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TIDE’S DONE SINGING THE BYE WEEK BLUES SPORTSSection D

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MCGREGOR, LEGISLATORSINDICTED IN BINGO PROBE

INSIDEy Profiles of the 11

people named in theindictments / 6-7A

yA closer look at thecharges / 6A

y Timeline of theinvestigation / 7A

yYour comments onal.com / 4A

Lobbyists among 11 accused of vote-buying schemeNAMED IN THEINDICTMENT

By CHARLES J. DEAN, KIM CHANDLERand MARY ORNDORFFNews staff writers

In one of the biggest investigations of cor-ruption in the history of the Alabama StateHouse, federal agents Monday arrested fourstate senators, several powerful lobbyistsand Milton McGregor, who has dominatedthe world of Alabama gambling for a quar-ter century.

In all, 11 people were indicted in a broadvote-buying scheme in which federal pros-ecutors allege millions of dollars in cam-paign contributions, a $1 million-a-year joband election-year assistance were offered inexchange for critical yes votes on a gam-bling bill that went beforelegislators last spring.

Prosecutors said the ca-sino owners, legislators andlobbyists formed a corruptnetwork to buy and sellvotes in the Legislature. Butsome of the defendantscalled the indictment an overtly politicalmove designed to influence the outcome ofthe Nov. 2 elections.

Announcing the indictments in a pressconference in Washington, D.C., Lanny A.Breuer, assistant attorney general of theCriminal Division, said: “The people of Ala-bama, like all our citizens, deserve to haverepresentatives who act in the public’s in-terest, not for their own personal financialgain. Vote-buying, like the kind alleged inthis indictment, corrodes the public’s faithin our democratic institutions and cannotgo unpunished.”

See INDICTMENTS Page 5A

MILTON MCGREGOROwns controlling interest inVictoryLand inMacon County

yOne count of conspiracy,six counts of federalprogram bribery, and 11counts of honest servicesmail and wire fraud.

RONNIE GILLEYOwner of Country Crossing inHouston County

yOne count of conspiracy,six counts of federalprogram bribery, 11 countsof honest services mail andwire fraud, and four countsofmoney laundering.

INSIDEyMore

aboutthoseindicted /6-7A

JARROD MASSEYLobbyist and president ofMantra Governmental

yOne count of conspiracy,five counts of federalprogram bribery, and 11counts of honest servicesmail and wire fraud.

PRESS-REGISTER/FILE

MiltonMcGregor, shown during a January interview, owns controlling interest in VictoryLandcasino and dog track. He was one of 11 people arrestedMonday in what federal prosecutorsdescribed as a broad scheme to buy votes on a gambling bill. A judge requiredMcGregor, whowas released on bond, to submit to electronic monitoring.

TOM COKERLobbyist

y One count of conspiracy,two counts of federalprogram bribery, and 11counts of honest servicesmail and wire fraud.

KEEP UP WITHTHE LATESTONLINEal.com/birmingham is theonline home of TheBirminghamNews.

y Read the full indictment:blog.al.com/bn/documents

y See videos of thosecharged: videos.al.com/birmingham-news

BOB GEDDIELobbyist with Fine Geddie

yOne count of conspiracy,one count of federalprogram bribery, 11 countsof honest services mail andwire fraud, and one countof obstruction of justice.

Indictmentsmay shift powerin Montgomery

LIVE WEB CHAT WITHOUR REPORTERSyAsk BirminghamNews

political reporters yourquestions in a live web chaton the federal bingocorruption indictmentstoday at 11 a.m. Click on thelink at al.com/birmingham.

JARRELL WALKER JR.Spokesman for Gilley andCountry Crossing

yOne count of conspiracy,one count of federalprogram bribery, and 11counts of honest servicesmail and wire fraud.

NEWS STAFF/JOE SONGER

Country Crossing owner Ronnie Gilley, left, stands with lawyerDoug Jones outside the federal courthouse inMontgomery onMonday afternoon. Jones contends the indictments, released amonth before an election, are politically motivated.

By STAN DIELNews staff writer

The indictment of 11 people, includingfour sitting state senators, in a federal probeof gambling legislation will set off waves ofnegative campaign advertising and couldchange the balance of power in Montgom-ery, political experts said Monday.

