Oliver Robinson to be sentenced Thursday for bribery, tax evasion
Former state Rep. Oliver Robinson will be sentenced Thursday afternoon in a federal court room. Robinson could face up 100 years in prison for the seven charges he was found guilty of, but federal prosecutors are seeking he be sentenced just three years in prison for federal bribery charges and tax evasion, a lighter sentence, as Robinson helped investigators in the case. Robinson pleaded guilty last year to bribery in a scheme involving pollution in Birmingham, Ala. where he encouraged his constituents not to have their soil tested for contaminants in exchange for bribes from coal company executives. Prosecutors are also asking Robinson to pay $169,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and forfeit more than $390,000.
Randy Davis indicted on bribery, conspiracy charges
Outgoing Daphne-Republican State Rep. Randy Davis was indicted by a feral grand jury on Wednesday on charges of bribery and conspiracy. According to federal court documents, Davis has been accused of pressuring Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama to “cover infusion treatments at Trina Health clinics even though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said there was no evidence the outpatient insulin therapy treatment improved outcomes,” the Associated Press reported. Allegedly, Davis worked with former Alabama House Majority Leader and Decatur-Republican Micky Hammon to recruit investors to the Trina Health clinics, after which he would receive a finders’ fee. He has also been accused of working with Hammon to push a bill through the Alabama State Legislature’s 2016 session aimed at forcing insurance coverage of the treatments at the clinics. “After Trina Health encountered difficulties with the health insurance companies, Davis attempted to lobby the insurance company to change its position,” reads a Department of Justice press release. “When that failed, Davis took steps to advance the bill. For example, Davis helped to recruit a sponsor, arranged for the public hearing to be video recorded, and then spoke in favor of the bill at a public hearing.” Vestavia Hills-Republican, longtime State Rep. Jack Williams, former Alabama Republican Party Chairman Martin Connors, along with a California-based health care executive G. Ford Gilbert were arrested in April for the alleged plan. “Based on these events, the superseding indictment charges Davis, Gilbert, and Connors with conspiracy to commit bribery related to federal programs. Additionally, the superseding indictment alleges that Gilbert committed various acts of bribery related to federal programs. Gilbert and Davis are also charged with interstate travel and communications in aid of racketeering. The last count in the superseding indictment charges Connors with making a false statement to a federal agent,” the press release continues. The defendants face a maximum of 10 years imprisonment. Hammon was sentenced to three months in prison in February on charges relating to mail fraud while Williams, Connors and Gilbert await their trial on September 4.
Opening statements begin in Alabama trial for alleged bribery scheme
Lawyers made their opening statements on Tuesday in the trial over an alleged bribery scheme involving pollution in Birmingham, Ala. The trial involves two Balch & Bingham lawyers, Joel Gilbert and Steven McKinney, as well as Drummond Co. vice president David Robertson. The three are accused of bribing former state Rep. Oliver Robinson. Prosecutors say the firm represented Drummond, and Robinson got $360,000 to oppose expansion of a Drummond-linked cleanup site. While Robinson pleaded guilty last year, all three defendants continue to maintain their innocence, which they first asserted in the courtroom in October. During the trial, defense lawyers disputed the prosecution’s account of the ordeal, saying their clients did nothing wrong.
