While I was in Alabama, the front pages of newspapers were dominated by reports of the state task force attempting to raid illegal electronic bingo operations. And the man being blamed for the confusion — which has sparked political and legal turmoil in the state — is Alabama’s Republican attorney general, Troy King.
On the day I left Montgomery, I heard talk-show host Mark Montiel on 104.9 FM call King the “best friend of the casino cartel,” a sentiment that seems to be shared by Alabama’s governor:
Gov. Bob Riley fired back at Attorney General Troy King . . . accusing King of continuing “to show more concern for the casino bosses in Alabama than for the enforcement of the law by dedicated law enforcement officials.” . . .
King had a letter delivered to Riley warning him that attempted raids of two Alabama casinos [Jan. 29] has exposed the state to lawsuits that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars. . . .
Riley, who originally appointed King attorney general in 2004 before King won a full term to the office in 2006, minced few words telling King how he feels about the advice the AG offered the governor in his letter.
“You seem to take more interest in parroting the talking point of the gambling bosses while giving short shrift to the law of Alabama,” Riley writes. “If we exhibit the ‘caution’ you suggest, then we will continue to allow the rule of law to be flouted in this state.” . . .
Riley rebukes King for his recommendation that the gambling issue be resolved at the ballot box.
“I am shocked to read your statement that the ‘proper course is to allow a vote of the people to resolve this.’ Mr. Attorney General, as your friend, I remind you that the people have already expressed their will in the Constitution of Alabama that this type of gambling is illegal. Rather than concern yourself with efforts to change the law, I suggest that your time would be better spent enforcing the law as written.”
Suspicion that King is in the pocket of the “gambling bosses” is rampant in Alabama, because (a) King is currently running for re-election, and (b) state law permits what are called “PAC-to-PAC transfers,” so that one poliitcal action committee can collect money from casino interests, then make donations to another PAC, which then donates it to a candidate.
The PAC-to-PAC process separates the recipient from the contributor in a way that makes transparency impossible, and yet Troy King’s actions are transparent enough, as the Truth on Troy blog explains:
Troy King has devised a way to support the expansion of gambling in this state when it comes to his supporters like Ronnie Gilley, but he continues to hide in his office at risk of exposing himself politically.
One of the casino operators, Milton McGregor, is now demanding that King halt the electronic bingo raids. But King is trying to stay “in the closet,” so to speak, on his de facto alliance with operators like McGregor. Meanwhile, the long-rumored sex scandal surrounding King is beginning to attract media interest in the state. While I was in Alabama, I heard from two different sources that local TV and newspaper reporters were asking questions. One of those sources claimed to have very specific direct knowledge about King aide J.W. Godwin which, if verified, will make for some very ugly headlines.
Despite all this — and despite the fact that King is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation in Montgomery — a recent poll showed King still leading his GOP primary opponent Luther Strange. That should worry Republicans in Alabama (and elsewhere), and Dan Riehl suggests that King should cancel his re-election campaign “before a King primary win could set up a GOP loss in November.”
Anne grew up wanting to become a nun but shunned Catholicism when she learned her older brother, Michael, was gay.