While it won’t be clear what it all meansuntil the votes are cast Nov. 4, it’s certainthat it will affect the election, and it’s likelythe Democrats have the most to lose, theysaid.

“This is a big deal. This is a blockbusterdevelopment,” said Glen Browder, a formerDemocratic congressman and an emeritusassociate professor of political science atJacksonville State University. “Coming onemonth before the election, this has to playinto that election.”

See FALLOUT Page 4A

STATE SEN.HARRI ANNE SMITHI-Slocomb

yOne count of conspiracy,two counts of federalprogram bribery, onecount of extortion, 11counts of honest servicesmail and wire fraud, andfour counts ofmoneylaundering.

STATE SEN.LARRY MEANSD-Attalla

yOne count ofconspiracy, twocounts of federalprogram bribery, twocounts of attemptedextortion, and 11counts of honestservices mail and wirefraud.

STATE SEN.JAMES E. PREUITTR-Talladega

yOne count ofconspiracy, one countof federal programbribery, one count ofattempted extortion,11 counts of honestservices mail and wirefraud, and one countofmaking a falsestatement.

STATE SEN.QUINTON ROSS JR.D-Montgomery

yOne count ofconspiracy, twocounts of federalprogram bribery, twocounts of attemptedextortion, and 11counts of honestservices mail and wirefraud.

JOSEPH R.CROSBYAnalyst with theLegislative ReferenceService

yOne count ofconspiracy, one countof federal programbribery, and 11 countsof honest services mailandwire fraud.

Gardendale raises sales tax Bessemer, Mtn. Brookdecide runoffs todaySALES TAX

INCREASEThe Gardendale CityCouncil approved aproposal Monday night tochange the city sales tax:

y Current sales tax:3 percent city sales tax;9 percent total sales tax

y Sales tax starting Jan. 1:4 percent city sales tax;10 percent total salestax

y Expiration: Theadditional 1 percentagepoint will expire onDec. 31, 2014.

Divided councilvotes to raisetotal rate to 10%By ANNE RUISINews staff writer

Sales tax is rising in Gar-dendale to a total of 10 per-cent beginning Jan. 1, after adivided City Council onMonday voted to raise thecity’s portion.

City sales taxes will risefrom 3 percent to 4 percent,which means a total salestax of 10 cents on the dollar.County and state taxes add

another 6 percent to the to-tal sales tax. The resolutioncalls for the city’s additional1 percentage point to expireDec. 31, 2014.

Council members AlvinCurrington, Peggy Tumlin,Gary Morris and FaithHarper voted for the tax in-c r e a s e ; M a y o r O t h e l lPhillips and CouncilmanWendell Phi l l ips votedagainst it.

The vote came in a stand-i n g - r o o m - o n l y c o u n c i lchamber after the mayorpermitted about a dozenpeople who wanted to speakto address the council. Mostof those said they were

against the sales tax in-crease.

“These are bad times . . .people have to make themost of every penny anddime they have,” said MistiBoackle. “It will hurt a lot ofpeople in this community.”

G a r d e n d a l e b u s i n e s sowners such as Jerome N.Cantrell of Mutual Financesaid sales taxes can hurtbusiness and noted the up-coming Christmas shoppingseason “can make or break”a business. “Production iswhat you’ve got to look at,not sales tax,” he said.

See SALES TAX Page 4A

Voters in Bessemer andMountain Brook go to thepolls today for municipalelection runoffs.

Bessemer residents willchoose their next mayor andcouncil members for threedistricts.

Two-term incumbentMayor Ed May is trying torecover from a second-placefinish on Aug. 24 behindchallenger Kenneth Gulley,who previously served as anassistant to former Besse-mer Mayor Quitman Mitch-ell. Three Bessemer City

Council seats also are stillup for grabs. The candidatesare:y District 2: Chester Por-

ter, Sherrina Rice.y District 5: Ron Mar-

shall, Albert Soles (i).y District 7: Earl Cochran

(i), Cleo King.In Mountain Brook, Amy

Carter and Temple Tutwilerare in a runoff to replaceCouncilman Bob Moody,who chose not to seek re-election to Council Place 1.

