Florida Power & Light chief Eric Silagy follows Alabama Power's Mark Crosswhite out the door in the wake of scandals tied to Matrix LLC of Montgomery

Eric Silagy, of Florida Power & Light (AP)

 

The head of Florida's main electric company is stepping down in the wake of reports about the firm's ties to the Matrix LLC consulting firm of Montgomery, AL, according to a report from Associated Press (AP) and The Washington Post. The report comes roughly two months after Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite, who has longstanding ties to Matrix, announced he would retire, effective at the end of December 2022. That announcement came after a series of scandals -- many tied to Matrix, Birmingham's Balch & Bingham law firm, or related entities -- caused a cloud to form over Crosswhite's tenure.

The report on Florida Power & Light (FPL) and CEO Eric Silagy reveals a number of parallels with events at Alabama Power. From the AP report by Terry Spencer:

The leader of Florida’s primary electric company, which has been embroiled in controversy over allegations that it backed sham election candidates and spied on a journalist, will be stepping down next month, it was announced this week.

Florida Power & Light’s parent company, NextEra Energy, announced that CEO Eric Silagy will step down Feb. 15 and then retire in May after assisting his successor, Armando Pimentel, through the transition. Pimentel, a top executive at NextEra, is taking over a company that serves about 5 million Florida homes and businesses, or about half the state. . . . 

“It has been an honor and privilege to lead the FPL team for more than a decade,  and I couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishments we have delivered to our customers and the state of Florida,” he said in a statement. There is no indication in the statement he was stepping down because of the allegations.

But FPL has been under scrutiny since last year after the Orlando Sentinel and the Florida Times-Union were leaked documents, texts, and emails from a political consulting firm the company hired. The newspapers charged that the consulting company, Matrix LLC, went after politicians FPL opposed and secretly took over a Florida political news website and used it to give the company favorable coverage. It also spied on Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe, who had written critically of the company’s bid to buy Jacksonville’s municipal electric company.

How did FPL, and Matrix, alter Florida's political landscape to attack candidates who met with disfavor from the power company? Spencer provides an example:

In one case, Democratic State Sen. José Javier Rodríguez angered FPL by proposing a bill that would have eaten into its profits.

In a 2019 email chain obtained by the Sentinel, Silagy tells two of his vice presidents, “I want you to make (Rodriguez’s) life a living hell.” The vice presidents forwarded the email to Matrix. In the 2020 election, Matrix spent heavily supporting the independent candidacy of a Rodriguez opponent with the same last name. He siphoned votes away as Rodriguez lost his reelection bid. The opponent, who had never shown any political interest, later admitted he was bribed to run.

Other similar mystery candidates popped up elsewhere in the state to run against FPL critics, all getting support from Matrix. While others involved in those campaigns have been charged with election-related crimes, no one from FPL or Matrix has been.

Silagy told the Sentinel he used a “poor choice of words” in his email, but denied that he or the company ever directed Matrix to do anything illegal. Matrix blamed a former CEO and former employees who it said acted without ownership’s knowledge.

NextEra Energy, FPL's parent company, conducted an internal investigation that found FPL should now be in the clear, reports Spencer:

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday, NextEra said its investigation into Sentinel and Times-Union’s allegations “is substantially complete” and “based on information in our possession, we believe that FPL would not be found liable for any of the Florida campaign finance law violations.” It also says it believes FPL will be cleared of federal elections code violations.

Jacksonville journalist Nate Monroe, having been a Matrix target, likely would not paint such a rosy picture:

In Monroe’s file, there were 72 pages of information on him and his family — including a surreptitious photo of him and his wife walking their dog near their home.

A Matrix spy even appeared to follow him to a wedding hundreds of miles away. In a text to an FPL executive, the spy showed glee when Monroe tweeted that he was getting drunk at the reception (Monroe has said he was being “facetious”). The spy later that night used a sad-faced emoji when he reported back to the executive that Monroe took an Uber to his hotel instead of driving. The former Matrix CEO complained to FPL that Monroe’s personal life is “boring.”

“I believe it is fair to detect an undercurrent of hostility in these records,” Monroe wrote in a column.

Internal Matrix documents were distributed to a number of news outlets when company founder Joe Perkins and former CEO Jeff Pitts engaged in a bitter lawsuit that crossed state lines, from Florida into Alabama. The lawsuit ultimately settled, but the Matrix documents apparently remain in the possession of several journalists.

Why is law enforcement slow to act on identity-theft case involving stolen credit card belonging to attorney Burt Newsome and break in of his wife's vehicle?

 

The Newsome family at Christmas 2022

When someone, in August 2018, sent various clothing items and five sets of luggage to the home of Birmingham attorney Burt Newsome, our reporting focused on the perverse-threat aspect of the story. The  luggage appeared to be for each child in the family, along with one for their mother -- Regina Gauliulina Newsome. Was the message that the children and their mother should prepare for an extended trip, a "permanent vacation," you might say? Was it that they needed to leave because something unpleasant, such as a head-on vehicle crash that almost proved to be fatal, was going to happen to the family's husband and father?

