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Ala. judge orders seized bingo machines returned

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's attorney general lacked probable cause to seize electronic bingo machines at Greenetrack in Eutaw, and a warrant used to take the machines contained misleading information, a judge has ruled.
Special Greene County Circuit Judge Houston Brown on Wednesday ordered the state to return to Greenetrack the electronic bingo machines seized by law enforcement officers after an investigation by Attorney General Luther Strange's office.
Strange said he would ask Brown to delay implementation of his order, and said he would immediately appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court.
"We strongly disagree with the court's findings and characterizations of the state's actions," Strange said in a prepared statement.
The machines were seized on May 31 after Brown granted a search warrant when the attorney general's office alleged that the machines were "slot machines."
In his order, Brown accused the attorney general's office of "judge shopping" when it originally had him appointed by the state Administrative Office of Courts to be a special judge and did not go to Greene County's two judges, Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway and District Judge Lillie Jones-Osborne.
Greenetrack manager Luther Winn did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Greenetrack was once one of the South's more successful greyhound race tracks, drawing in large crowds after the track opened in the 1970s. It was once home to one of the nation's top winning greyhounds, the legendary Joe Dump. But the track hit hard times as casinos opened in Mississippi and surrounding states created lotteries. Eventually the greyhounds stopped running and Greenetrack was left with simulcasts of horse and dog races around the country. Dump is buried on what was once the track's finish line.
The track reopened with electronic bingo machines after voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing bingo in the county. Employment at the track grew to about 400, but just a skeletal staff remains after the most recent effort to close it. Racing simulcasts are the only remaining activity at the track, about 40 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa.
State Sen. Bobby Singleton, who represents Greene County, said he hopes the judge's ruling will allow Greenetrack to put people back to work.
"I think this is a lesson to the governor and the attorney general for them to stop using the resources of the state to shut down legitimate businesses," Singleton said.
Greenetrack was closed last year in a raid by former Gov. Bob Riley's anti-gambling task force. The casino later reopened using machines that track operators said complied with an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that defined bingo. Those were the machines seized in May.
Strange has said he considers electronic bingo games to be slot machines. But Brown said in his order that the amendment to the Alabama Constitution allowing bingo at Greenetrack does allow the games to be played on electronic machines. A witness for the attorney general at a hearing before Brown said the bingo games must be played on paper.

Federal appeals court upholds Langford conviction

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on Friday lost an appeal of his conviction on bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and other charges.
The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals turned down Langford's appeal of his conviction on 60 counts concerning his activities when he was president of the Jefferson County Commission. Langford asked that his 2009 conviction be overturned because his attorneys said the evidence was insufficient to sustain some of his convictions.
Langford's attorney, Michael Rasmussen of Birmingham, said he had not had time to study the ruling and did not have any immediate comment.
A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit ruled it could not find any basis to overturn Langford's conviction. Langford was mayor of Birmingham at the time of his conviction.
Langford is serving a 15-year prison sentence at a federal prison in Ashland, Ky. Langford was accused of receiving more than $240,000 in bribes.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney John England in the Northern District of Alabama said Langford's willingness to accept bribes "helped bring Jefferson County to the brink of financial ruin."
"Public officials are not above the law, and corruption among them will not be tolerated," England said.
Jefferson County is Alabama's largest and has suffered severe financial problems linked to a massive sewer project. County officials have been working since 2008 to avoid filing for what would be the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy. The financial problems occurred during a time when several county officials, including Langford, were convicted of taking bribes and other public corruption charges.
In the ruling, the appellate judges said the government proved "beyond a reasonable doubt" that as a county commissioner Langford "accepted bribes and did not disclose them to the public."
Evidence in Langford's trial showed he was taking tens of thousands in checks, fancy suits and jewelry from investment banker Bill Blount while his firm was among those advising the county to enter complicated bond deals for financing the sewer project.
The verdict marked a long fall for Langford, a one-time television news reporter who was once mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate in the 1990s.
As mayor, Langford was known for his flashy clothes and idea-a-minute style of governing. He drew both fans and critics with a series of plans for the state's largest city, including a bid to bring the Olympics to Birmingham in 2020.
Langford is also former mayor of the suburban town of Fairfield in western Jefferson County.

Woman sent to prison in Liberty National fraud

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a Florida woman to 15 months in prison on charges that she defrauded the Alabama-based insurance company she worked for in Florida.
U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. sentenced 29-year-old Diana Bellomo of Ocala, Fla., on three counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. Prosecutors said she created and submitted 259 fake insurance applications to her employer, Birmingham-based Liberty National Life Insurance Co., between March and July of 2010.
Authorities say Bellomo was managing the company's Lake Worth, Fla., branch. They say she received $83,814 in commissions on policies Liberty National issued on the fraudulent applications. Smith also ordered her to pay restitution.
She's scheduled to report to prison Sept. 29.

Shark bodies wash up on Alabama beach

WALA-TV

DAPHNE, Ala. (AP) — Biologists say they aren't sure about the type of the sharks that have washed ashore at Montrose Beach in Baldwin County.
WALA-TV reports that more than 14 sharks washed ashore.
Biologist Chris Denson says the bodies are too badly decomposed to determine the type of shark.
Marcus Drymon, Fisheries Biologist with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, says there was a report of sharks on shore last month, and they turned out be bull sharks.
Researchers say the cause of death remains a mystery, but they say salinity has a major effect on the fish, and anything from a pulse of fresh water or extremely dry weather can change the amount of salt in the water.
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Information from: WALA-TV, http://www.fox10tv.com/

Ala. National Guard soldier killed in Afghanistan

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama National Guard soldier was killed when his unit was attacked in Paktika province in Afghanistan.
Alabama Army National Guard officials confirmed that 41-year-old Capt. Waid C. Ramsey of Red Bay died Thursday of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked with small arms fire.
Alabama Army National Guard Commander Maj. Gen. Perry Smith said Ramsey was deployed to Afghanistan with the Guard's 20th Special Forces Group of Birmingham.
Ramsey is the second soldier from the 20th Special Forces Group to die in combat in Afghanistan in the last two years. Ramsey is the eighth Alabama National Guard soldier to die since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks while deployed overseas in the war on terror.
Ramsey's unit is scheduled to return to Alabama later this year.

Former Rep. Schmitz to get resentenced next month

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A defense lawyer for former Democratic state Rep. Sue Schmitz of Toney is asking that she be sentenced to time served when she is resentenced on Sept. 6 in Birmingham.
U.S. District Judge David Proctor scheduled the hearing after a federal appeals court upheld her three mail fraud convictions but threw out four convictions for theft from a federally funded program.
Schmitz is due to finish her 30-month sentence on March 31, 2012, but defense lawyer Bill Clark filed court papers Thursday asking that she be released on time served.
Schmitz was one of 17 people who were convicted or pleaded guilty during a federal investigation of Alabama's two-year college system.