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| Steve Marshall |
Three Greene County charities claim Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has conflicts of interest that should force him and his office to recuse themselves from a gambling-related lawsuit.
In a motion filed by Montgomery attorney Tommy Gallion, the charities allege the Poarch Creek Indians (PCI) have given Marshall more than $735,000 in "dark money" campaign contributions to help further PCI's bid to establish a gaming monopoly in Alabama. Because of the conflict, Marshall and his office should step aside as counsel for State Sen. Bobby Singleton, a defendant in the case. Writes Gallion in the motion:
Most of this money is referred to as "dark money" because of how it is hidden from the public. This dark money was funneled from PCI to the Republican Attorney General's Association (RAGA). During this period, Marshall allegedly was the head of RAGA.
In May 2018, PCI Tribal Counsel leader Robert McGhee allegedly laundered PCI's dark money through the Business Council of Alabama, then headed by Republican operative Billy Canary.
Gallion goes on to state that Marshall "has a blatant conflict of interest in this matter and may be joined as a defendant if discovery reveals he was and/or is directly involved with the monopoly and restraint of trade as alleged in the complaint, with exhibits."
The motion claims defendants Singleton and Greenetrack, with assistance from Marshall, joined forces in the 2021 legislative session in an effort to forge a monopoly for PCI. The plaintiff charities say such an arrangement would put them out of business. From the Gallion motion (The full motion is embedded at the end of this post.):
In addition to Marshall's open support on behalf of PCI, he is assisting his uncle, Arthur Mothershed. Mothershed is the chief financial officer of Creek Indian Enterprises, a business owned and controlled by PCI. As CFO of PCI, Mothershed is responsible for the overall fiscal health and stability of PCI tribal enterprises. This responsibility includes contributions to various political candidates, which include his nephew, Marshall.
Marshall has openly used the Attorney General's Office to assist Uncle Mothershed, who has used his nephew to illegally protect PCI and put the plaintiffs out of business. This illegal quid pro quo is unconstitutional and a blatant conflict of interest. All of Marshall's actions have caused the plintiffs financial harm, and if he and his office are not stopped from representing defendant Singleton at tax at taxpayer expense, the other defendants and PCI will continue their attempts to destroy plaintiffs.
As chief law enforcement officer of the state of Alabama, Marshall has a sworn duty to not only enforce the law, but certainly not to violate the law. . . . Based on information and belief, Marshall's client, defendant Singleton, and perhaps himself will need to be investigated and brought before a Montgomery County grand jury.
12 comments:
Steve Marshall is such a lightweight. Why do Alabama voters keep electing these jokers?
My guess to your question: (1) They like his white skin; (2) They consider him a "fine Christian, just like "Liv Guv Bentley; (3) They suspect he will help keep people with brown skin in their place; He looks like the kind of guy they would like living next door; they certainly wouldn't want someone with brown skin living next door.
Oh, I forgot these: (4) Marshall sings strictly from the Trump hymnal. Not sure he's ever had an original or independent thought in his life.
(4) They think Marshall will "fry criminals until their eyes pop out."
Alabama voters seek out the lowest common denominator, and Marshall fits the bill.
Comments from Dana Jill Simpson re: Steve Marshall, from her Facebook page:
Glad to see Roger's new story about AG Marshall's family ties to the Poarch Creek Indians are starting to see the light of day in Alabama. I heard years back when his wife had gotten a divorce, that she did not like what he was doing with some kind of a family member connected to the Poarch Creeks and did not want any part of it and was moving out of state. Having tracked his RAGA money over the years, and RAGA money in general back in Luther Strange days, you learn a lot and it appears Mr Gallion is arguing Steve was using RAGA money which he was over, to wash tribal money to allow the Poarch Creeks to have a Gambling Monopoly.
