Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Was Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, and perhaps his mistress, involved in planning the unlawful eviction in Missouri that left my wife with a shattered arm?


Robert Bentley and Rebekah Caldwell Mason
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley reportedly misused law-enforcement resources in an effort to find dirt on me and stop our reporting on his affair with aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason. But what if Dr. Bentley's efforts went beyond information gathering? What if he--perhaps with the assistance of "de facto" governor Mason--actively tried to hurt my wife, Carol, and me?

Specifically, what if Bentley and/or Mason were involved in a scheme to have us unlawfully evicted last summer in our new (and we hope temporary) "home" of Springfield, Missouri--an event that led deputies to brutalize Carol and leave her with a shattered left arm?

A timeline of events--plus our observations since being forced to live like refugees in the city where I grew up but no longer have meaningful connections--suggests an Alabama-Missouri "game plan" was at the heart of our eviction. And it seems likely, to me, that Bentley and Mason were part of it.

I spoke about that possibility, and other topics, in an interview with San Francisco-based Peter B. Collins last week. A podcast of the full interview is available at the Collins Web site.

As for Bentley, let's consider the following timeline:

* August 31, 2015--I break the story at this blog of Bentley's affair with Mason and note the crippling effect it's had on Alabama government.

* August 31, 2015--Missouri court records show a judgment was entered against us in an eviction case styled Trent Cowherd v. Roger Shuler.  A hearing was held in the case on August 27, but a judgment was not entered until four days later, just a few hours after I had posted the Bentley/Mason story at 6:07 a.m.

* August 31, 2015--On the same day I broke the Bentley/Mason story and the eviction judgment was entered against Carol and me, G Shuler Properties LLC was formed in Missouri. The organizer is my mother, Gondolyn "Gondy" Erma Shuler, and the registered agent is my lawyer brother David Shuler. To my knowledge, my mother has owned our original two-bedroom family home in Springfield--plus several parcels of family land near Osage, Arkansas, for many years. My guess is that all of them have a pretty modest value. So why, after all these years, did my mother need to form a company that apparently consolidates her property under one entity? What was my brother's purpose in doing this, and is it a mere coincidence that it took place as Carol and I were about to be victims of an unlawful eviction, a process with which David was involved.

* September 8, 2015--Carol and I file both a Motion to Quash Execution of the eviction, plus a Notice of Appeal. The Notice of Appeal, by Missouri law, puts an automatic stay on the eviction. I notified all attorneys in the case of the appeal notice and stay, including my brother, David Shuler, who was representing our mother, Gondy Shuler, because Trent Cowherd had included her as a defendant, without having any grounds for doing so.

X-ray of Carol Shuler's broken arm:
Did a doctor make this happen?
* September 9, 2015--In the early afternoon, six to eight deputies storm through the front door of our apartment, with one of them pointing an assault rifle at me and others brandishing handguns. The force of the cops' entry slammed Carol (who had been looking out the peephole to see what was going on) up against the wall. As she later tried to retrieve some of our personal belongings, as she had been given permission to do, three cops surround her, and one slams her rear-first to the ground (either this, or the slam against the wall, was enough to give Carol a concussion, I believe--although she has not been diagnosed with one, mainly because doctors were concerned primarily about the condition of her arms). In the process, a cop yanks so violently on her arms that the left one was broken to the point that it requires trauma surgery for repair. Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott states on the scene he is going to charge Carol with "assaulting a police officer," and a deputy (Scott Harrison) who drove Carol to jail says she was looking at a felony charge and $100,000 bond. Those plans apparently change when it is discovered that Carol has a broken arm and has been the victim of, not the perpetrator of, an assault.

Are Robert Bentley and Rebekah Mason evil enough to have helped orchestrate this fiasco? Given all the lies they've told the people of Alabama recently, a reasonable person could conclude the answer is yes. What kind of "physician" (Bentley is a dermatologist) participates in a scheme that inflicts serious injury on someone?

