Chief strategist for Mike Keown — former aide to Glenn Richardson — indicted for vote-buying in Alabama
Jay Walker, chief strategist for Republican Mike Keown in his race against U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, has resigned from the campaign following his indictment on federal vote-buying charges with the aim of making electronic bingo legal.
“He’s given his verbal resignation,” said campaign manager Andrew O’Shea. “We’re very troubled to say the least, and very sad.”
Walker was the first chief of staff to House Speaker Glenn Richardson, and has since been a lobbyist at the state Capitol in Atlanta.
House Speaker Glenn Richardson (left) and chief of staff Jay Walker in January 2005, shortly after Republicans took control of the House. AJC
Most readers in Atlanta are bound to focus on Walker’s connection to Richardson. But the most immediate political import is his link to Keown — who has been gaining serious ground against Bishop in the wake of the congressman’s handling of scholarship money.
Walker had checked in last week, just to make sure that Keown was on the Insider’s radar. According to the Associated Press, Jarrell W. “Jay” Walker Jr., 36, was public relations spokesman for Ronnie Gilley, developer of the Country Crossing casino in Dothan.
Walker has been charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery and 11 counts of honest services fraud.
Here’s an AP wrap with the latest:
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After the governor began raiding the state’s electronic bingo halls, casino owners sent lobbyists to the Capitol with orders to make their Vegas-style parlors legal. Part of the plan, federal authorities said Monday, was to offer lawmakers millions of dollars in bribes.
The Justice Department unveiled an indictment accusing the owner of Alabama’s largest casino, four state senators and several lobbyists of a scheme to buy and sell votes in the Legislature. One defendant has pleaded guilty to offering a senator $2 million to vote for a bill to keep the bingo machines operating.
Since Republican Gov. Bob Riley began his raids nearly two years ago, the issue has set off angry statehouse rallies and complaints by local officials that casino closures cost poor counties much-needed jobs. Against this backdrop and with the pro-gambling bill on the verge of passage, the Justice Department announced last spring that it was looking into corruption at the statehouse.
On Monday, federal agents spread out across the state to arrest 11 people on federal charges of conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud.
The head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, Lanny Breuer, said the corrupt scheming was “astonishing in scope … a full-scale campaign to bribe legislators and others.”
Electronic bingo games, which have flashing lights and sound effects similar to slot machines, were a rapidly growing business in Alabama until Riley formed his task force to shut them down.
The task force raided bingo halls, seized machines and won court battles that resulted in the closure of all privately operated electronic bingo casinos. Three operated by the Poarch Creek Indians, who aren’t under state control, have thrived amid the shutdowns.
State legislators tried to pass bills in 2009 and 2010 to allow the games to operate, but both bills failed. Behind the scenes, federal prosecutors said, operators of the two largest private casinos and teams of lobbyist were offering millions in campaign contributions, benefit concerts by country music artists, free polling and hidden $1 million-a-year payments in return for votes.
Milton McGregor, owner of VictoryLand casino in Shorter, and Ronnie Gilley, developer of the Country Crossing casino in Dothan, were indicted along with three of their lobbyists and state Sens. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb, James Prueitt of Talladega, Larry Means of Attalla, and Quinton Ross Jr. of Montgomery.
All four senators voted for an unsuccessful bill to legalize the machines.
McGregor’s lawyer, Joe Espy, said his client is innocent and looks forward to proving it.
Smith called the indictments “a nakedly political move, coordinated by prosecutors in cahoots with the governor’s office” to influence November elections. All except Preuitt are seeking re-election.
Federal authorities said Monday that a 12th defendant — an employee of one of the indicted lobbyists — pleaded guilty Sept. 28 to conspiracy. Jennifer Pouncy of Montgomery admitted that at Massey’s direction, she offered Preuitt $2 million for his vote and that Massey authorized her to offer $100,000 to Means for his vote.
