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| "Luv Guv" Bentley and Rebekah Caldwell Mason |
Former Alabama governor Robert Bentley has weighed in on America's COVID-vaccination problem and decided individuals should take medical advice from professionals they trust, according to a report at Yellow Hammer News (YH). This comes from a man whose wife of 50 years could not trust him around another woman.
As for medical professionals to trust, they do not include Dr. Anthony Fauci, widely considered the nation's foremost expert on infectious diseases -- but still seen as a bogeyman among pro-Trump Republicans. Trying to play to the Trumpie audience, Governor? Pretty clever, especially for a guy who resigned from office in disgrace, complete with a mugshot.
Finally, Bentley dives into a litany of things he would do if in charge during the pandemic. And that raises one question: How would a Gov. Bentley find time for all of this while also allowing time to feel up senior adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason? Only so much time in the day, "Luv Guv." From the YH report:
If former Gov. Robert Bentley were in charge of Alabama’s COVID-19 response, he would put an emphasis on working with local officials, especially with regards to any efforts to raise the state’s vaccination rate.
During an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5, Bentley, a board-certified dermatologist who continues to practice in Tuscaloosa, acknowledged the “complicated” nature of the pandemic but also cautioned against blaming those that remain unvaccinated.
However, he also encouraged vaccinations, adding individuals should base any medical decisions on those that they trust.
You would think a guy who already has betrayed the trust of Alabamians -- and his wife -- might resist daydreaming about being in charge again. But not Bentley:
“It’s very complicated, and I understand that,” he said. “I’m not trying to tell somebody else how I would do things. But I do have ideas on how I would handle it. First, I wouldn’t blame the unvaccinated because you can’t pit one side against the other. It’s not a blame situation. Look, I deal with patients who have to make decisions on whether or not they want a cancer removed, or this or that. And they have to make the decision. But you just have to give them good advice, and they have to trust whoever gives them advice. Now look, you can’t give this advice to Fox News or CNN or places like that. You really need to listen to people who know what they’re talking about, their physician, primarily. I just think we need leadership on this issue. This is a state issue. It is not a federal issue.”
“If I were governor, I would be out all over the state,” Bentley continued. “I would set up some task forces on a state level. But I would work with the locals, also — especially the local doctors, the local nursing situation, the local doctors’ association and the hospitals. But I would also work with the local officials, and some of the most important ones are county commissioners and mayors and our elected officials out there. So, I would work with them. I would even use the state health department, but I would be in charge of it, not the health department. And then, also, I would even use my national guard if I needed to. But what I would try to do for the people is get their trust, and I would give them good advice, scientific advice on whether or not these things are safe or not. When you read Facebook, or you watch the news, you really don’t get the truth because these people are not interested in the truth. They’re interested in ratings. You need somebody they would trust, and that’s what I would try to do as governor. I would be out all over the state, especially in areas we know there is a spike in this Delta virus.”
How would the "Luv Guv" do this while still tending to Ms. Mason's needs? Those boobs aren't going to massage themselves, you know.
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| Robert Bentley mugshot |
Bentley indicated he was a proponent of vaccinations but discouraged listeners from putting too much stock in National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has commanded the lion’s share of the spotlight.
“Again, I would encourage everybody to please get vaccinated — those that are not vaccinated,” he added. “Please look at it. And look at real science on it. Don’t listen to Dr. Fauci, and don’t listen to some of these other people.”
So Bentley is a man of science who could be trusted in a time of crisis, but Dr. Anthony Fauci is not? People should take COVID advice from a dermatologist, but not an infectious-diseases specialist. We long have seen signs that Bentley thinks the public consists mostly of dullards. Looks like that hasn't changed. In fact, this is over the top, even for the "Luv Guv."
Once a phoney, always a phoney.
ReplyDeleteHas Dr. Bentley, the fine Christian, ever publicly apologized to Alabama or Dianne Bentley for his disgraceful actions while in office?
ReplyDeleteI don't recall any such apology. A Christian should know a thing or two about seeking forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteIt might be worth remembering that, as governor, Bentley was a monumental liar, especially about his dalliance with Rebekah Mason -- a story I broke. This is from an al.com story dated 12/27/15:
ReplyDeleteIn her filing Dianne Bentley never alleged infidelity on the part of her husband. But once the filing became public on August 28, online blogs - some discredited in courts of law and others with dubious histories - were almost instantly filled with unsubstantiated rumors of an extramarital affair between Bentley and a senior advisor.