If Bentley and/or Mason were involved in the planning, who was their primary liaison in Missouri? That question is foremost in my mind at the moment because it points to criminal activity--and it has some possible answers that are extremely disturbing.

30 comments:

  1. I would say that timeline of events is interesting. And yes, I think Bentley and Mason are warped enough to get involved in something like that.

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  2. Keep it up LS. I think you're getting close. Think AG involvement in both states may be your tie. You ticked off more than Bentley/Mason...

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  3. This is a bit off topic, but I think it's important to share, especially for readers interested in domestic-relations cases. A reader left the following comment at an old post (http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2011/10/did-federal-judge-in-alabama.html?showComment=1459953974880#c6582682933190155723), and I'm going to copy and paste it here, so more people can read it. It provides a lot of insights, from a former practitioner of the law:


    Anonymous said...
    I practiced law for a number of years in Jefferson County and for a while did Domestic Relations work. I had the displeasure of having some of my cases land in Calhoun's court. I always thought he made his mind up on how a case was to be decided BEFORE any testimony was even heard. To hear this makes me sad, as I had high ethical "dreams" when I went into the law.

    I can tell anyone reading his that there are so many back room deals made, not just in Domestic cases but a number of others it makes me sick. I got out of the law because of it. I hate it for the innocent victims...the clients who get hurt because of judges like Calhoun and Ferguson did what they did.

    Judges should be above that, even if the lawyers are not! That is the essence of their jobs, to protect the innocent and dispense justice fairly. Lawyers like Charlie Gorham, Steven Wright and the others should be ashamed of themselves but sadly they are not. They are laughing all the way to the bank.

    I have news for anyone who thinks I am wrong. If you go into court with a lawyer who isn't part of the good ol' boy network you will get hurt...badly.

    The State Bar should do more, but they don't unless forced to by a client filing a complaint. If you EVER think you have been wronged by a lawyer contact the Bar Association PLEASE.
    April 6, 2016 at 9:46 AM

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  4. If this pans out, I hope you and the missus sue the bejeebers out of Bentley, Mason and whoever else was involved.

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  5. Anyone got suggestions for the first word out of Rogers mouth, when the video of Bentley makeing this proof of an affair audio tape, shows Bentley,and his attorney, Mason,and her attorney standing together.

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  6. Can you clarify, @1:07? I'm confused, and I suspect others are too. You mention a video, and an audio, and people standing together (which suggests a photo or video). What form of media are we talking about here?

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  7. That is strange about the formation of a company in your mother's name on that date. Have you reported on that before?

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  8. i am a recent fan of this blog ~ nicely done, by the way.

    it struck me that in your articles about 'ashley madison' a direct line can be drawn from the players here in alabama all the way to missouri. i'm sure you've probably already done so
    but thought i'd make mention to take another look, just in case/on the off chance.

    at any rate, i just wanted to say 'thank you' for your courage. thank you for using your
    voice to expose corruption that affects us all - but most of all, thank you for being a
    patriot. your love of this country (and the state of alabama) coupled with the promise
    of what it Could Be/what is Should BE, comes through in every post. i'll be reading. i wish you and yours
    the very best.

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  9. I mentioned it in the following post from last October. But that's been it, so far:


    http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2015/10/my-family-in-missouri-is-trying-to-have.html

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  10. Thanks for such an encouraging comment, @1:49. It's greatly appreciated. And I agree there is some sort of Alabama-Missouri "underground railroad" going on. I've thought that for quite some time, and recent events make me think so even more.

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  11. If I was Bentley's attorney, and I knew a audio tape was out there, I would make my own audio tape. I would make a video of the audio tape being made. I would make the audio tape public, before the other tapes that are supposed to be out there are made public. By releasing the video tape, you make a lot of people look foolish.What have you got to lose.
    Another thing. Take your phone and record a conversation in a room with a lot of sound absorbing surfaces such as couches and drapes. Do the same recording in your lawyers office with his leather furniture. Now compare them to the call Bentley's wife made.

