Gilley, attorney spar during gambling corruption trial testimony

3:18 p.m. – The truthfulness of prosecution witness Ronnie Gilley became the primary subject matter Tuesday afternoon when the attorney for Sen. Harri Anne Smith began his cross examination of the Country Crossing developer.

Smith attorney William White asked Gilley repeatedly about his trustworthiness during testimony in the gambling corruption retrial.

White began the questioning by asking Gilley if he considered himself to be an honest man.

“I do,” Gilley replied.

“Does an honest man bribe legislators?” White asked.

“I broke the law,” Gilley responded.

Gilley said he had been “living in a lie” in 2010 when he said he offered bribes to legislators in an attempt to pass pro-gambling legislation, but that he is being truthful on the witness stand during the gambling corruption retrial because his only chance to receive a recommendation of a reduced sentence from the government is to testify truthfully.

“Would you agree with me that today you are at a crossroads in your life?” White asked.

“I believe that’s just about every day. I think we face a crossroads every day in our life. I certainly do,” Gilley responded.

Gilley said he originally proclaimed he was innocent of the charges against him because of his large ego. After Gilley was incarcerated for violating the terms of his pretrial release, he said he became aware of the evidence in the case.

“I sat in jail for three months listening to all the evidence and found it to be overwhelming and then accepted responsibility for the crimes I committed,” Gilley said.

White also asked Gilley about a bill initially introduced by Smith in 2008 that would have defined bingo in Houston County as a game played on paper cards if approved by a vote of the people. Gilley said Smith’s bill, which was introduced April 3, 2008, was “very deceptive” and would have eliminated the Country Crossing project.

“What she was doing, she was to accommodate her special interest group,” Gilley said.

Smith sought to pull the bill several days later.

White continues his cross examination of Gilley Tuesday afternoon.

12:16 p.m. – The defense attorney for former Sen. Larry Means indicated through questioning of Ronnie Gilley Tuesday that Means voted for final Senate passage of pro-gambling legislation because it benefited his district and not because of an agreement to accept a bribe.

Means attorney Bill Clark questioned Gilley extensively Tuesday morning about the merits of SB380, a gambling bill in the Alabama Legislature in 2010 that would have defined electronic bingo and placed the issue on the ballot for a statewide vote.

Clark played portions of a conversation Means had with VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor in March of 2010, prior to the final vote, in which Means talked about the bill.

“People around here want to vote on it. They may want to vote to kill it, I don’t know,” Means said. “You can’t go wrong letting he people vote and the people want to vote. The jobs are the biggest thing up here. Jobs is what they see.”

Gilley testified that he believed the first version of SB380 had “monopolistic” language that grandfathered in certain gambling establishments. Gilley said the first version of the bill would not have included an establishment for Means’ district in Etowah County. Means abstained from a procedural vote that would have brought the bill up for a vote on March 3, 2010.

The bill was reduced from 42 pages to 8 pages over the next three weeks. Gilley said the monopolistic language was stripped from the bill and that Etowah County could be considered for a possible location. Means voted in favor of the final version of the bill.

“Your words, Mr. Gilley, were that the final version was a fair, equitable bill?” Clark asked.

“I did,” Gilley said.

Means is charged with bribery. Prosecutors contend Means asked for $100,000 in campaign donations in exchange for a favorable vote.

Cross examination of Gilley resumes Tuesday afternoon.

10:33 a.m. – Ronnie Gilley said Tuesday he intended to continue to develop Country Crossing without electronic bingo, and planned to use some of the revenue from a potential development in Mississippi to fund it.

Conversations recorded during the vote-buying investigation indicate Gilley was seeking investors for a gambling facility in Mississippi. Gilley also testified he had several meetings with investors and officials in 2009 and 2010 about the development.

After Country Crossing closed in January of 2010 under threat of a task force raid, Gilley continued to pursue the Mississippi development throughout most of the year

During testimony Tuesday at the gambling corruption retrial, Gilley said the potential absence of electronic bingo at Country Crossing led him to seek another funding mechanism to develop the non-gaming portions of Country Crossing.

The testimony came in response to questions from Susan James, attorney for Country Crossing spokesperson Jay Walker. James asked Gilley about potential investors in the Mississippi project. Gilley said part of the revenue from the Mississippi project would have been used to fund Country Crossing. The Mississippi development, however, never came to fruition.

In other testimony Tuesday morning, James asked Gilley about his time in the Montgomery Municipal jail in early 2011. Gilley testified that on two or three occasions during his incarceration, he borrowed a cell phone from a jail guard against jail rules. James said the jail conducted an investigation and also learned Gilley had allowed the guard to fish on land owned by Gilley. The investigation led to the guard’s resignation, James said. James also said Gilley then arranged for the guard to work at one of his companies. James sought to explore the issue more during her cross examination of Gilley, but the judge said the matter was not relevant to the case.

Testimony continues Tuesday morning.

9:06 a.m. -- Testimony has begun Tuesday in the gambling corruption retrial. Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley is being questioned by Susan James, attorney for former Country Crossing spokesperson Jay Walker.

Gilley testified last week that Walker carried out bribe offers to then-Sen. Jim Preuitt. Gilley said Walker offered to conduct a poll and provide other campaign services in exchange for Preuitt’s favorable vote on SB380, a bill that defined electronic bingo and would have placed the issue on the statewide ballot in November of 2010. During Gilley’s direct testimony, prosecutors played a recorded conversation between Walker and Gilley in which the two discussed buying a truck or trucks from Preuitt’s automobile dealership in Talladega.

Gilley said Walker came to Country Crossing in 2009 after investors determined the development needed an official spokesperson other than Gilley.