As Bentley and the Legislature prepared for a second special session to try a third time to solve the state's budget crisis, the state's highest office holder was suddenly dealing with the worst personal crisis of his life.
Bentley acknowledged he was shocked by his wife's action. He said he never saw it coming, certainly not the way that it did, despite increasing tensions in the marriage.
If Bentley, most Alabamians and even Montgomery insiders were shocked by the news, a handful of bloggers didn't seem to be surprised. Within hours of the painful news, blogs rolled out posts featuring far-fetched stories with highly implausible details about the alleged affair.
https://www.al.com/news/2015/12/for_gov_robert_bentley_2015_wa.html
Here more from the 12/15 al.com story:
ReplyDeleteA month after Mrs. Bentley filed, the divorce was settled out of court. And Gov. Bentley, who publicly releases his tax returns each year, released the terms of the divorce settlement to the public.
Throughout the ordeal Bentley, reluctant to talk about the deeply personal issue, would only say it was a personal, family matter.
And he never addressed the unfounded rumors of an affair.
Until now.
"The rumors were not true," said Bentley.
The governor then seemed to let out months of pent up frustrations.
"There were people on blogs and people in the press who crossed the line. They truly crossed the line. People on talk radio crossed the line," said Bentley.
Bentley said it's hard as a public official to address the kind of rumors that were being spread and he said he felt to directly address them would only serve in some cases to give them credibility.
Of course, we now know the Bentley-Mason "rumors" were true -- and Bentley easily duped a receptive reporter with a bold-faced lie. In fact, the "rumors" led to Bentley's resignation from office.
ReplyDeleteBut Bentley now expects Alabamians to trust him on matters of life and death re: the coronavirus pandemic?
It's also worth remembering that the Bentley-Mason story was driven largely by the Web press. From an LS post dated 3/29/16:
ReplyDeletePerhaps no story in recent months illustrates the value of the Web press like the sex scandal involving Alabama's "family values" governor, Dr. Robert Bentley, and aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason, which exploded on the national stage last week. The Web press has not just focused on the titillation factor, although the word "breasts" has proven to be a prominent component to the story. The serious side of the story, about misconduct and possible criminality, also made its debut in the digital arena.
Maybe that's why Bentley pressured law enforcement to target me and attorney Donald Watkins in an effort to shut down reporting about the gubernatorial love nest. Maybe he feared our reporting would go beyond groping and groaning and focus on abuse of the governor's official position. If so, Bentley was right to be fearful of that.
How do we know? Well, the story of the Bentley/Mason extramarital affair broke here, at Legal Schnauzer, last August--almost seven months before national news outlets, such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and Rachel Maddow Show, took notice last week. And we did not just ouline the story's "T and A" elements, the kind that tend to make a blog's page views soar. We also addressed the unsexy notion that the public trust had been betrayed, the state's government had been compromised, and criminal acts might be involved.
Let's not forget details about the Bentley-Mason relationship:
ReplyDeleteBentley acknowledged at a press conference yesterday making "inappropriate remarks" to aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason, but he denied the two had engaged in "sexual activity." But an audio recording published at multiple news outlets has Bentley talking fondly to Mason about "putting my hands under you." He also says, "When I stand behind you, and I put my arms around you, and I put my hands on your breasts . . . hey, I love that, too. . . . "
Yellowhammer was given exclusive access to the content of audio recordings captured by Dianne Bentley, Governor Bentley’s ex-wife, during which Governor Bentley makes sexual advances on and recalls sexual encounters with Rebekah Mason, his former communications director who has since become his most senior external advisor. Mrs. Mason’s husband, Jon, also serves in the Bentley administration as Director of Serve Alabama, the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Volunteer Service.
One of the recordings was captured while Governor and Mrs. Bentley were visiting their beach house.
Mrs. Bentley, who had suspected the affair, went for a walk on the beach, but left her cell phone behind recording the audio of what took place in her absence.
During that time period, Governor Bentley can be heard making a phone call to “Rebekah” that includes sexual references to their time together. The Governor also expressed a desire to “FaceTime” so they could see each other. . . .
A second recording appears to have been made at the Governor’s residence.
