The Battle Over Bingo Series
The battle over bingo continues to rage in Alabama. To that end, every Alabamian should watch WTVY’s investigative series, “The Battle Over Bingo,” a CBS-affiliate station.
An excerpt from this compelling piece:
“It has never had anything to do with politics… how can this possibly have anything to do with politics?” asks Bob Riley.
The story started in 1997, when a legislative press aide named Michael Scanlon started working in the office of then state representative Bob Riley. Riley moved to the Governor’s office in 2002 without Michael Scanlon.
By that time, Scanlon was working as a Washington lobbyist with Jack Abramoff. The two began a long, corrupt journey of de-frauding Indian tribes of millions of dollars for consulting work and were eventually convicted of federal conspiracy charges.
“I have never met Jack Abramoff, I have no idea what Jack Abramoff said, but I do know one thing, he went to jail because of what he did with the Indians,” states Riley.
But published reports show, Governor Riley signed a letter opposing expansion of gambling casinos in Alabama on behalf of the U.S. Family Network, a public policy group funded in-part by money from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.