Note: I am going to use the term “the good old days.” Clearly, I do not mean to imply that the days of gangsters who committed extortion, kidnapping, hijacking, and even murder are meant to be good. It is an expression. However, this story harkens back to the good old days, when those of questionable scruples ran the casino and gambling business. They skimmed off the top. They used the casinos and gambling halls to launder and hide their money from law enforcement and the Internal Revenue Service. They had politicians, judges, and the police on the payroll and in their back pocket. This was a time in the early days of Las Vegas when “businessmen” bribed lawmakers so they could get a gambling license, start a casino, or continue operations in the way they saw fit. Those days are over. The casino and casino resort industry is as reputable as any other big business. CEO’s and shareholders rule the day. All Street is just as part of the casino industry as the Strip. Or is it?
A businessman in the state of Alabama pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiring to bribe state lawmakers in relation to a gambling bill that was making its way through the government. The announcement of the plea was made by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Lewis M. Chapman of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Mobile Field Office. Enterprise, Alabama resident, forty-six year old Ronald E Gilley, made the guilty plea in a U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on six counts of bribery and four counts of money laundering. He is facing the charges with ten other co-defendants. Others involved with the case include a lobbyist for Mr. Gilley, two former Alabama state legislators, two current Alabama state legislators, an employee of the Alabama state legislature, a couple of more lobbyists and another businessman. These charges date back to an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in 2010.
Mr. Gilley owned the controlling interest in Country Crossing. The company was an entertainment and gambling development firm. Gilley wanted his company to have the right to offer electronic bingo and other gambling machines to venues around the state. They also supported a piece of legislation making its way through the state government in Montgomery.
Gilley admitted to offering items worth millions of dollars to certain lawmakers. In return he wanted them to vote in favor of a gambling bill. He also told the lobbyists that were working for him to offer the same sweet deals to the lawmakers they came into contact with. Gilley could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for just the conspiracy charge. He could face ten to twenty years for each bribery charge. It is thought the the guilty plea along with cooperation will help reduce the sentence. The case is a big deal in Alabama as there are state lawmakers involved along with lobbyists. The trial for the remaining defendants is set for this summer.
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