Conspiracy case: State Rep. Jack Williams, ex-GOP chair Marty Connors plead ‘not guilty’
Both Vestavia Hills-Republican, longtime State Rep. Jack Williams and former Alabama GOP chairman Marty Connors pleaded not guilty in federal court on Wednesday in Montgomery, Ala. The two, along with a California-based health care executive G. Ford Gilbert were arrested on federal bribery and conspiracy charges earlier this month. According to the Department of Justice, Gilbert is the owner of a California company that operates diabetes treatment centers throughout the world—Trina Health, LLC (Trina Health). In 2014 and 2015, Trina Health opened three clinics in Alabama. Soon thereafter, the state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama (a.k.a. Blue Cross), informed Trina Health that it would not cover the treatments provided by them. Gilbert then schemed to force Blue Cross to change its position. He came up with a plan to push a bill through the Alabama Legislature’s 2016 session that would require Blue Cross to cover the treatments. Gilbert then made payments to State of Alabama House Majority Leader Micky Hammonin exchange for his efforts on behalf of the bill. Gilbert also hired Defendant Connors to act as a lobbyist on behalf of the bill. Connors knew of Gilbert’s payments to Majority Leader Hammon. Hammon and Connors then recruited Defendant Williams, the chairman of the Commerce and Small Business Committee of the Alabama House of Representatives, to hold a public hearing on the bill. Williams also knew of the payments to Hammon and acted in part to help Hammon, who, as everyone in the scheme knew, was experiencing grave financial problems. The indictment does not include charges against Hammon since he has already been convicted in federal court of other offenses related to mail fraud and misusing campaign funds. Following the arraignment, Connors released a statement claiming his innocence. “I am innocent of the charges that have been made against me. I have worked hard to conduct myself in the most honorable way possible, in a way that my family, friends and colleagues can be proud of,” Connors said in the statement. “I built not only a life here, but a reputation. The charges against me are totally unfounded, and will be vigorously defended.” A trial has been set for Sept. 4.
Alabama legislator Jack Williams, ex-GOP chair Marty Connors arrested on federal bribery charges
Vestavia Hills-Republican, longtime State Rep. Jack Williams, former Alabama Republican Party Chairman Martin “Marty” Connors, along with a California-based health care executive G. Ford Gilbert were arrested Monday on federal bribery charges. “Three individuals — two of whom reside in Alabama and one who resides in California — were arrested on charges stemming from their involvement in a public corruption scheme,” said United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr. in a press release. According to the indictment, Defendant Gilbert is the owner of a California company that operates diabetes treatment centers throughout the world—Trina Health, LLC (Trina Health). In 2014 and 2015, Trina Health opened three clinics in Alabama. Soon thereafter, the state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama (a.k.a. Blue Cross), informed Trina Health that it would not cover the treatments provided by them. Gilbert then schemed to force Blue Cross to change its position. He came up with a plan to push a bill through the Alabama Legislature’s 2016 session that would require Blue Cross to cover the treatments. Gilbert then made payments to State of Alabama House Majority Leader Micky Hammon in exchange for his efforts on behalf of the bill. Gilbert also hired Defendant Connors to act as a lobbyist on behalf of the bill. Connors knew of Gilbert’s payments to Majority Leader Hammon. Hammon and Connors then recruited Defendant Williams, the chairman of the Commerce and Small Business Committee of the Alabama House of Representatives, to hold a public hearing on the bill. Williams also knew of the payments to Hammon and acted in part to help Hammon, who, as everyone in the scheme knew, was experiencing grave financial problems. “Based on these events, the indictment charges all three defendants with conspiracy to commit bribery related to federal programs, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and honest services wire fraud,” wrote Franklin. “Additionally, the indictment alleges that Gilbert and Connors committed the substantive offense of bribery related to federal programs. Gilbert alone is charged with wire fraud, health care fraud, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.” The indictment does not include charges against Hammon since he has already been convicted in federal court of other offenses related to mail fraud and misusing campaign funds. If convicted, the men face up to 20 years in prison. Gov. Kay Ivey weighed in on the indictment Monday afternoon following a speech in Huntsville, Ala. “There’s just no place for corruption in our great state. And so the Justice Department, the FBI, they’ve just got to go ahead and ferret out what needs to be explored because we cannot tolerate corruption,” Ivey told AL.com. “I just pointed out (during her speech in Huntsville) that the people of Alabama, the morale was very low because they had been misled by their leader and lost faith in the government. So I’ve tried my best to restore faith and trust in the government and operate an open, transparent administration.” The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross and Joshua Wendell are prosecuting the case. This is a developing story and will continue to be added to.
