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TMCNet: Gilley bond hearing preview to upcoming trial

[February 08, 2011]

Gilley bond hearing preview to upcoming trial

Feb 08, 2011 (Dothan Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Monday's 9-hour bond revocation hearing for Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley provided the public a glimpse at possible strategies for the prosecution and defense for the upcoming trial of 10 defendants on conspiracy, bribery and fraud charges.

U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin chose to play six phone conversations gathered from wiretaps during a federal investigation last year into an alleged vote-buying scheme to secure passage of electronic bingo legislation in the Alabama Legislature.

Some of the conversations centered around a meeting said to have occurred between Gilley, former lobbyist Jarrod Massey, VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and State Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale. Massey said Gilley offered Beason $1 million worth of business to Beason's public relations firm in exchange for his yes vote on bingo legislation.

Massey testified he and Gilley conspired to falsify a story about the meeting in which they would claim Beason made the $1 million offer to them and that the offer was rejected by Gilley.

U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin also centered on Gilley's use of pre-paid phones. Agents for the FBI testified they traced several pre-paid phones back to Gilley and Franklin asserted Gilley used the phones to evade law enforcement in an effort to hide illegal activity.

However, Gilley attorney Doug Jones said politics -- not criminal activity -- could have been the reason Gilley chose to use several different phones.

Jones said that while it may have been true that Gilley and McGregor were vocal proponents of the bingo legislation last year, former Gov. Bob Riley was equally against passage of the legislation.

Jones also hammered at the credibility of chief witness Massey, who was originally indicted with the 10 others but began cooperating with the government days after he was arrested in early October. Jones questioned Massey about his relationship with former State Rep. Terry Spicer, D-Elba. Under questioning from Jones, Massey admitted to making monthly cash payments to Spicer for several years in exchange for Spicer steering contracts to Massey's lobbying firm.

Jones then questioned FBI Special Agent Keith Baker, the chief investigative agent in the case, about Massey's credibility.

"So here you have Mr. Massey and Mr. Spicer engaged in this criminal relationship for a number of years?" Jones asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Baker responded.

Later, Baker said he relied, in part, on Massey's opinion of conversations with Gilley to determine Gilley was offering a bribe to Massey in an effort to limit Massey's testimony.

"So, you will basically believe whatever Mr. Massey says?" Jones asked.

"No sir," Baker responded.

To see more of the Dothan Eagle or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www2.dothaneagle.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Dothan Eagle, Ala. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.

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