While the exact message remains unclear, it clearly was not a form of "season's greetings." In fact, it appeared to be part of an orchestrated terror campaign that had been directed at the family, in various forms,  since Burt Newsome engaged in courtroom battles with powerful corporate, legal, and political entities in the state -- Alabama Power, Southern Company, Balch & Bingham, Drummond Company, and Matrix LLC. Of particular note is this: Burt Newsome became the attorney for former Drummond executive David Roberson, in a $75-million lawsuit for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation., and concealment. In essence, the complaint claims various entities combined to unlawfully make Roberson the "fall guy" in the North Birmingham criminal trial. When Newsome refused to drop the case or otherwise cave in, it apparently drew the ire of someone who wanted the matter to go away.

Another aspect of the luggage story -- one that involves an apparent crime -- has been mostly overlooked in our reporting, and now seems to be a good time to correct that.

The luggage and other items sent to the Newsome home apparently were purchased with Burt Newsome's stolen credit card. How did the card get into the wrong hands? That happened when someone broke into Regina Newsome's vehicle, via a smash-and grab operation, while it was parked at a Vestavia Hills fitness center. Much was percolating behind the scenes when the theft occurred, as we noted in an August 2018 post:

Regina Galiulina Newsome apparently was targeted while at Lifetime Fitness for a tennis lesson, according to her Facebook page. The incident, on July 30, came nine days after former Balch & Bingham partner Joel Gilbert was convicted of bribery in the North Birmingham Superfund scandal. It also came after reports of a possible RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) lawsuit related to Balch's efforts to essentially steal Burt Newsome's lucrative collections practice and ruin his law business.

Was Regina Newsome targeted in an effort to intimidate her husband into forgoing a RICO lawsuit that could expose some prominent political figures -- including former U.S. Senators Jeff Sessions (now Trump attorney general) and Luther Strange, plus Strange's one-time . . . campaign manager, Jessica Medeiros Garrison, . . . who [was] a lawyer at Balch & Bingham at the time?

Just yesterday, we learned from excellent reporting at Mother Jones, that Sessions and his office coordinated their attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Superfund case, working more closely with Balch than was previously known. Does that mean Sessions, too, could be connected to the intimidation campaign against Burt Newsome and his wife? That certainly is a reasonable question to ask. By the way, Jessica Medeiros Garrison used to work for Jeff Sessions, whose top two political donors long have been Alabama Power and Balch & Bingham. Could Garrison have been involved with, or have knowledge of, the intimidation campaign against the Newsome family?

Here is a key, overlooked point for now: Whoever made off with Burt Newsome's credit card committed a crime -- and local law enforcement seemingly has shown little interest in solving it. In an age when security cameras and cell phones seem to be everywhere, that is a particularly brazen act -- a crime with a high probability for being solved. But maybe the perpetrator knew he was not going to get caught.

The incident report, which can be seen at the end of this post, lists the crime as identity theft, a violation of Code of Alabama 13A-8-192. The offense also appears to match illegal possession or fraudulent use of a credit card under Code of Alabama 13A-9-14. The former is a Class C felony, and the latter is a Class B felony. Either way, it's a serious offense, and the public should be concerned that law enforcement does not seem to be taking it seriously. From the incident report's narrative:

On this date, 8/7/18, Regina came to the Sheriff's Office to report an incident of identity theft. Regina said that on 7/27/18, an order was placed via the shopping application GILT. The order was placed under Regina's login information on her account. The order contained miscellaneous children's clothing for boys and girls, as well as luggage and a tennis skirt for an adult female. The order total was $1,164.23 and was charged on a secondary form of payment, her husband's personal credit card, not her preferred form of payment. Regina was unaware of the order, and her husband was unaware of the charge. Regina's vehicle was broken into while she was at a private tennis lesson on 7/30/18. . . . Regina said her vehicle was the only one broken into, according to Vestavia Hills Police. Regina's husband is an attorney, who is involved in a number of high-profile corruption cases, and she seems to think this might have something to do with one of those since there was no men's clothing and no men's luggage in the order.

Why was a state trooper present so quickly for vehicle crash that nearly killed lawyer Burt Newsome, and why does incident report differ with evidence at the scene?

Image No. 1 -- see notes at end of post.

A state trooper's report on a vehicle crash, which has been the subject of multiple posts here at Legal Schnauzer, is inaccurate, according to a party who was severely injured in the incident.

Attorney Burt Newsome, in fact, says the mere presence of a state trooper raises questions about how the crash unfolded and how it was investigated. Further, Newsome says, the trooper's report differs in numerous respects from what Newsome saw with his own eyes as the crash unfolded in September 2020.

Image No. 2

Newsome wound up with a severely broken right leg, and photos taken at the scene indicate he likely was very close to being fatally injured. In the general time frame, Newsome was involved in high- stakes litigation with several corporate and legal powerhouses in the state -- including Alabama Power, Southern Company, Drummond Company, Balch & Bingham, and Matrix LLC.

Perhaps of most note, Newsome was the attorney for former Drummond executive David Roberson in a $75-million lawsuit against Drummond and Balch & Bingham for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. Did someone see attempted murder as the only way out of a courtroom jam -- likely created by a plaintiff [Roberson] with a strong case, and an attorney who refused to be scared away?

