The battle between Montgomery insurance executive John W. Goff and Alabama Governor Bob Riley appears to be taking a very interesting turn.
Bob Gambacurta, of the Montgomery Independent, reports that Goff is taking his case to Congress, appealing for relief from what he calls a conspiracy by Riley and others to ruin him financially.
Goff expects to appear before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA). The subcommittee will conduct hearings on legislation that allows insurance companies to opt out of state charters in favor of federal regulations. Kanjorski has pledged to examine regulatory abuse by state agencies, and Goff says he has been a victim of such abuse.
Meanwhile, Goff's attorneys claim that Riley is attempting to have Goff investigated as payback for a lawsuit Goff filed against Riley and others over insurance matters. Goff's attorneys are asking the Justice Department to examine their claims of a conspiracy involving Riley.
Scott Horton, of Harper's, first brought the Goff situation to national attention, and we have posted about it several times here at Legal Schnauzer. In fact, Horton wrote that Riley was so agitated at the prospect of having to testify under oath in the Goff lawsuit that he was asking U.S. Attorney Leura Canary for help in making it "go away." The federal investigation of Goff appears to be designed to make Riley's wish come true.
But it could be just the latest example of prosecutorial shenanigans in Alabama. And it adds to the mounting evidence that Riley is little more than a scumbag with a goobery smile and some spiffy cowboy boots.
So far, Riley has managed to hide the source of his campaign cash in 2002 (can we say Jack Abramoff?) and his methods for producing funny numbers that gave him a ultra-close victory over Don Siegelman (can we say Dan Gans?). And for what it's worth, he's managed to obscure the fact that William E. Swatek, the father of Riley campaign manager Dax Swatek, has been protected by Republican judges and GOP prosecutor Alice Martin from being held accountable for filing a fraudulent lawsuit (and violating federal law in the process) against your humble blogger.
Can John W. Goff and his aggressive group of attorneys smoke the Riley sleaze machine out into the clear, for all to see? We'll be watching closely.
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