Gilley: McGregor and I conspired to get Beason's vote

5:17 p.m. -- Ronnie Gilley spent the last hour of his testimomy Friday talking about what he perceived as Smith agreeing to try to 'lean on' legislators in an effort to get them to vote for pro gambling legislation.

The government played several phone conversations between Smith and Gilley in March of 2010 in which Gilley tells Smith he plans to ‘bust up’ $400,000 in donatoons through various political action committees.

In one conversation, Gilley asks Smith if she knew one of the PACs on the list was the ‘Real Democrat PAC.’ At this time, Smith was a Republican.

Smith: “Yes. We’re not going to keep it there. It’s going to go into that PAC and then into another PAC.”

At the time, Gilley is in Mississippi trying to secure a casino deal with the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Also at the time, Gilley said they are one vote short in getting the electronic bingo bill through the Alabama Senate.

“Stay tough on them. Stay tough on whoever you can. We need them,” Gilley tells Smith.

“I will,” Smith responds.”

3:55 p.m. – Ronnie Gilley said Sen. Harri Anne Smith often asked him for money, and the government played a recorded conversation from March of 2010 in which Smith said she needed $400,000 in less than two weeks.

Smith: “I’m working on my campaign and I hate to ask but you said you had some other people that you were going to get to help us.”

Gilley: “Tell me what you need and when you need it and it will be there.”

Smith: “We need another $400,000 to get through the campaign and we need it by the end of the next week. Make it out to Tennessee Valley Pac.”

Prosecutor Louis Franklin: “Why did you agree to give her the money?”

Gilley: “Because I had agreed to do whatever it took to get her re-elected.”

Franklin: “And had she agreed to help you?”

Gilley: “Yes.”

The government played a recorded conversation from a few days later in which Smith explained her television campaign ads to Gilley and asked him about the remainder of the money he said he would give her.

Smith: “If you see something you need me to be doing or you don’t like me doing, call me.”

Gilley continued his testimony about courting Sen. Scott Beason’s bingo vote. Gilley said it appeared he had Beason’s vote after a February 2010 meeting in which Gilley discussed $500,000 for Beason’s campaign. However, hours before a procedural vote needed to bring the bingo bill up for discussion, Gilley learned that Beason would vote no.

An enraged Gilley is heard on recorded conversations vowing to do whatever he could to make sure Beason is not re-elected. Later, during another recorded conversation, McGregor asks Gilley to back off Beason “because we may need him later.”

2:35 p.m. – Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley spent the early afternoon talking about a March, 2010 meeting he had with Sen. Scott Beason, Milton McGregor and Jarrod Massey.

Gilley said the purpose of the meeting was to secure a deal with Beason in exchange for his bingo vote, and that McGregor was a willing participant in the discussion.

Ultimately, Gilley said he would be willing to pay Beason’s campaign $1 million for his vote. However, Gilley said that since McGregor now owned a bigger stake in Country Crossing than Gilley did, the money would have to come from McGregor.

Gilley said McGregor agreed to pay the money to Beason.

Beason did not take the money and voted no on the legislation

Gilley is continuing his testimony Friday afternoon.

12:18 – Ronnie Gilley testified Friday morning that Sen. Harri Anne Smith asked Gilley if he and McGregor could give $500,000 to the campaign of Sen. Scott Beason.

Gilley said the conversation occurred at the March 4, 2009 dinner meeting at Garrett’s Restaurant in Montgomery attended by Gilley, Smith, Beason, Benjamin Lewis, Jarrod Massey, lobbyist Claire Austin and country music entertainers.

“Sen. Smith came up to me and said would you and Milton be willing to contribute $500,000 to Sen. Beason’s campaign and I said absolutely,” Gilley said during testimony Friday.

Gilley said the offer was contingent on Beason’s support of the “Sweet Home Alabama” bingo bill in the 2009 Alabama Legislature.

Beason earlier testified that Smith told him near the end of the dinner meeting that $500,000 could be made available to his campaign.

The bill died in the Legislature for lack of votes.

However, Gilley said Beason’s name came up again in early 2010 when Smith called Gilley and told him Beason was ‘back in play.’

“It was in the evening. I got a call from Senator Smith and she told me he was back in play and wanted to know if McGregor and myself would still fund his campaign.”

Gilley said Beason’s vote was attractive because Beason led a Republican faction of the party at odds with the governor and Gilley was hopeful Beason could bring other Republican votes to the bingo bill.

Gilley said Milton McGregor was active in the courting of Beason as well.

“Mr. McGregor said he was excited and that he had someone working on Sen. Beason as well,” Gilley said.

Gilley also testified about a conversation he had with Lewis at the March 4, 2009 dinner meeting. Gilley said he became angry with Lewis because it did not appear Lewis was going to support the bingo bill.