Reading Tommy's motion, if he can prove all this, it sounds like Mr Marshall maybe able to be indicted for accepting bribes as the AG from the Poarch Creek Chief Financial Officer who is his uncle Mothershed. I suspect his wife, who was a very good lady and who worked at the courthouse in Marshall County for a number of years, knew one day the Citizens of Alabama would find out Marshall was the Poarch Creeks's guy, taking money from his Uncle Mr. Mothershed, so bless her heart rather than participate in his corruption as she was a good lady, moved to Tennessee to start a new life only to be found a short time after with a bullet hole in her.
I believe, as I recall from some stories I helped with on her death, they declared it a suicide, but some folks in Tennessee thought it was all kind of odd to say the least. Plus, who could ever forget that note she wrote saying he was the right man for the AG job not long before she died that he shared all over the place I always thought how convenient was that? Plus wasn't he alleged to be on phone when she was shot, however it occurred, which some of the Tennessee folks told us about it and we helped do the stories at the time. They knew we had covered him and his corrupt acts regarding the "Lov Gov" deal .
More from Jill Simpson re: Steve Marshall --
Oh well, I always liked his sweet wife; she was nice, but Marshall was entirely a different thing. I will never forget getting a call from the FBI saying they had a duty to warn me some folks in Marshall County had been overhearing some of the folks in County office of Courthouse by a clerk, and that Marshall was switching parties and somehow it had come up I might end up with a blown up car and folks laughing so
the FBI office called my home when they could not get me and talked to my sweet mother and then called me when she said where I was at and said they thought it might be a good idea if I got a key fob to start my car. So I did and one of the people in that room I was told was Marshall, and the court clerk had reported it and a few weeks later he changed parties so I believe she told the truth what she overheard.
So I have never much cared for him being AG so I saw a lot of stories told and hope Tommy Gallion. who is a very good lawyer, puts his butt in jail. Hats off to Roger; not sure where he got this story, as it is not me so everyone knows, but it looks like we are going to need to follow it as this monopoly gaming deal will not benefit the citizens of Alabama.
I do not bel8eve since Si Garret and the Phoenix City mess have we had as corrupt an attorney general so this will be fun to watch. One last detail maybe if Marshall is convicted this will break up the hold Poarch Creek and Greentrack folks have had on the gaming industry in Alabama; they have operated far too long without paying their fair share of taxes. I personally hope if they bribed an AG the feds move in and take their casino away from them. Most y'all know I am a corruption buster research reporter who uses my key board and ink pen to try to bring down the Alabama Gang, and it is a disgrace Steve Marshall has been in office as AG as long as he has, doing organized crime with the gambling folks instead of representing we the people. You all cannot imagine my horror when I had to get a key fob to crank car engine before we got in it. For years after I got the call from the fBI, I would look at my car and wonder is today the day it explodes. Folks often wonder about my circumstance of leaving the area for extended periods and now you know part of the reason I was more than willing to go out with Jim I did not have to start a car.
This is just for my friends please; no one publish this in a story, but I want folks who know me to know exactly what I think of Mr Marshall -- and why. I hope Tommy outs everything to the Citizens of Alabama but having been told he was in that room where jokes were made about my car blowing up, I got to say folks need to be careful and get a key fob like the FBI officer told me to do. I asked the FBI officer to do something and he said until it happens, they could just be talking but you need a key fob. To this day, that was one of the most frightening experiences of my life. I have never forgotten it and was horrified when he got the AG given to him through the corrupt Alabama Gang.
Here is part of a story about the death of Steve Marshall's wife:
Attorney General Steve Marshall held a news conference today concerning the death of his wife, Bridgett Marshall.
According to the Attorney General, Bridgett Marshall shot herself in her apartment in Tennessee on Sunday. Bridgett was dependent on Opioids, Hydrocodone and Fentanyl, Marshall said.
The Attorney General's office released a statement Sunday. "We are saddened to report that Bridgette Marshall, wife of Attorney General Steve Marshall, passed away after a long struggle with mental illness."
She and Steve were married on February 22, 2002. Their daughter, Faith, works in elementary education.
From al.com re: death of Bridgette Marshall:
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, in his first public remarks Wednesday since his wife's sudden death four days ago, gave a grueling account of her struggles with mental illness.
