<table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="259" height="53">
For Immediate Release
October 4, 2010</td>
<td valign="top" width="309">
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top" height="116"><p class="pressReleaseTitle"><a name="main"></a>Alabama Legislators, Staff Member, Lobbyists, and Businessmen Charged in 39-Count Indictment
for Roles in Wide-Ranging Conspiracy to Influence and Corrupt Votes Related to Electronic Bingo Legislation
Former Lobbyist Pleads Guilty for Her Role in Scheme</p>
WASHINGTON—Eleven individuals,
including four current Alabama state legislators, three lobbyists, two
business owners and one of their employees, and an employee of the
Alabama legislature have been charged for their roles in a conspiracy
to offer to and to bribe legislators for their votes and influence on
proposed legislation, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A.
Breuer of the Criminal Division and Assistant Director Kevin Perkins
of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.</p>
The defendants are charged in an
indictment returned by a grand jury on Oct. 1, 2010, in Montgomery,
Alabama, which was unsealed today. Various defendants are charged
with a variety of criminal offenses, including conspiracy, federal
program bribery, extortion, money laundering, honest services mail and
wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and making a false statement. They
will make initial appearances today in U.S. District Court for the
Middle District of Alabama before U.S. Magistrate Judge Terry F.
Moorer. </p>
“Today, charges were unsealed
against 11 legislators, businessmen, lobbyists, and associates who,
together, are alleged to have formed a corrupt network whose aim was
to buy and sell votes in the Alabama legislature in order to directly
benefit the business interests of two defendants, Milton McGregor and
Ronald Gilley,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the
Criminal Division. “The people of Alabama, like all our citizens,
deserve to have representatives who act in the public’s interest, not
for their own personal financial gain. Vote-buying, like the kind
alleged in this indictment, corrodes the public’s faith in our
democratic institutions and cannot go unpunished.”</p>
“The allegations in today’s
indictment underscore the commitment of the FBI, the Department of
Justice, and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to continue to pursue
those in public office who undermine the public’s trust and engage in
unethical and corrupt practices,” said Assistant Director Kevin Perkins
of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.</p>
According to the indictment, Milton
E. McGregor owned a controlling interest in Macon County Greyhound
Park Inc., also known as Victoryland, in Macon County, Alabama, and
Jefferson Country Racing Association in Jefferson County, Alabama, as
well as ownership interest in other entertainment and gambling
facilities in Alabama that offered or sought to offer electronic bingo
gambling machines to the public. Ronald E. Gilley owned a
controlling interest in the Country Crossing real estate,
entertainment and gambling development in Houston County, Alabama,
which also sought to offer electronic bingo gambling machines to the
public. </p>
During the 2009 and 2010 Alabama
state legislative sessions, McGregor and Gilley, along with others,
allegedly promoted the passage of pro-gambling legislation that would
have been favorable to the business interest of individuals operating
electronic bingo facilities, including themselves. From February 2009
through August 2010, McGregor, Gilley and their co-defendants
allegedly conspired to commit federal program bribery by corruptly
giving, offering and agreeing to give money and other things of value
to Alabama state legislators and staff with the intent to influence
and reward them in connection with pro-gambling legislation. The
indictment alleges that Alabama state legislators, including
co-defendants State Senator Larry P. Means, State Senator James E.
Preuitt, State Senator Quinton T. Ross Jr., and Senator Harri Anne H.