In the recordings, the Governor calls Mrs. Mason “baby” and discusses how much he enjoys standing behind her and touching her breasts. He also references a past encounter and says if they are going to do “that” again, they will need to start locking the door and also consider moving “Wanda’s” desk further away, presumably referencing executive assistant Wanda Kelly, whose Capitol office is just outside of the Governor’s.
References were also made to encounters that took place at Blount House, a 12,336-square-foot, Georgian-style home in Montgomery that serves as a second Governor’s Mansion. The property was donated to the state in 2008 by the family of the late businessman Wynton “Red” Blount. It was valued at $28 million at the time.
Is Bentley out of touch? From an LS post dated 7/19/18:
ReplyDeleteMost rational Alabamians probably concluded that former Gov. Robert Bentley was a corrupt, dishonest rube about the time he resigned in April 2017, after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors. If there is any doubt that Bentley is a loon, it should be erased by Bentley's words in a deposition, revealed this week.
What is the surest sign Bentley is so narcissistic and self-righteous that his visions of grandiosity form a disconnect with reality? My No. 1 choice is this: Audio evidence shows that Bentley delighted in massaging the boobs and exploring the nether regions of married senior adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason, but he now says such behavior was not -- I repeat, NOT -- inappropriate.
If you have forgotten the contents of the Bentley audio, we have a transcript here, courtesy of Yellowhammer News. As for the deposition, we invite you to take a gander at these words from Bentley, on pages 176 and 177, and try not to spew. (The full deposition is embedded at the end of this post.) The questioning, from attorney Kenneth Mendelsohn, focuses on Bentley's divorce from his wife of 50 years, Dianne:
Q. Was the relationship between you and Rebekah Mason the reason for the divorce?
MS. MAYS: Object to the form.
A. It was one of the reasons, yes.
Q. And I understand you say that there was no consummation of your love, but Mrs. Bentley did not like the relationship that you had with Mrs. Mason?
MR. SEGALL: Object to the form.
A. No, she did not.
Q. And she believed that as a married man, and certainly a man that had been married for right around 50 years, that having such a relationship with Ms. Mason was inappropriate?
MR. SEGALL: Object to the form.
A. I'm sure that she did.
Q. Do you consider the relationship inappropriate?
A. No.
For the record, we reported in that 7/18 post about Bentley apologizing to the people of Alabama:
ReplyDeleteBentley even struggles to admit he owed the people of Alabama an apology. He decides to play the "clueless oaf" card, a role for which he is particularly well suited. From pages 177-178:
Q. And there have been a couple of occasions where you apologized to the people of the state of Alabama. Do you recall those?
A. I do.
Q. What were you apologizing for?
A. The first time I apologized was in a press conference, that was the day that Spencer [Collier] had his press conference; but at that time, I don't know what I was apologizing for, because I didn't know what I was even talking about. I didn't know what was released. You know, I apologized for inappropriate things that I may have said, but at that time I didn't know what those things were. And if I had it to do over again, I probably would not have had a press conference that day. But the second time that I apologized, then all of this had been brought out. I mean, I still didn't know what was on the tapes, I never knew that until they were actually released. So the second time that I apologized, it was up in Huntsville, and I wanted an opportunity to do that, I did do that. I said, "I own these. If it's my voice, I own them. I do not deny it, and I want to apologize to the people of the state and to anybody that was hurt from them."
Was Bentley's apology sincere? We'll let readers make their own call on that.
ReplyDeleteHe only apologized because he got caught. No sincerity intended on his part.
ReplyDeleteBentley's resignation sparked this comment from State Rep. Craig Ford, which says a lot about GOP "leadership":
ReplyDelete“It is a sad state of affairs that the leadership of all three branches of our state government has – in only one year’s time – either been removed from office, or resigned because they were going to be removed from office for corruption. I believe Gov. Bentley’s resignation was in the best interests of the state, and I look forward to working with Gov. Ivey as we try to move the state forward. Now more than ever we need a strong, two-party system so we can break this chain of absolute power becoming absolute corruption. I hope the people of Alabama will take this to heart and vote for the person rather than voting for the party.” – Rep. Craig Ford
That's about the most insincere apology I've ever heard.
ReplyDeleteIn an August 2016 phone call, Bentley was recorded calling me a "slimy guy," for reporting accurately on his sleaze. I never received an apology from the "Christian" governor for that:
ReplyDeleteA taped phone conversation released yesterday captures Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley calling your humble blogger a "slimy guy." Bentley also makes a negative reference to attorney Donald Watkins. The tape adds another level of authenticity to reports that Bentley used state and federal resources to target Watkins and me -- the two citizen journalists who broke the story last summer of Bentley's extramarital affair with advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason.