3 Alabama men plead not guilty to bribery charges in pollution case
Two attorneys with a prominent Alabama law firm and a coal company executive are pleading not guilty in an alleged bribery scheme involving pollution in Birmingham. Federal court documents show the pleas were entered Monday by lawyers Joel Gilbert and Steven McKinney, as well as Drummond Co. vice president David Robertson. The lawyer — partners handling environmental litigation with the Balch & Bingham firm — and Roberson are accused of conspiracy and bribery. The three are accused of bribing former state Rep. Oliver Robinson, who pleaded guilty last month. Prosecutors say the firm represented Drummond, and Robinson got $360,000 to oppose expansion of a Drummond-linked cleanup site. All three are free on $5,000 bail. A Dec. 4 trial date has been postponed and a new one isn’t set yet. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Fresh out of federal prison, Don Siegelman turns 71; won’t celebrate with state pension
Former Gov. Don Siegelman, who spent more than six years in federal prison for bribery, turned 71 Friday. After two decades years in Alabama statewide elective office – eight as secretary of state and four each as attorney general, lieutenant governor, and governor – was convicted in 2006 of bribery, and sentenced to 78 months in federal prison. On February 8, Siegelman was released six months early from a facility in Oakdale, Louisiana, and is serving the remaining sentence in detention at his Vestavia Hills home. His conviction will officially end August 8. “I feel like a refugee coming into New York,” Siegelman told friends and family after his release. In 2006, both Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy were convicted on bribery charges stemming from $500,000 Scrushy gave Siegelman’s campaign for his support in establishing an Alabama lottery and in exchange for being named to a state health board. Initially, Siegelman faced an 88-month prison sentence in 2007; nine months after his arrest, however, he was released on bond and filed an appeal. Later, the court resentenced Siegelman for 78 months; he returned to jail September 2012, where he stayed until earlier this month. AL.com reports that Siegelman will not be celebrating his birthday with a state pension – not because of his bribery conviction, but because of a 1901 statute in the Alabama Constitution that bans elected officials from receiving state retirement. A 1975 attempt to change the law to give then-Gov. George Wallace a pension was struck down as unconstitutional.
Don Siegelman to be released from prison one year from today
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman is scheduled to be released from prison one year from today, August 8, 2017. Alabama News Network reported Monday Siegelman is “is keeping his spirits up” as his family and other supporters still hope the former governor could be released earlier via a presidential pardon. In April, more than 100 former state attorneys general from across the country sent a request to President Barack Obama asking him to pardon Siegelman, who’s serving a 6½ year prison sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice. In 2006, a federal jury convicted Siegelman of federal funds bribery on allegations that he sold a seat on a hospital regulatory board to former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for $500,000 in donations to Siegelman’s unsuccessful 1999 campaign to get Alabama voters to approve a state lottery. Siegelman was also convicted of obstruction of justice. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Siegelman, making a presidential pardon his last hope to reduce his sentence. Siegelman, now 70, has been serving his sentence at a Louisiana prison camp since his conviction.