Smith corruptly solicited, demanded, accepted and agreed to accept money
and things of value from their co-conspirators and others, intending
to be influenced and rewarded in connection with pro-gambling
legislation.</p>
Specifically, the indictment
alleges that Gilley, his primary lobbyist, Jarrod D. Massey, and State
Senator Smith, sought to bribe a member of the Alabama House of
Representatives during the 2009 legislative session, promising hundreds
of thousands of dollars in campaign support in exchange for the
legislator’s favorable vote on pro-gambling legislation. Similarly,
in 2010, McGregor, Gilley and Massey allegedly sought to bribe a
member of the Alabama Senate, offering the legislator $1 million, to
use at the legislator’s discretion, funneled through a public
relations job. According to the indictment, McGregor, along with
lobbyist Robert B. Geddie Jr., also provided a $5,000 campaign
contribution to a member of the Alabama House of Representatives in
exchange for his vote on pro-gambling legislation during the 2010
legislative session.</p>
The indictment also alleges that
State Senator Means, who had abstained from an earlier vote on the
pro-gambling legislation in 2010, solicited bribes from McGregor,
Gilley, Massey and others, and, in one specific instance, sought
$100,000 in return for voting in favor of the legislation. According to
the indictment, McGregor, his lobbyist Thomas E. Coker, Gilley,
Massey, Gilley’s employee Jarrell W. Walker Jr., and others allegedly
bribed State Senator Preuitt, who had voted no in the earlier vote on
the legislation, promising $2 million in campaign contributions and
the use of country music stars in Preuitt’s reelection campaign, among
other things of value in exchange for his vote in favor of the
pro-gambling legislation. Gilley, Massey, Walker and others also
allegedly discussed purchasing a large number of vehicles from
Preuitt’s auto dealership in exchange for Preuitt’s vote.</p>
State Senator Ross also is alleged to have
solicited significant campaign contributions from McGregor, Gilley,
Massey and others. According to the indictment, Ross allegedly
pressured McGregor for campaign contributions the day before and the
day of the vote on the pro-gambling legislation. In addition, State
Senator Smith, who previously introduced an anti-gambling bill during
the 2008 legislative session, voted in favor of the pro-gambling
legislation in 2010 and allegedly lobbied other legislators to support
the legislation in exchange for promises and payments of hundreds of
thousands of dollars from Gilley and others. The indictment also
alleges that Joseph R. Crosby, an employee of the Alabama Legislative
Reference Service who received $3,000 per month from McGregor, took
official action on behalf of McGregor, including making changes to the
pro-gambling legislation that would benefit McGregor.</p>
In a related case, Jennifer D. Pouncy, 34,
of Montgomery, Alabama, pleaded guilty on Sept. 28, 2010, before U.S.
Magistrate Judge Charles S. Coody to one count of conspiracy for her
role in the scheme. According to information stated during her plea
hearing, Pouncy admitted that she offered State Senator Preuitt $2
million for his vote on the pro-gambling legislation, based on orders
from Massey. Pouncy also admitted that Massey and Gilley authorized
her to offer $100,000 to State Senator Means in return for his support
for the pro-gambling legislation. Pouncy’s guilty plea was unsealed
this morning, and a sentencing date has not been set.</p>
The defendants named in the indictment unsealed today were charged with the following crimes: </p><ul type="disc"><ul type="circle">[*]Milton E. McGregor, 71, of Montgomery,
Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, six counts of
federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services mail and
wire fraud;
[*]Ronald E. Gilley, 45, of
Enterprise, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, six
counts of federal program bribery, 11 counts of honest services mail
and wire fraud, and four counts of money laundering;
[*]Jarrod D. Massey, 39, of
Montgomery, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, five
counts of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services
mail and wire fraud;
[*]Thomas E. Coker, 70, of
Lowndesboro, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, two
counts of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services
mail and wire fraud;
[*]Robert B. Geddie Jr., 60, of
Montgomery, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, one
count of federal program bribery, 11 counts of honest services mail
and wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice;
[*]Jarrell W. Walker Jr., 36, of
Lanett, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count
of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services mail and
wire fraud;
[*]Harri Anne H. Smith, 48, of
Slocomb, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts
of federal program bribery, one count of extortion, 11 counts of
honest services mail and wire fraud, and four counts of money
laundering;
[*]Larry P. Means, 63, of Attalla,
Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of
federal program bribery, two counts of attempted extortion, and 11
counts of honest services mail and wire fraud;
[*]James E. Preuitt, 75, of Talladega,
Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of
federal program bribery, one count of attempted extortion, 11 counts
of honest services mail and wire fraud, and one count of making a
false statement;
[*]Quinton T. Ross Jr., 41, of
Montgomery, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, two
counts of federal program bribery, two counts of attempted extortion,
and 11 counts of honest services mail and wire fraud; and
[*]Joseph R. Crosby, 61, of
Montgomery, Alabama, was charged with one count of conspiracy, one
count of federal program bribery, and 11 counts of honest services
mail and wire fraud. [/list][/list]
The conspiracy charge carries a
maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The
federal program bribery charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in
prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of extortion, honest services
mail and wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice
carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The false statement charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in
prison and a $250,000 fine. The indictment also contains a notice of
forfeiture as to defendants Smith and Gilley.</p>
An indictment is merely an
allegation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until
proven guilty in a court of law.</p>
The case is being prosecuted by
Senior Deputy Chief Peter J. Ainsworth and Trial Attorneys Eric G.
Olshan, Barak Cohen and E. Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public
Integrity Section; Senior Litigation Counsel Brenda K. Morris of the
Criminal Division; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis V. Franklin and
Steve P. Feaga of the Middle District of Alabama. The case is being
supervised by the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, and is
being investigated by the FBI’s Mobile, Alabama, Field Office. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>
