Chase Tristian Espy
A staff attorney for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has been arrested on a child-solicitation charge and was promptly fired.
Chase Tristian Espy's ties to Alabama power brokers go well beyond Ivey. According to a report at banbalch.com, Espy, 36, joined the politically connected firm of Balch & Bingham in 2012. Before that, Espy was a legislative aide to former U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has longstanding ties to Balch & Bingham, which serves as the primary law firm for Alabama Power. From a report at al.com:
A staff attorney for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has been arrested on a child solicitation charge and was immediately fired.
Chase Tristian Espy, 36, is charged with child solicitation by computer/electronic solicitation of a child, which is a Class B felony.
Espy, a Birmingham attorney and former deputy general counsel in the Office of Governor, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 9:28 p.m. Wednesday, according to jail records.
The Vestavia Hills resident was released from lockup at 1:56 a.m. Thursday after posting $30,000 bond.
Efforts to reach Espy for comment weren’t immediately successful.
Homewood police Sgt. John Carr confirmed the department’s Special Investigations Unit arrested Espy. No additional information was released, but Carr said the operation is part of an ongoing effort by the Homewood Police Department to combat crimes involving the exploitation of children.
Ivey’s office confirmed Espy was fired Thursday morning and released this statement to AL.com on Thursday: “The allegations against Mr. Espy are serious, tragic and shocking. While he was employed by our office for only a few months, Mr. Espy has been terminated. As this is an ongoing investigation, no further information is available at this time.”
Espy's arrest adds to a string of public embarrassments for Balch & Bingham. Here is more from banbalch.com:
From alleged elderly exploitation to now accusations of child solicitation, what other scandals will batter Balch & Bingham’s reputation?
AL. com reports:
Chase Tristian Espy, 36, is charged with child solicitation by computer/electronic solicitation of a child, which is a Class B felony. Espy, a Birmingham attorney and former deputy general counsel in the Office of Governor, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 9:28 p.m. Wednesday, according to jail records.
For nearly a decade, Espy was an attorney at Balch & Bingham but left to work for the Office of Alabama Governor Kay Ivey just a few months ago.
Espy joined Balch in October of 2012 after working as a legislative aide for the Balch Zombie, former U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions.
Ivey fired Espy immediately this morning according to various news reports.
Espy’s alleged conduct is sickening. Really sickening.
And Balch is clueless as to why more and more clients are distancing themselves from the embattled law firm which appears to be tied to more revolting scandals as time goes by.
As for the string of embarrassments for Balch & Bingham, here is a scorecard -- at least a partial one:
* The arrest and conviction of partner Joel Gilbert in connection with the North Birmingham Superfund bribery scandal;
* The apparent set-up of former Drummond Company executive David Roberson as the fall guy in the Superfund scandal;
* The alleged framing of Birmingham attorney Burt Newsome, apparently engineered by former Balch attorney Clark Cooper, in an effort to claim part of Newsome's banking practice;
* The apparent elder exploitation of the late Joann Bashinsky, Golden Flake heiress and beloved Birmingham philanthropist;
* Historic ties to the Ku Klux Klan;
* Historic ties to the segregationist policies of former Gov. George Wallace, including his "Stand in the School House door" to keep black students out of the University of Alabama;
* Gov. Ivey seems to have a taste for Balch & Bingham lawyers. In addition to hiring Espy, she hired Will Sellers as her campaign chair and then appointed him to the Alabama Supreme Court -- even though his former firm is soaking in scandal.
Those Republican family values are on display again.
ReplyDeleteIs it safe to assume Jeff Sessions got this guy a job at Balch and Bingham, and Ivey hired him (and Sellers) because she owes Balch for something.
ReplyDeleteThis guy must have had some serious connections. He worked for a U.S. senator and a governor and a prestigious law firm. Threw it all away to solicit a child. Pretty stupid thinking.
ReplyDelete@4:34:
ReplyDeleteI think both of those are safe assumptions.
@4:36 -- Just one layperson's opinion, but I suspect these kind of offenses don't involve thinking. My guess is that something is off in the brain, leading to this kind of compulsive behavior.
ReplyDeleteAny word on the gender and age of the victim?
ReplyDeleteInteresting question, but I haven't seen any reports that include age and gender of victim.
ReplyDeleteThe story says Espy was a Vestavia Hills resident, but Homewood Police handled the case. I'm confused.
ReplyDeleteThat is peculiar, but my guess is the victim lives in Homewood, and that gave the Homewood PD jurisdiction.
ReplyDeleteWhere this could really get interesting, in my opinion, is if the parents file a lawsuit against Espy. That could draw a number of individuals and entities into the equation. Will be interesting to see if that happens.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the victim was actually a child. Based on the statement that this was part of an ongoing operation, I think it is likely that a member of law enforcement was posing as a child.
ReplyDeleteThis weirdo, of course, thought it was an actual child. Which means he is still a depraved sicko that needs to be locked up.
Thanks for making an excellent point, INT12. I think these kinds of operations often work the way you describe.
ReplyDelete