Gov. Bob Riley Owes The People an Explanation
February 13th, 2010Guest Column
by Phil Fleming
Bob Riley must explain to the people of Alabama why he received a specific $500,000 campaign contribution from disgraced lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon in his 2002 campaign for governor.
Abramoff and Scanlon sent the funds to the Republican Governor’s Association, which then added an additional $100,000 dollars. That $600,000 amount was deposited directly to Riley’s campaign account.
Let’s review the facts, all easily found posted online.
Abramoff and Scanlon received a total of $66 million dollars from six Indian tribes. Among the recipients of this money included Riley, former National Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and Texas Congressman Tom Delay.
The Abramoff/Scanlon agenda during that election year was to block gambling in Texas and Alabama, which benefited the Louisiana Coushatta Tribe and the Mississippi Choctaw Tribe. They were successful.
Abramoff and Scanlon pleaded guilty to corruption conspiracies, Delay has been in legal limbo with pending criminal charges and a lot of hot air gets floated about who is supporting gambling and who isn’t.
One of the most fascinating situations involves some $850,000 dollars that Reed sent to John Giles, then-president of The Christian Coalition of Alabama to block gambling in Alabama. Reed received $4.2 million dollars directly from Abramoff/Scanlon. That happened during election year 2002, and both men had to resign in the end.
I’ve followed this closely for years, and believe Bob Riley owes us an explanation about that specific net $500,000 dollar contribution he received from Abramoff and Scanlon, both now convicted felons. There is online email correspondence between Abramoff/Scanlon making reference to Riley, so it should be easy to prove a quid pro quo existed.
Michael Scanlon worked for Riley when he was a Congressman. He also worked for Congressman Tom Delay. Just “connect the dots.” Delay was indicted by a Texas grand jury, in 2005. To this day, the case has not been brought to trial.
In the end, I predict we’ll see this is not about gambling. The real issue is about money for results in politics, or quid pro quo.
Those of us in Alabama all remember how Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy were convicted for something similar. With the U.S. Justice Department ranking Alabama as the fourth most corrupt state in the nation, the people need and deserve a transparent explanation.
Will the mainstream press in this state investigate? Or will they get beaten to the truth by the Web Press, again?
Some Sources
The Bush-DeLay-Indian Casinos Campaign Money Laundering Operation
Abramoff/Scanlon email exchange Re: Bob Riley
The Associated Press on Ralph Reed and John Giles
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Tags: Alabama, Gambling, Gov. Bob Riley, Indian Casinos, Jack Abramoff, John Giles, Lobbyists, Michael Scanlon, Money Laundering, Ralph Reed, Tom Delay
February 14th, 2010 at 9:12 am
I am grateful to Glynn Wilson for printing my letter, which was submitted for publication in the statewide dailies.
Glynn was right. No newspaper in Alabama would print my letter. I already know the reason WHY and so does Wilson, who realized this fact from the “gitgo”.
Allow me to explain my rationale, as to WHY my letter was not published. Every press outlet in the state is aware of what is going on in Montgomery. However, nobody in the press corps has the “guts” to ask the tough questions, for fear of being “cut out of the loop”. They have NO “BALLS”.
The Power controls the information, in the form of stockholders, and advertising dollars. It took me 23 years to reach that “Epiphany” when I worked for ABC News, in New York.
I will not give up in my endeavor. As I stated in my letter, The Department of Justice Public Integrity Section ranks Alabama 4th most corrupt state in the union, based on successful prosecutions and convictions.
Politicians are NOT elected by voters. They are elected by contributors and these contributors expect something in return. That is “Quid Pro Quo”, which is accepted practice here. Every elected official is involved.
It’s not a question of “Who is on The ‘Take’?” The REAL Question is: “Who ISN’T on The ‘Take’?”
Stay tuned,
Phil Fleming
February 14th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Many years ago, Harold Martin was editor and publisher of the Montgomery Advertiser-Alabama Journal. Martin, whose older son was a good friend of mine, was a continuing nemesis for George Wallace specifically and for corrupt, stupid state government in general. He eventually won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on corruption surrounding the state milk board, I believe.
What happened to journalists like Martin? Apparently, to get real investigative journalism now you have to go to the web, and in Alabama that means Locust Fork and Glynn Wilson.
Thanks for keeping the First Amendment alive.
February 14th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
It was unfortunate Harold Martin passed away in 2007.
One would only hope Mr. Martin could have mentored someone to follow in his footsteps.
I know a lot of journalists in the Capitol Press Corps, who are totally “hip” to what is going on.
Unfortunately, they are not allowed to write about what they know because of Management.
Like I said, commercial media outlets are controlled by money, in the form of stockholders and advertising dollars.
There is no such thing as Investigative Journalism in this State, especially the televison affiliates. The local affiliate, WSFA News should win a “razzie” award for the pablum/milquetoast “journalism” they “spoon feed” us every day.
It’s a travesty because telling the truth can bring about change.
Telling the truth is dangerous here in Montgomery. A lot of money is involved and the truth threatens the status quo, which is greed.
When I worked for WABC/ABC News, in New York, I met some “Capos” in the Genovese Crime Family at a Social Occasion, through a guy in my security detail, who was a retired NYPD “Gold Shield” Detective.
These “Wise Guys” were really nice to me so, I didn’t have any “ax to grind”. They were a lot of fun hanging out with at a nightclub, where Mambo “Rules”. They treated me with hospitality, and respect.
I actually have more respect for the Mafia/Cosa Nostra than I do for Bob Riley.
At least The Mafia is Honest about being Dishonest.
February 14th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Amen!
February 15th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Newspapers in Alabama, like a lot of places, have been running from Rush Limbaugh’s “liberal newspaper” label for so long they don’t know how to do it any better.
There are not enough reporters left in Montgomery to matter even if they did know half of what was going on, and none of them have ever worked in a real city or state where things work differently to know what a pathetic job they are doing.
A few got away with doing some investigative journalism a few years ago, as long as whey were investigating Democrats. Apparently the publishers won’t allow investigations of Republicans, but even if they did, they don’t have the personnel to do it.
Newspapers and reporters are playing it safe to try to stay in business and keep their jobs as long as possible. Local TV news has never had a clue on how to conduct investigative journalism. They just read the newspapers and the wires on the air.
The more people begin to realize this and get online and support the Web Press, the more we will be able to do. Keep spreading the word…