It becomes more intriguing when you consider this timeline: I broke the story of the Bentley/Mason affair on August 31, 2015, the same date Bentley and State Rep. Allen Farley (R-Bessemer) talked in the evening, with Bentley calling me a "slimy guy." Nine days later, on September 9, my wife, Carol, and I were violently and unlawfully evicted from our apartment in Springfield, Missouri, and Carol was left with a shattered left arm that required trauma surgery. We've already asked this question: Were Bentley and/or Mason involved in arranging the bogus eviction in Missouri? Was that part of their plan to target me? Was having us roughed up and brutalized also part of the plan?
The new audio suggests the answer might be yes.
Yellowhammer News yesterday released the audio, and al.com followed with a report that Farley made the tape and released it, in part because recent events had caused him not to trust Bentley. The tape captures Farley saying he wants to take information from an "avalanche" of press reports about misconduct in the Bentley administration and ask Attorney General Luther Strange to conduct an investigation.
"I want the AG to step up and make sure state dollars were properly spent by the governor," Farley says. "This is a bombshell, but we have to deal with it."
Bentley seems less than enthused about the idea. "Allen, I don't think you need to get Luther in it, personally. There's nothing we're trying to hide . . . Whoever is doing this is using rumors and innuendos that are not fact. . . ."
Who does Bentley think is throwing around these "rumors and innuendos"? He makes that abundantly clear. "Casino gambling people are feeding this story. . . . They want to use the divorce to feed the story and get it out because they are trying to discredit me. . . . This didn't cause my divorce, although it did in part . . . they fed my wife this stuff."
Get a load of that arrogance. Bentley actually is blaming "casino gambling people" -- whoever that is -- for his own abominable behavior with Mason, which caused his divorce. Talk about "slimy."
On a personal level, it's quite a "blow" to be called a "slimy guy" by someone as slimy as Bentley -- by a guy we know spent time caressing Mason's boobs and exploring her nether regions, even though he marched into office as a "Christian, family values" candidate. His values were so strong that his wife of 50 years, former First Lady Dianne Bentley, filed for divorce last August and more or less told the "Luv Guv" to take a hike -- after she was finished taking him to the cleaners.
https://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2016/08/new-phone-tape-captures-alabamas-luv.html
Here is more on Bentley's "slimy guy" comment:
ReplyDeleteMy given name never comes up in the Bentley-Farley conversation. But my blogging name is front and center. Consider this back and forth from Farley (AF) and Bentley (RB), early in the tape:
AF: There is an avalanche of speculation across the media. . . . When these people are contacting me, I say the governor is my friend, and I've been over a couple of times and prayed with him. This is devastating. When they say, "What do you think of this allegation about trips taken by the governor on the jet, and overtime by people who guarded him, and personal things that have been alleged . . .
RB: I read some of that stuff from Donald Watkins. . . .
AF: There is this guy Legal Schnauzer, or something . . .
RB: Legal Schnauzer is the one who accused Rob Riley and got sued . . . he's a slimy guy.
That last part is laughable. Rob Riley might be the most unethical and oily individual ever to engage in American politics. And I'm a "slimy guy" because Riley filed a bogus defamation lawsuit against me -- a case where, by law, my reporting was shown to be neither false nor defamatory? Sounds like the people who think Bentley is mentally losing it might be right.
Bentley reveals himself to be both a liar -- repeatedly claiming, falsely, there was no affair -- and an idiot. He apparently thinks it's lawful, and routine, for a journalist to be kidnapped (taken without a warrant) and thrown in jail for five months because of a civil case that alleges publication of defamatory matter. We have a governor, it turns out, who knows absolutely nothing about the First Amendment.
By going after Fauci, Bentley makes me think he's planning a run for public office.
ReplyDeleteHere is some history of Legal Schnauzer on the Bentley-Mason story:
ReplyDelete(1) On August 31, 2015, we break the story at Legal Schnauzer of the Bentley-Mason extramarital affair. Nine days later (on Sept. 9), we are unlawfully evicted from our apartment in Springfield, Missouri, and in the process, a deputy breaks Carol's left arm so severely that it requires repair from a trauma surgeon. We later learn that Bentley had targeted Web-based journalists, including yours truly, who led the way in breaking details about the Mason affair.