Martin Dyckman: In wake of Bob McDonnell case, Congress needs to close bribery loophole
What might have been only a run-of-the-mill bribery case became a major chapter in Florida history, and a forerunner of a recent deeply disturbing decision at the U.S. Supreme Court. A Ft. Lauderdale labor union local wanted to dig a canal on property it owned. Seeking a shortcut, the president and two henchmen passed $1,000 in cash to a county commissioner. He was wearing a wire. The law was watching. In April 1973, the Florida Supreme Court voted 4-2 to throw out the resulting convictions and prison sentences. The majority concluded that the union would not have needed the commission’s permission after all. As there was no point in bribing the commissioner, there was no crime. Never mind the criminal intent, or the fact that at the time everyone thought a permit was necessary. The two dissenters, Joseph A. Boyd Jr., and Richard Ervin, were the only justices who had held any political office other than judge — Boyd as a Dade County commissioner and Ervin as attorney general. They understood retail politics and the danger of, as Boyd put it, “the scurrilous peddling of one’s influence …” “Because of personal and political connections, public officials can persuade others vested with legal authority to grant favors to people which he (sic) could not personally grant through his own single vote or through the exercise of his official duties,” Boyd protested. The Legislature plugged the enormous hole that case created with Florida’s present law criminalizing unauthorized compensation to an official who either thinks he has a duty in the matter or tries to influence someone else. It also led to the resignation, under threat of impeachment, of Justice David L. McCain, who had cast the decisive vote for the defendants, campaign supporters of his. Earlier, he had tried to fix the case by influencing judges of the lower court that first heard the appeal. I wrote that McCain himself had been bribed. Boyd’s dissent in that old case describes to a precise T what (former) Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell did to earn his recently overturned corruption conviction in federal court. He took $175,000 in loans, gifts and favors — including a Rolex watch for him and $20,000 worth of designer clothing for his wife — from a man named Johnnie Williams, who wanted Virginia’s universities to conduct research studies on a nutritional supplement his company had developed. McDonnell set up a series of meetings between Williams and university officials to help Williams. It didn’t work. The universities politely practiced passive resistance, and McDonnell never actually ordered them to do anything. As the prosecution saw it, however, McDonnell had broken several federal laws just by peddling his influence. But as the U.S. Supreme Court saw it — unanimously — McDonnell had taken no “action,” nor had he agreed to do so, on behalf of Williams. “The District Court,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “should have instructed the jury that merely arranging a meeting or hosting an event to discuss a matter does not count as a decision or action on that matter.” In reversing the conviction, the court left an opening to the prosecution to retry McDonnell. But it’s an infinitely slim one. Consider Roberts’s closing remarks: “There is no doubt that this case is distasteful. It may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes and ballgown. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statutes. A more limited interpretation of the term ‘official act’ leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption, while comporting with the text of the statute and the precedent of this Court.” Balderdash. If “official act” is limited to something like a signature on legislation or on a direct order, that’s a loophole wide enough to drag the entire District of Columbia through it, and the Grand Canyon besides. It might even be large enough to let Rep. Corinne Brown of Jacksonville wriggle out of her freshly minted federal corruption indictment. The Roberts opinion reflects either a naiveté or lack of concern with what it’s like in the grubby trenches of retail politics; they crawl with people eager to find and patronize influential politicians who can pull strings with colleagues or regulatory agencies. No one on that court has any real-world experience appropriate to cases like McDonnell’s. Not since Sandra Day O’Connor‘s appointment 35 years ago has there been a justice who ever ran for any office, and she retired 10 years ago. So there was no dissent. It took Jack Abramoff, the celebrated and repentant political fixer, to explain what’s wrong with the McDonnell decision. “When somebody petitioning a public servant for action provides any kind of extra resources—money or a gift or anything — that affects the process,” he told The Washington Post. That is, of course, true of campaign contributions, a million times more so. But the law recognizes a distinction — even if there is no practical difference — between money intended to elect someone and largesse for his personal use. One bridge at a time. Congress needs to do what the Florida Legislature did: make it a crime for someone to offer, or an official to accept, monetary favors for wielding his or her influence. I’m not holding my breath. ___ Martin Dyckman is a retired associate editor of the newspaper now known as the Tampa Bay Times. He lives in suburban Asheville, North Carolina.
Former state attorneys generals request pardon for former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman
More than 100 former state attorneys general from across the country want the President Barack Obama to pardon former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who’s serving a 6 ½ year prison sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice. According to the Associated Press, the pardon request was sent to the White House on Wednesday. In 2006, a federal jury convicted Siegelman of federal funds bribery on allegations that he sold a seat on a hospital regulatory board to former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for $500,000 in donations to Siegelman’s unsuccessful 1999 campaign to get Alabama voters to approve a state lottery. Siegelman was also convicted of obstruction of justice. In January the U.S. Supreme Court denied to hear an appeal from Siegelman, making a presidential pardon his last hope to reduce his sentence. Siegelman, now 70, has been serving his sentence at a Louisiana prison camp since his conviction, and is scheduled to be released in 2017.