Polls in both cities areopen from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

INDEX WEATHERDetails / 8C

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LifeStyle 4CLocal News 1CMovies 5CScene & Heard 2ASports 1DTelevision 5C

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COMING WEDNESDAY

Colleges allow students to borrow carsCar-sharing program saves universities parking spaces

Students like Wayel Alwayel utilize the Zip-Car program that his college campus has instituted. Universities encourage students to use cars.

Tiara Dees ▶ Associated Press

BY JESSIE L. BONNERAssociated Press Writer BOISE, Idaho (AP) — On a campus where stu-dents outnumber park-ing spaces nearly three to one, Boise State Uni-versity has finally con-vinced 23-year-old Wayel Alwayel he no longer needs the car he brought to campus with him as a freshman.

The new hybrid car parked near the student

union building this fall, available for $8 an hour, sealed the deal. Behind the wheel of the rent-al, Alwayel realized just how tired he was of pay-ing for his own gas, pay-ing for his own insur-ance.

“Everybody was like, ‘How did you get this car?” said Alwayel, a se-nior who plans to sell his nine-year-old Mit-subishi sedan and rent one of the four Zipcars

See CARPOOL | 4A

BY DANA WOLLMANAP Technology Writer

NEW YORK (AP) ‚Äî People searching on Google will soon be able to see previews of web-sites before clicking on them.The “Instant Previews” feature announced Tuesday is meant to help people bypass websites that are either irrelevant or simply too visually

cluttered for their tastes. It works for Google Web searches, as well as searches for news, video and local businesses.After clicking on an icon of a magnifying glass, people will see a picture of the website in the white space to the right of the search re-sults within a tenth of a second. Although the preview photo will vary

Google fills in blanks with ‘instant’ search previews

TECHNOLOGY

See GOOGLE | 5B

Stigmas fall in tough economy

Tiara Dees ▶ Associated PressCustomers may walk by Macy’s and shop at bargain or thrift stores in during the economic recession.

See CONSUMERS | 4C

Drugs, sex and texting teens

HEALTH

See TEXTING | 4A

BY MIKE STOBBEAP Medical Writer

ATLANTA (AP) —Teens who text 120 times a day or more —and there seems to be a lot of them — are more likely to have had sex or used alcohol and drugs than kids who don’t send as many messages, according to provoca-tive new research.

The study’s authors aren’t suggesting that “hyper-texting” leads to sex, drinking or drugs, but say it’s startling to see an apparent link be-tween excessive mes-saging and that kind of risky behavior.

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIOAP Business Writers PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) — The Goodwill store in this middle-class New York suburb is buzzing on a recent weekend afternoon. A steady flow of shoppers comb through racks filled with second-hand clothes, shoes, blankets and dishes.

A few years ago, opening a Goodwill store here wouldn’t have made sense. Paramus is one of the biggest ZIP codes in the country

for retail sales. Shop-pers have their pick of hundreds of respected names like Macy’s and Lord &Taylor along this busy highway strip.

But in the wake of the Great Recession,

the stigma attached to certain consumer be-havior has fallen away. What some people once thought of as lowbrow, they now accept - even consider a frugal badge of honor.

And it’s not just about Goodwill. Americans, even those with jobs, are shopping for brands, buying at stores and eat-ing at restaurants that they shunned before be-cause they are trying to

get more for their mon-ey.

At the supermar-ket, shoppers are buy-ing more store-labeled products, like no-name detergents and cereal, and not returning to na-

Consumers discover resourceful ways to survive the economy

See FOOTBALL| 4B

BY DORIE TURNERAssociated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — For years, Georgia State University struggled to shed its commuter col-lege reputation by build-

ing dorms and a student center, hoping to draw more activity to the sleepy downtown Atlan-ta campus.

The bookstore had trouble selling T-shirts. On evenings and Satur-

days, the campus was a ghost town. Homecom-ing — held in the spring, not the fall — was a joke among students and alumni.

That’s when the 30,000-student univer-

sity made one of the costliest decisions in higher education: start-ing a football team. Now the campus is awash in the university’s bright blue, alumni who’ve not

Georgia State University transformed by football programGeorgia State vs. Alabama▶ Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium▶ When: November 18, 2010▶ Results: 6-5, Alabama

Source: www.georgiastatesports.com