Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Board That Will Decide On VictoryLand Liquor License Includes Official With Ties to Bob Riley

Hal and Jessica Taylor

The Alabama board that will decide on a liquor license for the VictoryLand casino includes an officer with strong professional and personal ties to former Governor Bob Riley. The officer's wife has even stronger connections to Riley.

Riley spent much of his last two years in office trying to shut down non-Indian gaming facilities such as VictoryLand, and the current debate over a liquor license was launched by a long-time Riley ally, Attorney General Luther Strange. That could lead a reasonable observer to ask: Does VictoryLand have any hope of receiving a fair hearing before a board that includes at least one official with strong ties to Riley?

Hal Taylor, a captain in the enforcement division of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC), used to work as a security officer in the governor's office under Riley. Published reports indicate that Taylor now is assistant director of enforcement for ABC and also serves as the board's chief spokesperson.

Jessica Taylor, Hal's wife, might be even closer than her husband to the Riley family. Published reports show that Jessica Taylor worked for Riley in the governor's office and now serves as treasurer of his Alabama 2014 PAC. Jessica Taylor's LinkedIn page lists her current position as associate at Bob Riley and Associates LLC in Montgomery.

An ABC panel conducted a hearing on January 23, based on Strange's protest letter regarding a liquor license that VictoryLand has held, in one form or another, for almost 30 years. Panel members said they expected to make a decision within 15 days.

Should VictoryLand supporters, and the public in general, feel assured that the facility will get a fair hearing? It's hard to see how, given Hal Taylor's position at the ABC board, his wife's position with Bob Riley's corporation, and their mutual personal ties to the former governor.

How close are those ties? Consider public records about state-airplane usage by Riley, his family, and staff members. Here is one record from 2009:

Date: October 16, 2009
Destination: Sumter, South Carolina
Purpose of Flight: energy project meeting
Passengers on Board: Governor Bob Riley, Bowen Ballard, Executive Security Officer Hal Taylor
Return Flight: October 16, 2009

Here is another record from 2009:

Date: November 21, 2009
Destination: Warm Springs, GA
Purpose of Flight: attend Southern Governors Association annual meeting
Passengers on Board: Governor Bob Riley, Chief of Staff Dave Stewart, Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Blades, Executive Security Officer Hal Taylor.

Did the governor and his executive security officer become close? Did Bob Riley help Hal Taylor get a job at the ABC board? Our research indicates the answer to both questions is yes.

Does Hal Taylor have influence over the ABC board and its decisions? It's hard to say, but Taylor seems to have become the public face of the board. In mid January, he announced that the board had revoked the liquor license of a Montgomery supper club. From a press report on that case:

The Hearing Commission found that the nightclub was operated “in a manner that creates a substantial risk of public harm to the public health, welfare, safety and morals,” Capt. Hal Taylor, assistant enforcement director for the ABC Board, said in a statement.

Harm to "public welfare" and "morals"? Those words sound like they came right out of Luther Strange's protest letter.

Is it hard to imagine Hal Taylor making a similar announcement about VictoryLand? To our ears, it certainly is not.


(To be continued)

31 comments:

  1. Wow! Victory Land will not be treated fairly. Amazing how every method they take to ruin Milton McGregor (and they have used plenty) Riley always is leading the bus. I have to give it to him as he placed all his people strategically before leaving office. Crooks protecting crooks.

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  2. I can hear the ABC board now: "But Mr. Taylor has no influence whatsoever on our decision-making."

    Right.

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  3. Strange didn't show up at the hearing, so by board rules, VictoryLand already should have its liquor license.

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  4. The Taylors look like the big church-going, Christian types who would oppose gaming on "moral" grounds. And yet they jump in bed with the dirty Riley crowd.

    "They know not what they do."

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  5. Good point @9:58. The whole process smelled when they held that hearing without Strange. It smells even worse today, thanks to LS' reporting.

