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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
No charges will be dropped in the bingo bribery retrial. The judge made the decision just before closing arguments got underway. On their way into the federal courthouse in Montgomery, defenses attorneys said very little except for Susan James' quick statement about being ready. The prosecution was also ready. Prosecutor Edward Kang used clips from taped phone-conversations between the defendants, as well as full screen slides for jurors that included the defendant's picture and key pieces of testimony. In his closing, Kang said VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor had lost 44 million dollars in bingo facility investments and resorted to bribes to pass pro-gaming legislation. He said McGregor and co-conspirator Ronnie Gilley provided the cash, lobbyist Tom Coker and Country Crossing Spokesman Jay Walker were the deal brokers and the "power hungry senators" provided the key votes. He claims everyone was a knowing, willing participant in the bribery scheme, senators tried to conceal the accepted bribes, and former Senator Jim Preuitt even lied to the FBI about his knowledge of it. Kang was followed by David Knight, an attorney for lobbyist Tom Coker. Knight gave the government an "F" for a failure to provide evidence. He told jurors, you are asked to believe felons who admitted to breaking the law and who had to meet with prosecutors more than twenty times for hours at a time to rehearse. He referenced Gilley's jailhouse call to his wife during which Gilley is heard saying, "they tell me what to say. My sentence depends on bringing other people down." In all, the six defendants are charged with a total of 27 bribery and conspiracy counts. Some only face two counts. McGregor is charged with the most at ten. Closings are expected to take all day and Wednesday morning.
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Keywords: bingo, bribery, judge, Montgomery, retrial,
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