(2) On September 1, 2015, I become the first journalist to report on possible financial irregularities related to the Bentley/Mason affair. I follow up with a second such post on September 2. (Al.com begins to address similar issues on September 3; but the entire scandal, both the sexual and financial angles, take flight from my reporting.) Did this increase the likelihood that Bentley would target us, causing Carol's arm to be broken and both of us to have assault weapons and pistols pointed in our direction -- during an eviction that, by law, could not happen? We still are searching for answers to that question.
(3) In a December 27, 2015, article by al.com reporter (and Ashley Madison devotee) Chuck Dean, Bentley denies "rumors" of an affair with Mason. From the article:
"The rumors were not true," said Bentley.
The governor then seemed to let out months of pent up frustrations.
"There were people on blogs and people in the press who crossed the line. They truly crossed the line. People on talk radio crossed the line," said Bentley.
Bentley essentially took a No. 2 on my integrity. Did I take exception to that, knowing the quality of the sources who helped me break the affair story? Yes, I did. Did I take a certain amount of pleasure in what came next? Yes, I did.
(4) On March 22, 2016, news breaks that text messages and audio recordings show that Bentley and Mason did, in fact, have an affair. Audio captures Bentley reminiscing about fondling Mason's breasts and exploring her nether regions. Despite that, Bentley claims the affair was just a matter of dirty talk and was not physical. (Note to self: Fondling a woman's breasts and massaging her nether regions does not count as "physical.") The Rachel Maddow Show, The Washington Post, and other national news outlets pick up the story, turning Bentley -- and Alabama -- into a national punchline.
Here's more on the LS-Bentley history:
ReplyDelete5) In early August, a new audio recording captures Bentley calling me a "slimy guy" and blaming his divorce on "casino gambling people." How low will this guy go? This is from our post on the subject:
A taped phone conversation released yesterday captures Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley calling your humble blogger a "slimy guy." Bentley also makes a negative reference to attorney Donald Watkins. The tape adds another level of authenticity to reports that Bentley used state and federal resources to target Watkins and me -- the two citizen journalists who broke the story last summer of Bentley's extramarital affair with advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason.
It becomes more intriguing when you consider this timeline: I broke the story of the Bentley/Mason affair on August 31, 2015, the same date Bentley and State Rep. Allen Farley (R-Bessemer) talked in the evening, with Bentley calling me a "slimy guy." Nine days later, on September 9, my wife, Carol, and I were violently and unlawfully evicted from our apartment in Springfield, Missouri, and Carol was left with a shattered left arm that required trauma surgery. We've already asked this question: Were Bentley and/or Mason involved in arranging the bogus eviction in Missouri? Was that part of their plan to target me? Was having us roughed up and brutalized also part of the plan?
The new audio suggests the answer might be yes.
(6) Finally, we have the Lewis lawsuit, which was filed on November 23. Lewis quotes Bentley admitting to a physical affair and asking his security chief to break up with her for him. So, let's review: Everything I reported in my early postings -- roughly seven months before the mainstream media took notice of the story -- was accurate. But "Luv Guv" Bentley wants the public to believe I am the "slimy guy." This apparently is a seriously disturbed mind at work.
How easily did Bentley get off? From Alabama Political Reporter:
ReplyDeleteIn the end, Bentley agreed to plead guilty to two class B misdemeanor charges — far less than the four class B felonies referred to the attorney general by the Alabama Ethics Commission, for which Bentley could have potentially been prosecuted. And the sentence was far more lenient, too. Instead of two to 20 years for each count, Bentley will serve no jail time.
“The misdemeanor punishments were most appropriate for these offenses,” Brooks said. “You have to look at the big picture.”
Montgomery County District Judge Troy Massey, who was assigned to Bentley’s case at about 4 p.m. on Monday, accepted Bentley’s guilty plea and sentenced him — in accordance with the plea — to 12 months unsupervised probation and fined him, in total, about $7,100 in addition to court costs.
According to the plea agreement, Bentley will also pay back $8,912.40 to his campaign committee’s bank account, and then he will turn over the $36,912 left in his account to the state. He has agreed never to run for office again, has waived his rights to appeal and has promised to perform 100 hours of community service.