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  6. I wonder how many people interviewed for the state job that Hal Taylor got. I wonder how many of them were more qualified than Hal Taylor--but he got it because Bob Riley wanted him at the ABC board.

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  7. I wonder how much money changed hands under the table between members of Riley Inc. and members of ABC board.

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  8. Interesting backstory here starting on page 24.

    http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/brides/alabrides2006.pdf

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  9. Anon at 10:26--

    That is interesting backstory. Thanks for sharing.

    I notice they got married at BriarWorld. That means they have right-wing bonafides.

    That's the same church that A. Eric Johnston attends, and he's been taking Indian gaming money and fighting VictoryLand for years.

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  10. The bride's article says Bob and Patsy Riley encouraged them to date.

    How cute!

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  11. That's not just cute, @10:35. That's precious.

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  12. Hey LS, doesn't Bill Swatek go to Briarwood? Didn't a lot of your legal problems start because the Briarwood football coach lived next door to you and sold his house to the guy with the criminal record?

    Interesting that we now have a Briarwood connection through Hal and Jessica Taylor.

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  13. Anon at 11:10--

    I believe Bill Swatek does go to Briarwood. The funeral for his son, Chace, was at Briarwood.

    And yes, my legal difficulties definitely have roots with Briarwood. You have a good memory.

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  14. Snobs, blobs, slobs, hob nob in darkness and call it Christian.

    Good use of the C word anyway.

    Too bad the fruits don't get the actions speak loudly in the realm of public opinion.

    Living in the age of television when the future already sees very clearly on "smart" this and that where the filthy pond scum ooze together as one big unhappy march into the abyss.

    Bye bye lemmings gone insane.

    We other lemmings need to step back and run backwards too, till we get safe again.

    LS, sent an Email with your BLOG addressing the meet-up of the rich and influential.

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  15. Here's a theme I see all the time with Riley gang: If you can't achieve something by legitimate means, cheat to get what you want.

    If you can't beat Don Siegelman, steal the election. If you can't counter information in the LS blog, cheat him out of his job at UAB. If you can't beat V'land in terms of business skill, cheat them.

    On and on it goes . . .

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  16. I am moving my family from Alabama to California because I can no longer stand to witness a state that is run by backwoods bible thumping wannabe yahoo's that are self important and self righteous. These self proclamation Christians are some of the most racist and crooked citizens in our state. Just the fact that this state voted Bob Riley as their Governor says a lot about the make up of this state.

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  17. Ha @ 12:32! I had to laugh at your comment because moving from Alabama to California would be like moving from the toilet straight into the septic tank! You might want to research California politics first but by all means give your best shot and good luck with that!

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  18. @1:52 I have lived in California for the last 8 months and know very well the politics in that state. I am not running from the politicians in Alabama rather I am running from the bible thumping hypocrites that vote them into office. Alabama is run by mostly self proclaimed Southern Baptist Christian idiots.

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  19. OH DEAR GOD, LET US PRAY.

    I actually believe in the power of "prayer," and this is not to be confused with the ideology of begging an unseen energy for RESCUE FROM THE mystery of life.

    "God said to HUMANS, when humans wallowed in self pity to God - What do you want me to do? ...IF I KNEW, I WOULDN'T NEED YOU!"

    OMG then there is the Taoist Great Grand MASTER: "Take the BURDEN OFF GOD, DO IT YOURSELF!"

    Let us pray AND discuss California.

    FIRST, let'S discuss Rockefeller TRUST and its' admission: "The BEST INVESTMENT EVER, BAPTIST RELIGION."

    Um, meaning, the Rockefeller's purchased the FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, I believe it was MASS, that is Boston again as in the news with respect to corruption.

    BAR in MASS and BAPTIST in MASS.

    En~Mass works for the Rockefeller pond scum.

    Indeed the Rockefeller slime ball family bought the Baptist "religion" [CHURCH] and it is the most corrupt ideology other than the pretend "Hebes."

