Heart of Dixie · Trouble on Goat Hill
The Bingo Bill Bargain
United States v. McGregor (2012)
Charge: Conspiracy, federal-program bribery and honest-services fraud - offering campaign money and other benefits to state senators for votes on an electronic-bingo billCourt: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of AlabamaDocket: Trouble on Goat Hill
Did the casino owner and his allies buy senators' votes on the bingo bill?
The facts
Milton McGregor owned VictoryLand, a dog track and electronic bingo casino. In 2010 the Legislature considered Senate Bill 380, which proposed a statewide vote on legalizing electronic bingo. Prosecutors charged McGregor, lobbyists, a casino spokesman and state senators with trading campaign contributions and other things of value for votes on the bill, relying on wiretaps and recordings made by cooperating legislators. A first trial in 2011 produced no convictions. The defendants said they were lawfully lobbying and raising campaign money.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: United States v. McGregor, United States v. McGregor, No. 2:10-cr-00186-MHT (M.D. Ala.) (retrial verdict Mar. 7, 2012); see United States v. McGregor, 824 F. Supp. 2d 1339 (M.D. Ala. 2011)
Read more at govinfo.gov. The source reveals the outcome.