“I think the judge was fair considering the fact that Bentley was 74 years old,” Brooks said. “He has lost his job. He has lost his church. He has lost his family. Don’t take that to say I feel sorry for him. He did what he did. Now, he deserves to be called a criminal.”
Notice that the plea agreement calls for Bentley to never again run for public office. But who is going to enforce that -- Steve Marshall? Don't make me laugh. I wouldn't be surprised if Bentley is thinking about joining the U.S. Senate field.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.al.com/politics/2021/07/cesaire-mcpherson-john-merrills-former-mistress-arrested-on-two-counts-of-domestic-violence.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the Cesaire McPherson story. Not sure folks will be able to click on the link here in the comments section, so here is the gist of the story:
ReplyDeleteCesaire McPherson, the 44-year-old former mistress of Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic violence in Autauga County, according to court filings.
In April, McPherson went public with audio recordings of her and Merrill while revealing an affair with Alabama’s secretary of state between November 2017 and November 2020.
Merrill initially denied an affair but later admitted to an “inappropriate relationship” with McPherson after being confronted by AL.com with McPherson’s recordings. The revelation led Merrill to rule out a Senate campaign in 2022. . .
Warrants filed in her case allege that McPherson chased her daughter throughout her home with scissors “which created a substantial risk for serious injury.”
A second warrant accuses McPherson of beating an unnamed female “with her hands, fist and a belt.”
Both warrants stem from an alleged May 1 incident in Autauga County.
It’s unclear whether the victims described in both warrants were the same person.
My question re: the McPherson case: Did law enforcement target her because she spoke out re: John Merrill? Such things have been known to happen in Alabama? In fact, such a thing did happen to Spencer Collier after he spoke out about "Luv Guv" Bentley:
ReplyDeletehttps://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/search?q=spencer+collier+arrested
Here are the basics of the Spencer Collier matter, which was a domestic case (sort of) involving a child:
ReplyDeleteSpencer Collier, former chief of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), was arrested last Friday in Baldwin County on a charge of filing a false report with law-enforcement authorities. Coming just two days after Collier announced a settlement in his wrongful-termination/defamation lawsuit against former Governor Robert Bentley, the arrest emits all kinds of noxious fumes.
Collier stated in a lawsuit deposition that, while working for Bentley, he learned the governor had a fondness for misusing law-enforcement resources to target perceived enemies. (More on that in upcoming posts.). Does that help explain Collier's arrest on charges that would have to improve to be flimsy? Our guess is yes.
More on the Spencer Collier case:
ReplyDeleteSection 13A-10-9
False reporting to law enforcement authorities.
(a) A person commits the crime of false reporting to law enforcement authorities if he knowingly makes a false report or causes the transmission of a false report to law enforcement authorities of a crime or relating to a crime.
(b) False reporting to law enforcement authorities is a Class A misdemeanor.
[Note: Per Sec. 14-1 of the Daphne Municipal Code, the city has adopted state offenses law, so it's likely Collier was charged under the state law cited above.]
The key word in the law is "knowingly." That word, by law, goes to a culpable mental state and is described at Sec. 13A-2-2 as follows:
(2) KNOWINGLY. A person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists.
Collier, once a personal friend and political ally of Bentley's, likely landed on the enemies list after helping reveal Bentley's extramarital affair with aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason and challenging his termination as unlawful. The story of Bentley's affair with Mason, which we broke here at Legal Schnauzer, led to Bentley's resignation in April 2017 after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and agreed never to hold public office again. The Mason affair, which ended Bentley's marriage of 50 years, helped earn him such nicknames as "Luv Guv" and "Horndog Governor." Mason became known as "Home Wrecky Becky."
The first sign of fishiness surrounding Collier's arrest involves the offense with which he was charged. Based on published reports, he apparently was charged under Code of Alabama 13A-10-9 (False Report to Law Enforcement Authorities), which states:
Section 13A-10-9
False reporting to law enforcement authorities.
(a) A person commits the crime of false reporting to law enforcement authorities if he knowingly makes a false report or causes the transmission of a false report to law enforcement authorities of a crime or relating to a crime.
(b) False reporting to law enforcement authorities is a Class A misdemeanor.
[Note: Per Sec. 14-1 of the Daphne Municipal Code, the city has adopted state offenses law, so it's likely Collier was charged under the state law cited above.]
The key word in the law is "knowingly." That word, by law, goes to a culpable mental state and is described at Sec. 13A-2-2 as follows:
(2) KNOWINGLY. A person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists.