Electronic bingo developed slowly in Alabama, with about 30 casinos operating around the state two years ago, often out of storefronts or modest cinderblock buildings. But the landscape changed dramatically in 2009.
McGregor expanded his dog track 15 miles east of Montgomery to include 6,000 machines and added a luxury hotel and upscale restaurant.
Last year, Gilley and several country music artists — including George Jones and Darryl Worley — opened Country Crossing in Dothan, with a casino, concert amphitheater, restaurants and inn. It became a regular stop for tourists headed to the Florida Panhandle beaches until it was forced to close in January.
Operators argued that their machines were nothing more than a high-tech version of traditional paper bingo, which is legal in some Alabama counties. Riley maintained the machines were essentially slot machines, which are illegal in Alabama. The last non-Indian casino, VictoryLand, closed its games in August.
The federal investigation into allegations of vote buying began in 2009. It came to light last spring, before the final votes on the bingo bill, which died when sponsors could not line up enough for passage.
Backers of the bill accused Riley of derailing the measure with the announcement of the probe. State and federal authorities, though, countered that the Justice Department was running the investigation.
The governor’s spokesman, Jeff Emerson, said that last spring, Riley had labeled the gambling bill “the most corrupt piece of legislation ever considered by the Senate.”
“Today’s action by the Justice Department shows he was, sadly, right,” Emerson said.
If convicted, the defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy, 10 years for bribery, and 20 years for honest services fraud.
By coincidence, the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday published an opinion ending a 2003 dispute over whether 11 machines seized in Cobb County were illegal gaming devices.
The high court found that seven of the machines did not violate the state’s anti-gambling statutes. For the sake of historical accuracy, we present you with the footnote that names them:
The seven machines not condemned were (1) Speedmaster, (2) Nudge ‘Em, (3) Super Ball, (4) Silver Bar, (5) Peachy Queen, (6) Pick-A-Winner, and (7) a combination machine that was programmed to play three different games (Nudge ‘Em, Farm ‘Em, and Nuggets of Gold).
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84 comments Add your comment
Best for Georgia
October 4th, 2010
4:15 pm
Glenn Richardson, Sonny Perdue, and Casey Cagle are what we got when we believed Georgia Republicans’ promises to “clean up” state government under Roy Barnes and Speaker Murphy. If people had only known better….oh wait. We do know better about Nathan Deal and he is still leading the polls. Explain that one. We can only expect more corrupt critters like this Jay Walker person if Nathan is elected governor.
Perimeter Progressive
October 4th, 2010
4:26 pm
Wow. Are there any Republicans with Integrity running in Georgia this year?
The Cynical White Boy
October 4th, 2010
4:26 pm
Hmm.. be interesting to see if the Almighty AJC gets a quote from their “go-to” Democrat Alan Powell on this….seeing as where he was “Mr. Video Poker” back in the day.
No Longer Republican
October 4th, 2010
4:26 pm
You got that Right Best! Georgians obviously don’t give a rip about ethics if what the polls show is true. November will be a sad day for Georgia if Nathan Deal is elected.
itpdude
October 4th, 2010
4:34 pm
What is the problem with the GOP now?
Tip of the Iceberg
October 4th, 2010
4:36 pm
Maybe this rat will start talking about which Georgia lawmakers he paid off when he was a “lobbyist” here.
ATF
October 4th, 2010
4:36 pm
No surprise. The Republicans are not the good guys everyone wants to think they are. They just throw around words about “protecting marriage”, the evils of government, cutting taxes to starve local, state, and the federal governments they don’t have the courage to cut. Then they go right on being corrupt. And we buy it.
Vote out encumbents. And change the laws that allow lobbyists to buy our politicians with “campaign contributions” that are nothing but bribes to assure the election of those they have bought.
Does anyone think the Georgia Chips, Deal, the Bone Head from Ohio, or the Kentucky Wonder are any more honest?