According to Gilley, Lewis said: “Ronnie you know I can’t support this legislation … because my supporters would not like me supporting this legislation. I’m talking about my financial supporters.”

Gilley responded: “Oh, you’re talking about John Downs and John Watson. I told him he sold his vote, sold his soul and sold out the people of Houston County for $250,000. I said ‘If we had known your vote was on the auction block we probably could have written you a check for $500,000.”

Gilley said the argument calmed down and that he and Lewis had another conversation at the restaurant in which Lewis asked Gilley if he could ‘walk’ on the vote, meaning either be absent on the day of the vote or vote no if enough yes votes had been secured.

Gilley said Lewis said he would lose his financial support if he voted for the bill and asked Gilley if he would ‘fill the gaps.’

Gilley responded: “I’m going to tell you like I have told every other candidate. I am going to support Democracy and will more adamantly oppose those who do not support Democracy.”

During Lewis’ testimony, he denied this conversation occurred.

Gilley said he told McGregor about the conversation with Lewis and wanted to publicly attack Lewis for opposing the bill. Gilley said McGregor told him to ‘calm down’ and that they may need Lewis in the future.

Gilley also testified about the finances of Country Crossing. He said McGregor loaned a total of $13.2 million into the project in exchange for 20 percent of the gross revenue. He also said gaming manufacturers fronted more than $17 million. But at the end of construction, Gilley said he could not pay the contractors.

Gilley will resume testifying after lunch.

10:42 a.m. – Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley took government attorneys and the jury through a timeline Friday morning that highlighted the topsy-turvy roller coaster of Country Crossing funding and began to talk about the involvement of VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor.

Gilley said his Country Crossing project was attracting major investment money and that he was on the verge of landing major investment deals many times, but many deals fell through at the last minute due to the ongoing dispute with the governor and the legality of electronic bingo in Alabama.

Gilley said McGregor initially wanted Country Crossing to fail because it would have cost him 22 percent of VictoryLand’s business, but the two eventually entered into an agreement in which McGregor agreed to loan Gilley $5 million to ‘flex muscle’ in Montgomery by bringing in country music stars for an elaborate public relations campaign. Gilley said McGregor also agreed to arrange funding for construction.

Gilley said his initial involvement in Montgomery politics came after a late 2008 meeting with Chris Bence, the chief of staff of former attorney general Troy King. Gilley said Bence told him that Montgomery was full of ‘sharks’ and that he needed to be a shark in Montgomery by ‘putting some money  in play.’

Gilley said he followed up by writing $200,000 worth of checks to political action committees in Montgomery.

Gilley also implicated former Rep. Terry Spicer of Elba. Gilley said Spicer demanded $50,000 in 2009.

“He said if I didn’t give it to him he would hurt our bill in the House of Representatives,” Gilley said, referring to the Sweet Home Alabama bill in 2009.

Gilley said he wound up giving Spicer ‘a box of cash’ with $20,000 in it.

Testimony continues Friday morning.

9:37 a.m. -- Ronnie Gilley began his testimony Friday morning at the bingo corruption trial alleging he and Sen. Harri Anne Smith sought to conceal the source of campaign contributions shortly after Smith withdrew an electronic bingo bill that would have damaged Country Crossing if passed in a referendum.

Gilley said lobbyist Jarrod Massey relayed a message from Smith in the days after she pulled her bill.

“Jarrod said Senator Smith said the best case scenario for me was that she would lose her Congressional race and that she would be in the Senate for two more years and I would need her.”

Gilley said Massey told him that Smith wanted Gilley to ‘call the dogs off’ at a scheduled Country Crossing rally.

Gilley responded by attending a Smith Congressional fundraiser in May of 2008 and handing her a check for $5,000. Gilley said Smith came to him a week later and returned the check, saying that it would not look good for her to take money directly from him, but that her campaign consultant had worked with lobbyist Jarrod Massey to hide the source of the funds.

Gilley said the plan went this way: Massey would bill Gilley for two separate invoices of $20,000 in consulting fees. Gilley would pay Massey and Massey would ‘bleed’ the money into Smith’s campaign.

Gilley said Smith came to his office a week later to thank him for the money.

“She said ‘Thank you and I’m yours. Whatever you need just let me know,’” Gilley said.

Testimony continues Friday morning.

8:26 a.m. -- Attorneys are in closed-door hearings this morning before Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley takes the stand today.

Harri Anne Smith attorney William White said he was not sure about the subject matter of the hearings.

When Gilley ended his testimony Thursday, he was talking about his first contact with Sen. Harri Anne Smith after she pulled controversial electronic bingo legislation. Gilley said he attended a Smith fundraiser in Enterprise in May and gave her a $5,000 check, but that she showed up at his office a week later and sought to return it. Testimony will resume at this point this morning.

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