    CALIFORNIA. Oh my lucky stars the Hollywood Ayn Rand ET AL gave us what we believe to be "reality."

    Not that I would live in Alabama before California!

    Although, in about 1957, or thereabouts, the State of California began to bow down to the education dumb, dumber and dumbest protocols.

    Before that, in the early 1950s, California could not be matched with the power of "modern," in REAL TIME. GIVE ME A F, GIVE ME A U, GIVE ME A C, GIVE ME A K, F-I-S-H WAS SCHOOLED in California's "hippies," however, it was of course CIA by design WHOM took over "music."

    But as it is with the law of unintended consequences ... AND THE LAW OF COMPENSATION ALWAYS AT WORK AND WORKS ~ ?!

    What HAS happened? Ah ha, the Central Intelligence Agency got to be the shadow mirror of unreality.

    THE "BIBLE BELT" is a design well fit for the demise of America.

    See the Tower of Babel. See also the Tower of Basel IE the Bank of International Settlements [BIS].

    Pictures are worth priceless language words and thus, no such idea: how to define our diving into the new world of ?

    WE HAVE LEGAL SCHNAUZER who does the snooping and then the DOG does hunt, remarkable.

    [did a post on BIS] www.theartof12.blogspot.com INFO only FYI

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  20. where is the post on the Hillary and other DEMS that lie, cheat, steal, kill and call it "progressive?"

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  21. @ 428
    There's actually more a pattern of Methodists. Which is worse!

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  22. Anon at 5:34--

    What does Hillary Clinton have to do with VictoryLand's liquor license?

    If you have solid information about corrupt DEMS, send it my way. I've written extensively about at least one corrupt DEM, Jeffco circuit judge Robert Vance. Another is former presiding Jeffco judge Scott Vowell, and I've written about him. I've also been highly critical of President Obama, AG Eric Holder, and their dismal record on justice issues.

    Also, I've written that a number of Obama appointees--USA Joyce White Vance in Bham, USA George Beck in Montgomery, and Judge Abdul Kallon in Bham--would have to improve to be worthless.

    I'm happy to report on corrupt or inept public officials, regardless of political affiliation.

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  23. It's both Methodists (communists) and Babtists (the lost)! The Bush's also happen to be Methodists.

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  24. I think Bush I and Bar are Episcopalians.

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  25. Nope Bush's are Methodists

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  26. Sorry LS you're correct on Bush Sr

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  27. It's jr who is Methodist.

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  28. Hillary Clinton: America's Monster like Queen Elizabeth in a tiara. That is what Princess Diana called the "royals."

    Hillary is considered a "royal," and also in league with Golda Mier.

    Do you know what power this holds?

    Please Bill is a "shirt tale relative to David Rockefeller."

    Hillary is now going for the election in 2016, and that is going to make the south look like what the plan is to fulfill.

    All the damage done to the south in making the stupid into truly very ignorant? Where did Bill and Hillary get set-up as though "royals?!" Please.

    Bill and Hillary through their connections in the SOUTH brought in the biggest cocaine and other drugs - that is, the DEMS are in charge of all the dumbo Repubs.

    Hillary and Bill could get DON SIEGELMAN released in a heartbeat.

    Rockefeller went to the south and the Baptist cult has done well there, in fact you report just how lucrative the criminal pedophile operation is.

    I am working on how to connect the coming dots so we do not go further into the DEMOCRATIC unreality for the REPUBLICAN and other so called "American politics." The Republicans are definitely scary, it's crazy Mrs. George W. Bush, Jr. that killed her boyfriend - she lied and told him she was pregnant and he found out the truth - because she was driving in the prairie and couldn't see him standing there near his car?! LAURA BUSH is the "Methodist" and when at her CHURCH university, sold pot which she was addicted to, too.