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  12. If you were Bentley's lawyer, @2:21, I suspect you would put yourself at risk of being disbarred. Am I missing something, or are you advocating fraud? That's what it sounds like from here.

    How does your plan make "a lot of people look foolish"--and who are these people. I don't get it. Perhaps you can explain.

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  13. Keeping digging Schnauzer! Someone already let the cat out of the bag about the video(s). Funny how it is easy to set the YouTube privacy settings incorrectly! You're a keyword away... You're almost connecting ALL the dots...

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  14. Probably not the best scenario. A one sided recording is not proof in black letter law. I smell a trap. Sure the affair could be true. There are a lot of people who would like to discredit you. Just trying to tell you what Reagan said.Trust but verify.
    @2:21

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  15. There isn't just an Alabama-Missouri underground. There is a politically connected underground that crosses state lines, targets, punishes and intimidates "naughty" individuals who threaten their power or status. It's in many states and it's never been exposed or punished for what it really is: organized crime.

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  16. Roger I got a 24 hour pass to hear your in depth interview and all I got was a 4 to 5 minutes. How long was the interview? Am I the only one having trouble?

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  17. Don't have any idea what you are getting at @3:09. Maybe a few questions will help clarify:

    (1) You say "a one sided recording is not proof in black letter law." How do you know that? Who says?

    (2) You reference a "trap" and then say "a lot of people would like to discredit you." Al.com broke the recording story, not me. Are you saying someone is trying to discredit al.com?

    (3) Hasn't Bentley admitted the person on the other end was Mason, that the recording is legit? Didn't Bentley call the other person "Becky" multiple times?

    (4) You think there is doubt about whether an affair took place? I'd say that places you in the great minority. Even Bentley supporters don't seem to buy that. (http://www.alreporter.com/she-read-my-column-to-him/)

    For the record, I don't give a horse's hind end about anything "Reagan said."

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  18. The interview, if I remember correctly, was in the 30-45 minute range. Here is URL to contact page for Peter B. Collins Show. They should be able to work things out for you:


    http://www.peterbcollins.com/contact/

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  19. Note to @3:19 --

    If you want to tell me how to run my blog, contact me via e-mail or phone. Otherwise, I suggest you start your own blog.

    LS became one of the top 50 law blogs in North America without your help, so I'm happy to move forward without it.

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  20. Folo note to @3:19 --

    My e-mail is listed on the front page of the blog, down the right-hand side. You are welcome to send information to that address.

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  21. Hope this doesn't offend, but your brother sounds like a sack of . . . ahem, feces, to me.

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  22. Doesn't offend me, @7:01. In fact, my opinion is pretty much in line with yours.

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  23. al.com is trying, again, to de-legitimize your blog.

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  24. Big Luther is guilty of the same thing as Bentley.

    Exposed.

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  25. Yes Peter Collins got back with me.

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  26. How so, @7:33? Real-world duty has called today, so I've been offline and haven't had a chance to check al.com. Will try to catch up, but was curious about what you saw.

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  27. nothing these days seems impossible in the world of money and politics.

    as the old saying goes, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean it isn't happening to you. (that in no way means I think you're paranoid) the world is made up of a few powerful people who get to run things. the rest of us, in a manner of speaking, don't matter. You can bet those Govenors all know each other just as all police chiefs in an area know each other. Nothing surprises me anymore. We just have to look at the Snowden and Panama papers.

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  28. AL-MO started more than thirty years ago....it's not random
    I agree with @3:49pm

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  29. where are the follow up articles by al.com on "Big" Luther's squeeze, Ms. Garrison?
    Schnauzer you are an amazing American!!! Keep up the great work exposing corruption! I love how you expose republican and democrat alike!

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  30. LS: Hope you're doing OK... I always get concerned when you go radio silent! ; ^ )

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