Gov. Bob Riley has responded to a letter from Attorney General Troy King.
King sent Riley a letter just before noon Friday urging the governor to take a more civil and order approach in his efforts to shut down what the governor believes is illegal gambling at Dothan's Country Crossing and Shorter's VictoryLand bingo halls.
Related InformationLetter addressed to Attorney General Troy King from Gov. Bob Riley dated Jan. 29, 2010.
· Read letter
Riley shot back in a hand-delivered letter:
"I am deeply disappointed that you continue to show more concern for the casino bosses in Alabama than for the enforcement of the law by dedicated law enforcement officials. You seem to take more interest inn parroting the talking points of the gambling bosses while giving short shrift to the law of Alabama. If we exhibit the 'caution' that you suggest, then we will continue to allow the rule of law to be flouted in this state. I cannot reconcile such an approach with the oath of office that I took to see that the laws are faithfully executed."
Riley said he supports the task force and the manner in which it is conducting business. "You obviously have no appreciation for the many hours of work that they undertook in investigating the illegal activity in question prior to today's actions."
"I am also puzzled that you do not show more concern for the lawless action of the circuit judge in Macon County who enjoined an ongoing criminal operation notwithstanding that the Alabama Supreme Court ruled just two weeks ago that circuit judges have no jurisdiction to do that."
Riley refers to a Friday morning Alabama Supreme Court ruling in which he said the court ruled "that the so-called electronic bingo spreading across Alabama is, in fact, not bingo at all."
Riley said the Surles v. City of Ashville ruling makes clear that human players, not machines, must determine whether the numbers drawn one by one match a number on a card, and that the player must physically mark it.
"Without any shadow of a doubt, every machine at Country Crossing, and every machine at VictoryLand, makes those determinations for the player. Therefore, those machines are simply not legal under any bingo amendment," Riley wrote, calling this ruling "definitive" as he has several others handed down in 2009.
All those rulings were given for specific cases in various counties which have local amendments allowing bingo. Each of the more than a dozen counties allowing bingo have differing terminology.
Riley has been to Dothan on numerous occassion, including a month before Country Crossing opened in December, and said he had no problem with the development as long as the machines are legal. He and members of the task force have not taken up Country Crossing officials on their offer to see the machines first hand.
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