Please.
capital idea
October 4th, 2010
4:40 pm
Maybe they will ask Mr. Walker about all those flights to Brunswick.
khc
October 4th, 2010
4:42 pm
where’s last man with something pithy to say
YEARS needed to Recover from G.O.P. Rule
October 4th, 2010
4:46 pm
Here’s a nice story about a Republican appointed Judge:
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/federal-judge-charged-with-658597.html
Lulu
October 4th, 2010
4:56 pm
Corruption is so widespread in our natioon that if you vote for any incumbent, past or present, it’s treason.
Fulton Resident
October 4th, 2010
4:57 pm
“Best for Georgia”
The issue in this post has nothing to do with Georgia politicians being corrupt.
Wasn’t sure if you noticed that before typing out your blind partisan rant.
Ryan Shakur
October 4th, 2010
5:02 pm
Vote buying, eh? Sounds like someone is fresh out of ideas…carry on–carry on.
Best for Georgia
October 4th, 2010
5:04 pm
@ Fulton Resident (4;57)
As to the connection with Georgia politicians, the point I was making was this indicted person was formerly Chief of Staff for Glenn Richardson, the former Republican Speaker of the House. Until, that is, he resigned in disgrace when, after threatening suicide and blaming his wife for his troubles (a particularly manly touch), his former wife outed him for sleeping with a hot lobbyist working for Atlanta Gas and Light. Notably, Glenn pushed a bill for his sweetie during his tenture. If you do not think this relevant to Georgia Republican politicians being corrupt, I think we need to agree to disagree.
Jay
October 4th, 2010
5:18 pm
Oh wait, nothing to see here people, the man is a Republican.
What a day on the courthouse steps! — Peach Pundit
October 4th, 2010
5:26 pm
[...] Jay Walker (former aide to Glenn Richardson and now former chief aide to Mike Keown) has been indicted on federal charges of vote-buying to legalize electronic bingo in Alabama. Book [...]
Ramguy
October 4th, 2010
5:27 pm
but but but but but he’s a Republican….it can’t be true…..it just can’t……they are always on the side of God and family not to mention righteousness….wake up and smell the coffee people.
jeff
October 4th, 2010
5:36 pm
This story has nothing to do with Mike Keown. This guy is a consultant who works for many different politicians and companies. This incident happened before Keown hired him and it happened in Alabama not Georgia. Also for all you slamming Republicans, read the story closely. The bill in question was backed by Democrats.
The Centrist
October 4th, 2010
5:40 pm
Fulton Resident is absolutely correct. “The issue in this post has nothing to do with Georgia politicians being corrupt.” Just like Obama living in the same neighorhood and serving on a community board with Roger Ayers didn’t mean that he “pals around with terrorist.” The only insignificant difference is that Walker worked directly for Keown and Richardson as a strategist and chief of staff respectively.
Crooks Rule
October 4th, 2010
5:46 pm
Most of the legislature is crooked—these lobbyists run the government and “leaders” are just along for the money.
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
5:50 pm
Buying votes is wrong – and illegal. I must say, though, that I fail to see much difference in what has been reported here and the stuffing of black “preachers” pockets to influence the vote and get the voters to the polls.
Alabama Communist
October 4th, 2010
5:56 pm
When do we expect the Theo-con, Neo-con Republican Governor of Alabama to raid Wal-Mart for having virbrators on display at discount prices? Indian Scouts say Ralph Reed was behind this mess
Alabama Communist
October 4th, 2010
6:05 pm
The federal secret police, who see no limit to their jurisdiction or power, intruded into Alabama and wiretapped casino owners trying to stay in business, as the Christian Right moved to outlaw them. Did the businessmen pay pols? If so, they were highly imprudent, though apparently just trying to stay in business against the fascist Republican anti-gambling governor—who once claimed that Jesus wants higher taxes. The owners sought to use an evil means—the legislature—for a good end, which is never allowed. It’s too early to tell if he is involved here, but lobbyist Ralph Reed has masterminded other government attacks on non-Indian casinos, collecting from both the Christian Right and competitive Indian casinos in the process. Oh, and how nice that federales and locals are crushing businesses in a poor state during the Fed’s depression
Billy in Savannah
October 4th, 2010
6:26 pm
Well, nice to see you here also Last Man. I think what gets alot of folds is the hypocrites in the Republican Party. (This is not to say the Dems don’t have a few also, although it seems they are not quite as hypocritical). At least, they don’t claim that the almighty God is on their side.
