March 5 that said the task force could only operate in Mobile County, where Tyson is the district attorney.

During a hearing Friday, Macon County Circuit Judge Tom Young scaled back his order to apply only to Macon County. On Monday, he plans to complete the hearing and decide whether to keep the order in effect for Macon County or lift it.

If the order remains in effect, Tyson said he will ask the Supreme Court to remove it.

Meanwhile, the Legislature returns Tuesday from its spring break, and some legislators are planning another attempt to pass a constitutional amendment that would tax, regulate and expand electronic bingo. They are planning to come with a smaller, simpler version of their original 43-page bill, which couldn’t muster enough votes in the Senate.

The Legislature has one-third of its 2010 session remaining.

Source: AL.COM

King said last month that he “strongly considered” assuming control of statewide gambling investigations from Gov. Bob Riley but decided against it. He said that a dispute over legal authority could lead to months of court battles.

Riley vowed to appeal the ruling from Jefferson County Judge Robert Vance Jr., which centered on the White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County.

“The governor lacks the authority to create his own prosecutor whenever a district attorney takes a legal position that is not to his liking,” Vance wrote. “The attorney general is therefore directed to assume ‘the direction and control’ of the state’s interests in these cases.”

In a news release, Riley, who has feuded publicly with King over gambling for more than a year, said Vance’s ruling was “a recipe for disaster” that exceeded the judge’s authority.

“Everyone is frustrated with the attorney general’s willingness to let some casino bosses ignore the law, but Judge Vance’s order will make the problem worse, not better,” Riley said in a written statement.

King’s chief of staff, Chris Bence, called such rhetoric “unseemly” but said the attorney general’s office would not respond or answer questions about the matter until after a meeting between Riley and King about gambling investigations.

Bence said in an e-mail to reporters that the Wednesday afternoon meeting was scheduled prior to the release of Vance’s ruling.

Joe Espy, a Montgomery attorney who represents White Hall, hailed Vance’s decision as a victory for casinos throughout Alabama.

“It affects every single place that the task force has raided,” Espy said. “I think this is the end of the task force, unless there’s some appellate ruling to the contrary.”

Retired Judge John Carroll, who is now dean of Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, said he doubts that Vance’s ruling will be the final word.

“All this stuff is on its way to the Alabama Supreme Court,” Carroll said.

Riley created the task force in December 2008, leaving King off of it.

According to King, gambling machines that look and play much like slots but dole out cash based on rapid, computerized games of bingo are legal in some parts of the state. Riley maintains they are illegal statewide.

Riley’s task force has worked to enforce that view with litigation and casino raids that sometimes included hundreds of law enforcement officers.

Judge Robert S. Vance said in his ruling that neither Riley nor his appointees have legal standing to make court filings in the White Hall case, and their previous filings are null, “just as if they had been filed by a private citizen who claimed to represent the state.”King criticized Riley’s approach but never stepped in, “a curious stance,” according to Vance, who was appointed by Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb to decide the White Hall case.

“While complaining of the governor’s actions in the Supreme Court, and in the media, the attorney general has made no effort to defend the state’s interests in these cases,” Vance’s ruling said. “He is under a duty to do so.”

The judge also said in his ruling that neither Riley nor his appointees have legal standing to make court filings in the White Hall case, and their previous filings are null, “just as if they had been filed by a private citizen who claimed to represent the state.”

Riley said that in addition to Vance’s ruling, he also will appeal Circuit Judge Tom Young’s granting of a temporary restraining order last week, which prevents the task force from raiding the VictoryLand casino near Montgomery.

Espy noted that while Riley criticized Vance on Monday, Vance was mentioned favorably in a release from the governor’s office in October, after he ruled that gambling machines in Walker County should be shut down.

Vance’s most recent ruling gives King until March 22 to advise the court of his position in the White Hall case.

Espy said that White Hall has discussed reopening, but has yet to make any definite plans.

“We’re probably going to wait at least a few more days here,” Espy said.

March 08, 2010, 2:14PM

A lawyer for VictoryLand praised a judge’s decision today that Attorney General Troy King is in charge of Gov. Bob Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

“It brings some civility and some sense to a situation that has gotten totally out of control,” VictoryLand lawyer Mark White said.

White said Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Vance is correct that King should be in charge of the issue.

“The action of the governor creating a political police force in this state is unprecedented,” White said.

VictoryLand is the state’s largest bingo casino, operating more than 6,000 electronic bingo machines.

A spokesman for the developer of Country Crossing, a Houston County bingo casino, said the business will watch the situation closely. Country Crossing has been closed for more than a month to prevent a raid by the governor’s task force.

“This ruling certainly sheds new light on all electronic bingo cases in the state. We will watch this situation closely and continue to work towards resolutions that allow us to open the doors of Country Crossing,” said Doug Rainer, director of communications for Ronnie Gilley Properties.