Was Collier aware his alleged actions constituted a violation of law? Let's look at how relevant events have been described in the press. From al.com:
Spencer Collier, the state’s former top cop, was arrested in south Alabama amid accusations he filed a false report.
Collier was booked and quickly released from Daphne City Jail, according to local law enforcement. A spokesperson from the Daphne Police Department said Collier’s charge related to a report he made regarding fraudulent credit card use while he was staying in a local hotel Thursday evening.
He turned himself in to the Daphne City Jail at around 1:30 p.m., according to Daphne PD Sgt. Jason Vannoy, who characterized the incident as “domestic.”
How was the incident domestic? Here is more from al.com:
Collier continued:
ReplyDeleteCollier, once a personal friend and political ally of Bentley's, likely landed on the enemies list after helping reveal Bentley's extramarital affair with aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason and challenging his termination as unlawful. The story of Bentley's affair with Mason, which we broke here at Legal Schnauzer, led to Bentley's resignation in April 2017 after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and agreed never to hold public office again. The Mason affair, which ended Bentley's marriage of 50 years, helped earn him such nicknames as "Luv Guv" and "Horndog Governor." Mason became known as "Home Wrecky Becky."
The first sign of fishiness surrounding Collier's arrest involves the offense with which he was charged. Based on published reports, he apparently was charged under Code of Alabama 13A-10-9 (False Report to Law Enforcement Authorities), which states:
Collier addressed the arrest and his family situation in a statement.
“My adult son, who is a recovering addict and multiple felon, used my bank card without my permission,” said Collier in a message to AL.com. “I filed a police report, being this is the second time in a year that he has done this. I was unaware that my wife (we are currently estranged) gave him permission. He pressed charges because I listed him as the suspect.”
He added: “I have no doubt that I will be exonerated - but the entire episode is embarrassing. I am so sorry for any embarrassment that this has caused the City of Selma. I wish to apologize to the Daphne Police Department and also express my gratitude for their professionalism throughout the entire incident.”
Having been told about Collier’s defense of what happened, Sgt Vannoy of the Daphne PD said that fundamental information given by Collier to an investigating officer was deemed to be false.
Let's consider some questions this press account raises:
1. Collier plainly states that he was unaware his estranged wife had given his son permission to use the credit card. What does this say about Collier's "culpable mental state"? It suggests he didn't have one.
2. Was the credit card in the name of both Collier and his estranged wife? If his wife's name was not on the card, did she have grounds to give the son permission to use it? At this point, we lack information about the nature of the card.
3. Sgt. Vannoy, of the Daphne PD, said the "fundamental information given by Collier to an investigating officer was deemed to be false." But we know from the language in the statute that is not the key element of the offense. The accused must act "knowingly," and the available evidence indicates Collier did not know his statement to the investigating officer was false.
Collier conclusion:
ReplyDeleteMany questions swirl around Collier's arrest, but two facts appear to be clear:
* Collier did not knowingly violate the false reporting law, and he never should have been arrested;
* That the arrest came two days after Collier announced a settlement in his lawsuit against Bentley -- and Collier's estranged wife sought a protection order one day after the lawsuit announcement -- suggests someone was unnerved about the settlement. Who might that be?
First, the lawsuit settlement surprised many observers, including this one. Taxpayers were funding Bentley's defense, so he appeared to have little or no incentive to settle. That Bentley did settle suggests discovery in the lawsuit might have produced potentially damaging information about Bentley, Mason, and their associates. Did Collier attorney Kenneth Mendelsohn catch someone on Team Bentley in a perjury trap, with criminal implications? If such information involved donors to ACEGOV, also known as the "Girlfriend Fund," it could be making some of the state's powerful and moneyed elites nervous.
As we reported last August, Collier filed a motion seeking information about donors to ACEGOV. Did that motion yield information that led to a lawsuit settlement and Collier's unlawful arrest?
We suggest that federal and state agencies need to launch a criminal investigation based on that question.
What's the latest on that Arby guv?
ReplyDeleteAny word since the old melon man hightailed it back home?
You're talking about Bentley? Last I heard, he was playing Doctor in Tuscaloosa. I believe there were reports that "Home Wrecky Becky" was working in his office.
ReplyDeleteThere was three Arbys in Tuscaloosa last I knew, but did ACEGOV have one?
ReplyDeleteWoo pig!