    We cannot allow ourselves to think the Democrats are not as insane as the Republicans, this is the agenda to keep us as insane as all the agendas.

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  29. READING READING READING

    LOTS OF READING TO CATCH UP ON AND TO ALSO JUST SIMPLY GET DONE!

    How can we educate our America when the truth cannot be found?

    Thus, am spending quite a sum of monies to READ-READ-READ and then report. Did so for Gilad Atzmon, Neil Barofsky, Jeff Connaughton and many more.

    Short on funds so it's taking time, but I'm committed to educating the SOUTH about what 2016 looks like after the imposter Barry Soetero:

    "... In HILLARY (AND BILL) THE SEX VOLUME—Part One of the Clinton Trilogy, Bill and Hillary’s meteoric rise to success is chronicled. It’s a carefully plotted path that eventually led them to the White House. But along the way, a series of compromises had to be made, including a prearranged marriage, clandestine assignments for the CIA, and Hil­lary’s ultimate role as a “fixer” for her husband’s many dalliances. Pulling no punches, hard-driving investigative journalist Victor Thorn paints a compelling portrait of secrecy, deceit, violence, and betrayal that shatters the myth Mrs. Clinton has spent so many years trying to create.

    .. In addition to naming names, dates, times and places, and mapping their meteoric rise to the Oval Office, Thorn paints an intimate yet disturbing portrait of this infamous political couple by getting inside their heads, revealing their motives and disclosing their darkest secrets. This is more than just another book on Hillary and Bill. Quite the contrary. This is the most detailed, referenced book on the shenanigans of both Bill and Hillary. And if you thought you knew Hillary Clinton, you were wrong!

    http://shop.americanfreepress.net/

    You're the open minded "liberal" who does indeed have the power to pen the truth and the audience who has learned you're to be trusted!

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  30. "... In HILLARY (AND BILL) THE DRUGS VOLUME—Part Two of the Clinton Trilogy some of the most damning examples ever put into print of the U.S. government’s crimes and corruption are exposed in glaring detail. Beginning with the Clinton family’s long-standing ties to the notorious

    ~~~DIXIE MAFIA,

    this book illustrates how billions of dollars of cocaine, cash and weapons passed through Mena, Arkansas during the 1980s—with the the full knowledge of Bill and Hillary—to finance the illegal war in Nica­ragua. (Tons of this CIA-imported coke help fuel the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s) In short, Bill and Hillary’s Arkansas became nothing less than a narco-republic, with little banks near Mena laundering more money than the big banks in New York City.

    .. As this thoroughly sourced tale unfolds, the reader encounters a sordid cast of characters including George Bush the Elder (who ran the operation from the office of the VP in D.C.), Oliver North, Manuel Noriega, Webster Hubbell, Barry Seal, Dan Lasater and the Stephens Brothers. In addition, an undeniable amount of evidence proves that nearly every one of Bill Clinton’s gubernatorial campaigns—including his 1992 presidential bid—was substantially financed with cocaine money.

    .. Thorn also includes a wealth of information on the larger implications of Whitewater, the BCCI banking scandal, Travelgate, Filegate and novice stock investor Hillary Clinton’s infamous—and mind-boggling—windfall profits derived from trading cattle futures. Also, how the Clintons continually ESCAPED PAYING FOR THEIR CRIMES BY FIRING EVERY U.S. ATTORNEY IN D.C AND

    APPOINTING FRIENDS (MANY CORRUPT) AS JUDGES.

    http://shop.americanfreepress.net/store/p/28-HILLARY-AND-BILL-Trilogy-book-deal.html

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  31. I overlooked the presence of our old friend Bowen Ballard on the flight. That should tell you everything you need to know about Hal Taylor. He's another agent of a military intelligence operation designed to help the covert operations gang pad their operating accounts for a future invasion of a banana republic that will make way for the likes of Drummond or United Fruit to turn a profit at the expense of Brown People.

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