Marshall, with tears in his eyes but his voice strong and resilient, spoke to the media as well as about 100 friends and family members at Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church outside Albertville in rural Marshall County.
Marshall said he felt compelled to publicly address the circumstances surrounding his wife's death following a report Tuesday night that Bridgette Marshall had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. AL.com reported Tuesday night that police in Murfreesboro, Tenn., had listed her death as suicide on a report.
Marshall said his wife had sought quiet refuge in the Nashville suburb as a consequence of her mental illness.
"It is not our desire to be here today," Marshall said. "We were forced to be here today. I know I'm speaking to you in some ways as the attorney general of Alabama. But I'm a dad, I'm a husband. And I watched my daughter read a reckless article last night that disclosed the circumstances of how Bridgette died and where.
"And I watched my daughter in tears because Bridgette is not a public figure. I am. She didn't want the limelight. She didn't want to be in front. She always was behind. And for Faith to suffer through that last night, as a father, angered me. And it angered our family. So when we should have been sharing stories of Bridgette's life last night as a family, we were talking about how to respond. Because that story was only filled with half-truths. It's not the full story of how it is we stand here so sadly today and what it gave rise to was rumor, for gossip and for people to say things that were reckless. And we weren't going to stand for that. As a dad, I'm not going to let my daughter go through that."
Marshall then outlined his wife's life of mental illness, which he traced as far as back as a childhood plagued with migraines. It culminated with what Marshall said was an addiction to opioids - including hydrocodone and fentanyl -- and the need Bridgette felt to leave Alabama.
More from al.com re: Bridgette Marshall:
While she was living in Murfreesboro - at an apartment complex not known by her family until May, Marshall said - Marshall said he spoke with his wife daily by phone.
The last time he said he saw her was when she returned home on June 5 for the primary election and her birthday the next day.
"She was as happy as I had seen her in a long time," Marshall said.
He described the day as being filled with "joy" and there was discussion of her returning to Albertville - where the family lived when Marshall was the longtime district attorney of Marshall County. After that day, Marshall said "something changed, we don't know what" with his wife.
She began to complain about problems with her stomach and then, the day before she died, she had blisters that showed up on her feet.
"It was odd, it was strange," Marshall said. "We didn't know what it was; she didn't know what it was. And so Saturday night after she sent a picture to a lot of people saying 'What is this? And why is this going on?' Her parents talked to her and I talked to her and we convinced her to go to the hospital the next day. And she said she would go."
Marshall said Bridgette's parents planned to drive to Murfreesboro on Sunday morning to accompany her to the hospital.
"They called (Bridgette) Sunday morning and she said, 'I won't be alive when you get here,'" Marshall said. "Bridgette's mom called me and told me and I said, 'Let me talk to her.' I got on the phone with her and I was talking to a person who didn't have any hope. She said, 'I don't have any purpose and I'm tired. My body's failing me and I don't know why. I've had pain for a long time and I don't want to endure it anymore and I'm just a burden.' And I told her why she wasn't and told her she was loved. And as a guy who, professionally, is supposed to be able to convince people with words to do something, I couldn't reach her."
Who signed the lease and paid rent on the wife's TN apartment?
@6:18 --
That's a good question, but I haven't seen it answered in news reports. Will do some more checking.
This is from a report at the UK Daily Mail:
Eventually she felt she couldn't be in the state any longer and rented an apartment in a complex her family didn't even know the location of until May, but spoke on the phone with Mr Marshall every day.
That's not absolutely clear, but it sounds like Mrs. Marshall rented the apartment. One could assume that means she signed the lease and paid the rent. But I haven't found a report that specifically says that. The report says "her family" did not know the location of the apartment for a time. Does "family" mean her side of the family -- assuming she has living parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, etc.?
Looking back on coverage of this story, Steve Marshall held a press conference after his wife's death and he seemed to pretty much control the message. Not sure there mas much reporting beyond Marshall's statements and a few statements from the Murfreesboro PD, which did not seem to be terribly forthcoming.
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