Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Do Judge Claud Neilson's ties to Bill Baxley point to Paul Bryant Jr. as a force behind my incarceration?


From Bill Baxley's campaign, managed
by Paul Bryant Jr.
We have shown that Claud Neilson, the judge who unlawfully ordered me jailed in the Rob Riley/Liberty Duke defamation case, has longstanding ties to Birmingham attorney Bill Baxley. And we know that Baxley represents Republican operative Jessica Medeiros Garrison in a companion defamation claim that resulted in a $3.5-million default judgment, which I am seeking to have overturned.

But our inquiry does not end there. We also know that Baxley has strong ties to University of Alabama trustee Paul Bryant Jr. Baxley, a rising political star in the 1970s, was friends with the late Crimson Tide football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, and that apparently helped make him close to Bryant's son, who has built a business empire while mostly dodging a federal investigation of insurance fraud in the late 1990s.

How close are Baxley and Bryant Jr.? Bryant once served as Baxley's campaign manager in a run for governor. (See campaign document at upper right.)

Is it possible that Neilson, via his pal Baxley, also is close to Bryant Jr.? Is it possible the three of them participated in a conspiracy to have me thrown in jail because of my reporting on certain subjects at this blog?

We don't have a definitive answer to those questions. But we do know that I am the reporter who broke the story about Bryant's ties to an insurance-fraud scam that resulted in a 15-year federal prison sentence for a Pennsylvania lawyer/entrepreneur named Allen W. Stewart. We also know that I was the primary source for an article at Bloomberg Markets that brought Bryant's connections to insurance fraud to a national and international audience. (See the print version of the article at the end of this post.)

Perhaps most importantly, at the time of my arrest I was researching an article about Jessica Garrison's ties to an individual who allegedly was involved in an activity that is extremely sensitive in college-athletics circles. As the No. 1 financial supporter of Crimson Tide athletics, and one of the most powerful boosters in college athletics, Bryant likely was concerned about my reporting efforts (which are ongoing, by the way).

How close does the trail of this unsavory activity get to Bryant? We aren't sure--yet--but the trail clearly leads through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which is Bryant's home base.

Why was I unlawfully thrown in jail, losing my freedom for five months, and who was responsible for it? I suspect there were multiple reasons I was targeted--multiple stories I was working on that made powerful figures nervous and angry.

But Claud Neilson and Bill Baxley clearly were central players in the scheme, and they have connections that span more than four decades. Baxley and Bryant Jr. have connections that span at least that long, maybe longer.

As a side note, a source close to the Baxley family tells us the one-time gubernatorial candidate and legal maverick has been seriously compromised by photographic evidence of certain activities that took place during a Las Vegas trip that involved heavy drinking and gambling. In essence, our source says, powerful interests have kept copies of said photographic evidence for several years as a way of keeping "Dollar Bill" in line.

That might explain why Baxley, a Democrat in theory, now is quick to jump in the legal bed with such corporate, right-wing types as Rob Riley, Jessica Medeiros Garrison, Sonny Reagan, and Luther Strange. (That, too, is a story where our research is ongoing and might soon yield explosive results.)

As for Bryant Jr., evidence suggests his already privileged life might have been a bit more comfortable with the demise of Legal Schnauzer. Is that why the blog's publisher wound up in jail--and did Bryant Jr. enlist the help of Baxley and Neilson to make sure it happened?

We are continuing to examine that question--and it appears we are getting closer and closer to an answer.





12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know much about Neilson, other than what he did in your case, but the combination of Baxley and Bryant alone is enough to make any semi-ethical person want to wretch.

Sid Vicious said...

Don't forget that Baxley has saddled up with Rob Riley to represent the lying scumbag Sonny Reagan in the Mike Hubbard investigation. Reagan is such a lowlife even Luther Strange couldn't stand having him around.

legalschnauzer said...

Good point, Sid. I made a brief reference to the Reagan/Baxley/Riley triangle near the end of this post, but probably didn't draw enough attention to it. Thanks for the assist. Powerful evidence suggests those three committed obstruction in the Hubbard case, but Luther Strange apparently doesn't have the gonads to pursue it. Obviously that nasty threesome is front and center on the Alabama stage at the moment.

Anonymous said...

I hope you keep digging on the Sterne Agee case, and Baxley's ties to that. There is enough dirt there to sink a battleship. And yes, Scott Vowell and Henry Lynn do have an "unusually close" relationship, and many members of the Birmingham bar know all about it.

Anonymous said...

The Bill Baxley and Bryant Jr. is a text book case of what is wrong with the State of Alabama legal, judicial and political system. The entire state is infested with good old boy networks that work only to protect their interest. The network is so entrenched that disabling it will take decades. I good start would be to remove lifetime appointments.

legalschnauzer said...

I certainly agree, @12:14. And it's a sign that it's not necessarily about one party or the other. There are quiet a few so-called Democrats in Alabama who don't really believe at all in democratic principles. And God knows Republicans seem to have completely lost their way in terms of honest and the rule of law.

Anonymous said...

I want to know more about this photographic evidence that shows Bill Baxley in a compromising position. You put, alcohol, gambling, Vegas, and Baxley together and . . . man, my imagination is running wild.

legalschnauzer said...

Tying up loose ends on the Baxley/Vegas story. Quite a bit has been written about Baxley and Vegas, but this goes way beyond anything that's been reported before. Once we have it nailed down, we're talking about a doozy of story.

Anonymous said...

Why couldn't the Montgomery County DA go after Reagan, Baxley, and Riley for obstruction? Why does it have to be Luther Strange, who's compromised and clueless anyway?

legalschnauzer said...

Great point, @4:57. That would be Daryl D. Bailey, and I feel certain he (as DA) could prosecute obstruction in Montgomery County, Alabama. Folks ought to contact his office and ask why DA Bailey has been so silent on this issue:

http://www.montgomeryda.com/

Anonymous said...

I wish you write more about the Vowell/Lynn relationship

Wayne said...

Sounds to me like the chickens are coming home to roost....good job LS.