Billy in Savannah
October 4th, 2010
6:27 pm
excuse typo, folds=folks. duh………..
North Fulton Foray
October 4th, 2010
6:51 pm
Don’t forget about Burkhalter having a daughter out of wedlock. I hope he is profitable in London.
Lawrence
October 4th, 2010
6:52 pm
Galloway…
You delight in bringing up something on the Republicans. Why don’t you ever do it on the Democrats? You are a typical POS.
Too Many Idiots
October 4th, 2010
7:00 pm
You folks spending your time slamming Republicans because of what? Perhaps a total of 10 (if that) in this state are connected with unethical acts or immoral behavior. This is nothing. These people were bad-minded people BEFORE they became associated with the GOP. There are 1,000,000+ GOP voters in his state (as you will see come November 2) and they are not unethical or immoral people.
You folks are just plain idiots. I-D-I-O-T-S,
This is Mrs. Norman Maine
October 4th, 2010
7:04 pm
Hmnmmm……but the Tea Party Times, aka the Thomasville Times-Enterprise has been hammering Bishop on ethics even as they prepare to endorse crooked as an ‘S’ Nathan Deal, and now this guy……don’t tell me Mike Keown didn’t know he didn’t play by the rules; that’s why he hired him as his strategist! No matter, the hypocrites and haters will still line up to vote for Mike Keown since he is a Republican. That is the only thing that matters to that crowd in South Georgia.
khc
October 4th, 2010
7:13 pm
leave it to last man to bring race into this one too….it’s a shame you started the post in fine manner
uno
October 4th, 2010
7:23 pm
2 John 1:11
Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.
Consider your vote for and support of these corrupt politicians accordingly.
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
7:32 pm
khc:
I just call ‘em like I see ‘em. The problem that exists for a lot of people is that they are constrained by “political correctness”. That is just a way to give some folks a pass. If I am to be subjected to scrutiny and criticism, then I demand fair play. How’s that for a “pithy” comment?
I say again so that all can be very clear on this: The election of November 2 is a referendum on the democrat party of Obama, Pelosi and Reed. To vote for a democrat at any level is to affirm the actions of the three aforementioned and their democrat cohorts. Barnes is certainly not exempt since he confirmed that he supported Obama. Folks, I’m not saying that this is just or right: I’m telling you that it is fact. I have already voted and I have voted a straight Republican ticket with the exception of some non-partisan positions. The majority of Georgia voters will vote as I did. All you displeased democrats may write your “Thank You” notes to Ovama, Pelosi and Reed after the election.
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
7:33 pm
uno:
That is the very best quote I have seen yet concerning Obama! Thanks for sharing that with us!
greg best
October 4th, 2010
7:39 pm
Last Man Standing…so all us dumbasses should vote ONLY for Republicans in November? That’s exactly what you are saying. Are you really Michael Steele, the corrupt Chairman of the RNC?
ga female
October 4th, 2010
7:39 pm
Come on you all know the Republican’s are the biggest hypocrates of all. Look at the Reagan appointed Judge and the stripper he is paying for sex and drugs. My next door neighbor Republican is a swinger, that is a hypocrate on the Church new membership commitee. Give me a break. Get real, don’t vote for Deal. Unless you want this state to go off a cliff.
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
7:39 pm
Billy in Savannah:
Name one Republican that has proclaimed that “Almighty God is on our side”. When you name him/her, cite the source to confirm this.
