Growing tensions at Alabama Power appear to revolve around Joe Perkins and Matrix, as ousted CEO Mark Crosswhite reportedly plans to cooperate with feds

Joe Perkins

Tensions reportedly are rising at Alabama Power headquarters in downtown Birmingham, and much of the high anxiety seems to revolve around Joe Perkins, founder and owner of the Montgomery-based Matrix LLC "dirty tricks" political-consulting firm. In fact, some higher-ups at Southern Company (Alabama Power's parent firm) seem to be having buyer's remorse that they ever became entangled with Perkins and Matrix.

Perkins' arrogance reportedly has been on regular display in recent weeks -- he even shouted at the CEO, sources say -- and that is not sitting well with company executives, according to a report at banbalch.com, which publishes under the auspices of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group.  K.B. Forbes (blog publisher and CEO of the CDLU) writes under the headline "Perkins Allegedly Barked at Crosswhite: “Pack Your Bags!” Crosswhite Cooperating with Feds": 

Sources close to Southern Company have anonymously reached out to us,  describing the troubling turmoil that has beset the unholy alliance of Balch & Bingham, Matrix, LLC, and Alabama Power.

In the past two weeks, the alliance appears to be imploding, and leaks from the C-Suite on down are providing a flood of stunning information and alarming activity.

Shortly after King & Spalding was hired late last year to probe the spying on, and surveillance of,  Southern Company Chairman and CEO Tom Fanning and his then-girlfriend in 2017, Alabama Power Chairman and CEO Mark A. Crosswhite had a heated exchange at a high-level meeting with “Sloppy Joe” Perkins, the founder of Matrix, LLC.

According to anonymous sources, Crosswhite demanded that Perkins come clean and tell King & Spalding the truth about the Fanning surveillance and other possible criminal acts last fall.

Crosswhite apparently was done with the diminutive consultant. But Perkins, who allegedly has dirt and an embarrassing dossier on every member of the executive team, barked at Crosswhite, telling him to “pack your bags!”

Behind the scenes, a spate of backstabbing seems to have set in, Forbes reports:

Perkins appears to have orchestrated Crosswhite’s ouster and preserved his million-dollar consulting contracts by aligning closely to Jeff Peoples and allegedly spearheading a campaign of support for Peoples by heavy-hitters from the Alabama political and business communities, before Peoples was announced as Crosswhite’s stopgap replacement.

Those heavy-hitters allegedly contacted Fanning and Southern Company board members, calling on them to appoint Peoples as CEO of Alabama Power.

Before his appointment, Peoples allegedly approved supplemental work orders for Perkins that were designed to cover up nefarious misconduct, including the targeting of Burt Newsome and his family. Peoples had served as executive vice president of customer and employee services at Alabama Power prior to becoming CEO.

Peoples is seen as a loyal stooge for “Sloppy Joe” Perkins by Alabama Power insiders.

Perkins, who recently has been strutting around like a miniature horse at Alabama Power headquarters, appears to feel he is untouchable, essentially the shadow president of Alabama Power.

If Perkins is going to ride the Jeff Peoples horse to a prominent position at Alabama Power, he might need to do it in a hurry. As Forbes has reported, Peoples is 63 years old and faces mandatory retirement at age 65.

Meanwhile, some individuals who actually are executives at Southern Company seem to have grown tired of Perkins' act. Writes Forbes:

Last fall, Jim Kerr, the chief compliance officer and general counsel at Southern Company, and the King & Spalding investigative team recommended that Crosswhite immediately cancel both contracts with Perkins and his affiliated entities worth more than $2.2 million a year.

Anonymous insiders tell us that Perkins, whose bruised ego appears to generate out-of-control behavior, is allegedly trying to retaliate against Kerr, who was promoted to chairman and CEO of Southern Company Gas, to take effect at the end of this month.

Kerr is not alone in his concerns about Perkins. Crosswhite reportedly has plans of his own. Writes Forbes:

Now anonymous sources claim that Crosswhite is cooperating with federal investigators, outlining all the immoral, unsavory, and criminal acts associated with Perkins and his entities in return for a full immunity deal.

Recent documents leaked to media appear to show that Perkins is an alleged habitual and prolific liar, especially his denial that he was not involved with the surveillance of Fanning.

Hand-written notes appear to contradict Perkins. 

Crosswhite could testify about Perkins' direct involvement with the Fanning surveillance and also testify regarding the head-on vehicle crash that nearly killed Burt Newsome.

Newsome infuriated Alabama Power when he took on the rebirth of the North Birmingham Bribery case, ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s $75-million lawsuit against Balch & Bingham and Drummond Company.

Crosswhite, eight years as chairman and CEO of Alabama Power, knows where the decomposing corpses are buried.

In addition to Crosswhite’s cooperation, Alabama Power insiders say Peoples’ history of allegedly creating a hostile work environment for African Americans and women, his apparent inappropriate relationships with Southern Company employees, plus possible misappropriated expenditures on party pads, will soon begin leaking out with documented evidence, thereby, forcing Perkins and his hand-picked stooge Peoples onto the curb, like a miniature horse and his cowboy.