Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Whistle blower Jill Simpson plans to seek IRS audit of Alabama listserv that once helped Don Siegelman, but now is used to assist Democratic con man Doug Jones


Pam Miles
(From free-don.us)
A major figure in the Don Siegelman case plans to seek an IRS audit of a north Alabama listserv to determine if it improperly has been used to raise funds for U.S. Senate candidate Doug Jones.

Jill Simpson, who blew the whistle on a Republican scheme to prosecute Siegelman, said in a recent Facebook post that she is concerned the left-leaning listserv is being used to help raise campaign funds for Jones, in his Senate bid against Roy Moore. Pam Miles, of Huntsville, runs the listserv, and Simpson said it raised significant funds to help with Siegelman's legal expenses. Any efforts to now help Jones would be ironic, Simpson says, because Jones used his ties to Rob Riley and other Republicans to help ensure Siegelman and co-defendant Richard Scrushy would be convicted -- and it would not be overturned on appeal.

Simpson apparently is struggling to wrap her head around the notion that any person, or organization, could support Don Siegelman and then support Doug Jones, who reportedly left knife wounds between the former governor's shoulder blades. I share Simpson's astonishment, and like her, I have suffered mightily for being on the front lines of defending Siegelman; Simpson experienced a mysterious house fire and multiple highway mishaps, while my wife and I were cheated out of our jobs, I was unlawfully thrown in jail due to a bogus lawsuit brought by Rob Riley, and we had our house stolen from under us via a wrongful foreclosure.

Clearly, Simpson believes Jones was directly or indirectly involved in the abuses directed at her -- and Carol and I share that belief regarding our experiences; in fact, we would not be surprised to learn Jones was involved in the unlawful eviction in Missouri that led to Carol's left arm being shattered so severely that it required trauma surgery.

What word might accurately describe Simpson's emotions toward the Huntsville listserv at the moment? "Enraged" probably would be a good one. That also might summarize my feelings. From Simpson's Facebook post on the subject:

I have decided to speak out about Pam Miles using the Siegelman list server to send out messages in support of Doug Jones.

It is just freaking unbelievable she would use that to reach out to folks when Doug running his mouth to Republicans such as Rob Riley -- who did a case with Doug that benefited them in having Don and his codefendant Richard Scrushy go to prison is amazing to me.

Ms. Miles solicited tons of money over the years, and I heard at times it was several million dollars for the Siegelman matter. But to my knowledge, I never personally received one dime of that money, and I think that account should be audited by the IRS,  as the folks donating deserve to know exactly where that money went.

My story of coming forward was used to help solicit funds without my consent, but over the last couple of years asking Miles about it, I have never been able to get a straight answer. 
When I was viciously attacked in 2015, my husband and I asked for any help we could get, but Ms Miles said there was nothing to help me with at all, not one penny, which seemed odd. We asked, "Well, could you help us get a lawyer friend of Don's to help? I am being attacked, and she said no. My husband and I asked about fund raising on the listserv, and Miles replied that can only be used for Don. 
But then early this year we learned that was a lie and that she was working for Doug Jones and using that same listserv, as I started getting listserv notices for Doug Jones,  promoting him and asking for money -- that sort of fund-raiser stuff.

I can feel Simpson's pain. It is undisputed that I lost my job of 20 years at UAB because of reporting on my blog -- on my own time and resources -- about the Siegelman case. I caught a UAB HR administrator named Anita Bonasera admitting that to me in a tape-recorded phone conversation. Carol and I lost our home to a Riley/Jones/Republican wrongful foreclosure in July 2014, and ever since then, we've been on the verge of homelessness. If we've received any help from the Pam Miles listserv, it's been minimal, at best. That has not bothered me in the past because I figured the listserv generated limited funds. But if Simpson is correct that it has drawn in millions, and some of it is going to Doug Jones -- the guy who helped put Siegelman in prison and almost certainly is tied to abuses directed at Jill Simpson and Carol and me -- I am all for an IRS audit. Writes Simpson:

I don't know what happened to all the money she collected over the years, but I know early on it was a lot. But I never got any, and I really want to know if any of that money collected is being used to help Doug Jones, since Miles used my story without my permission to collect money, as I have never felt that was right. 
So I have decided the account needs to be audited, as I want to make sure no money was ever used to help Jones from my story. I want to make it real clear that I believe Jones running his mouth when I came forward early in the Siegelman case caused my house to get blown up on one end and my car to get run off the road. Also, I believe Jones shortly afterwards sent Rob Riley to Scrushy's home office to examine records and get a look around, to see if I was at the office, as Scrushy told me how strange Rob acted that day.

Looking back, my showing up sent a potential monkey wrench in Doug and Rob's plans to pillage $51 million from HealthSouth by putting Scrushy in prison -- and they did it with a story Doug and Rob cooked pretty well on Don and Scrushy for the Republicans. What a hoot. 
But one thing is for damn sure: I don't want Doug getting benefit of a listserv my story helped build nationally. I contacted some folks who know Don several weeks ago and asked why that listserv was allowed to be used by Pam, if owned by Don, for Doug Jones' benefit. And I was told Don was disappointed in her working for Doug, but disappointed is not enough; I want it stopped, and it hasn't been. Now I have decided I want the listserv audited from the day that Ms Miles started using my story of coming forward. After all, I have never seen one penny of that money and deserve to know who got it and how it was spent.

I think she is trash for using any listserv that told any of my story, for the benefit of Doug Jones -- knowing what in all likelihood happened to me was from him yapping to Rob Riley.  I heard from a young man recently who has helped see the Jones story told all along as well, and he had been put off The Free Siegelman Web site for talking about Doug -- and I think Siegelman owes him and us explanations as well or whether this is Ms Miles' actions. I have decided to ask the IRS to audit all the money-solicitation  accounts that occurred from the web server list site -- since it is being used to boost Doug Jones, after using my story to collect funds without my permission.

As for Don Siegelman, he needs to think long and hard of whether he is on the side of people who defended him or on Doug Jones' side. This not 'a both and' situation 'it is an either or.' If Don stands with Doug, which it looks like due to this listserv deal being used, then he needs to fess up, as I am done with ever helping them again. After all, I risked my life and lost everything to stand up for what was right, and he should do the same thing as he has known for a very long time I believe Doug yapping caused harm to me and him. 
If these are strictly Ms Miles' actions, then he needs to release a press release saying she used it without his permission. Either way, I expect a full accounting, and if necessary, I have no fear of calling in the IRS.

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