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
7:44 pm
greg best:
I know that you aren’t going to vote for any Republicans. I’m telling you that the majority of voters will vote as I did. I’m not asking or telling anyone anything. I’m predicting what will happen – and happen it will.
greg best
October 4th, 2010
7:48 pm
George W. Bush, when he announced the first war on Iraq. By the way, Last Man Standing, you are a very ignorant man. Thousands of GOP politicians invoke the name of God Almighty and Jesus all the time, ad infinitum, to fool the voters and achieve their evil, devilish goals.
Sandra
October 4th, 2010
7:52 pm
Last Man Standing….you really are an idiot!
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
7:55 pm
greg best:
Are you illiterate? You need to go back and read my post again – slowly so that you can grasp it. I asked who had proclaimed, “Almighty God is on our side”. That is in quotations. You do understand “quotation marls”, don’t you? If you want to see ignorance, find a mirror.
Billy in Savannah
October 4th, 2010
8:01 pm
Last man: I have tried to be civil with you. To name a few, Glenn Beck, Pat Robertson, George Bush, and many of the ads they ran against John Kerry inferred they were the “religious side”. It is my Christianity that makes me a Democrat. I care for my fellow man and not just the wealthy. I have not voted, but I will cancel you and I am voting a straight D (along with my wife, who has already voted, daughter and her fiance). Many of my Republican friends (yes, I have some) are privately voting for Barnes because they cannot vote for Deal.
Billy in Savannah
October 4th, 2010
8:04 pm
I have a feeling there will be some surprises in Georgia. Go Barnes!
findog
October 4th, 2010
8:10 pm
This is a perfect juxtaposition of the two party’s economic ideologies.
The democrats like a rising tide so they by votes for the ballot box
Republican believe trickle down and want to dump millions onto the politicians and wait for it to percolate down to the citizens
professional skeptic
October 4th, 2010
8:10 pm
Too Many Idiots
October 4th, 2010
7:00 pm
There are 1,000,000+ GOP voters in his state (as you will see come November 2) and they are not unethical or immoral people.
Do you think that they will vote for someone as unethical and immoral as Nathan Deal?
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
8:13 pm
Billy in Savannah:
“At least, they don’t claim that the almighty God is on their side.”
“To name a few, Glenn Beck, Pat Robertson, George Bush, and many of the ads they ran against John Kerry inferred they were the “religious side”.
Those two statements are not the same, Billy. You said in the first statement “that the almighty God is on their side”. Your second statement says they were on the “religious side”. I know you to be too intelligent to think anyone will see those statements as the same or near the same. One is claiming that God sides with them while the other says they would be believers in God and, hopefully, seek his guidance.
At any rate, the hour grows late (for me) and I must seek sleep. Have a good night.
khc
October 4th, 2010
8:16 pm
last man you need to get a new moniker…..
Last Man Standing
October 4th, 2010
8:16 pm
Sandra:
Does this mean our date is off?
The Centrist
October 4th, 2010
8:26 pm
Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle declared the “Almighty is on her side” on 7/14/10. Not an exact quote but Glen Beck and Sarah Palin are fond of quoting what originally came from Republican Abraham Lincoln, saying that “it’s not important whether God is on our side but whether we are on God’s side.” Source: Google. Now Lincoln’s context was quite different but many Republics have used God is Our Property (GOP) for decades. The liberal press came up with God, Guns, and Gays to describe the GOP’s general platform.
The Centrist
October 4th, 2010
8:40 pm
BTW. I thought conservatives were against gambling. So why are so many getting convicted for trying to game the game?
majii
October 4th, 2010
8:42 pm
Thanks, uno! As a Christian I, too, believe that Christianity is more than just a word. Self-professed Christians shouldn’t be endorsing, or overlooking, the apparent flaws in these candidates. I will not lose my soul by endorsing any of them.