Image No. 3

Newsome was driving a Volkswagen Jetta and was hit by a man driving a Ford Explorer. Based on photos taken at the scene, it is remarkable that Newsome survived.

Was Newsome targeted for the vehicle crash because he refused to cave in to a number of intimidation tactics (see here and here) and drop the case or settle it on bad terms for his client?

The images with this post tend to suggest that the state trooper produced an incident report that appears to be off target.

First, let's consider the trooper's narrative on the incident report.

* It says vehicle No. 1 (the green Ford Explorer) was traveling westbound on Shelby County 280, making a left turn on County Road 11. But a photo taken moments after the crash shows the Explorer's wheels turned sharply right. That's a strange way to make a left-hand turn.

* According to the narrative, Driver No. 1 said, as he was trying to turn left, a vehicle in front of him turned right onto County Road 11, obscuring his view. But a diagram and photos show it is impossible to turn right going west at that intersection because there is no roadway to turn onto; County Road 11 dead ends at that intersection.

* The narrative states that Driver No. 1, as he was turning left, did not see vehicle No. 2 (Newsome's Volkswagen Jetta), and the Jetta struck him in the intersection. Photos taken moments after the crash show the intersection was clear, and the crash did not happen in that area.

* The narrative says Driver No. 2 (Newsome) saw the Explorer making a left-hand turn and tried to swerve left to avoid him. But the Explorer swerved right, hitting Newsome virtually head-on. Photos from the scene are consistent with Newsome's version of the crash.

All of this raises many disturbing questions, so let's start with this one: Why was it odd for a state trooper to be on the scene? Newsome explains:

Shelby County typically does not use state troopers to write up accident reports that occur within its jurisdiction, unless it is a fatality or a major crash with life-threatening injuries.

An employee of Newsome's law office immediately began taking photos at the crash scene, and Newsome says those photos tell a very different story from what the trooper's diagrams show:

Image No. 4

It is clear in the photo that [name deleted] took right after the crash that, after the Explorer started to turn left on County Road 11, he gunned it straight towards me - and then when I attempted to veer LEFT he turned RIGHT into me and struck the right side of the vehicle. If I had not been able to slightly veer left avoiding a head-on collision, he would have killed me. The photo clearly shows the Explorer turning RIGHT, trying to hit me head on.

But, look at the police report.  He wrote up that the vehicle was turning left on County Road 11, and that I was going straight, and the drawing shows the Explorer turning right instead of turning LEFT like it truly was -- and it shows the Explorer striking me on the left side and not the RIGHT. Plus, after he straightened up and gunned it at me - he had gone well past the turn onto CR 11. The drawing is patently false. 

Was the trooper happy about the Newsome employee's presence, with a camera? No, says Newsome:

The trooper ordered [name deleted] to quit taking pictures at the scene. He was screaming at her to stop taking pictures.

Just a few of many troubling questions from this incident: 

(1) Did someone pay to have Burt Newsome killed?

(2) Why did law enforcement mostly ignore the crash and produce an incident report that appears to be flawed?

(3) Can the trooper's report be explained by honest mistakes? 

(4) Was Newsome targeted because of the $75-million Roberson lawsuit?

(5) What does this say about the "justice system" in the Birmingham area?

(6) Does an attorney put his life on the line when he brings a civil case against powerful entities in Alabama -- and treats his client's claims with seriousness? 

Notes on images

* Image No. 1 -- (top) diagram from the trooper's report; (bottom) view from the side, just after impact, with the Explorer's wheels turned sharply right.

* Image No. 2 -- View of the impact from the other side of what is shown in Image No. 1. Again, the Explorer's front wheels can be seen turned right.

* Image No. 3 --  View of an empty intersection, post crash, showing the incident report incorrectly had the crash happening in that intersection. Newsome's vehicle actually was hit outside the intersection, past the turn to County Road 11.

* Image No. 4 -- A photo illustration, from above, of the crash scene at impact.

Birmingham Times and al.com appear to have ditched their journalism bona fides to hitch a ride on Alabama Power's gravy train, serving a diet of "Happy News"

A foundation affiliated with Alabama Power acquired the black-owned Birmingham Times in 2016, and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has joined the alliance by funneling more than $1.8 million to the news site. That suggests Alabama Power and the city jointly control the content of an editorial voice that is important enough to have been around for almost 60 years. Speaking of editorial voices, evidence suggests al.com -- the state's largest news operation -- also has jumped on the Alabama Power gravy train. And all of this raises these questions: Has the mainstream media (MSM) thoroughly sold out to corporate and governmental interests, whose editorial policy consists of producing little more than "Happy News"? Where does the serious news consumer turn for actual journalism in Alabama?

K.B. Forbes. of the banbalch.com blog and the CDLU public charity and advocacy group, addresses those issues and more in a post titled "Birmingham Mayor Funnels Whopping $1.8 Million to Birmingham Times, Another Alabama Power Funded, Compromised, and Slanted News Site." Here is the most sobering question of all: If Alabama Power and its allies already control the judiciary, as we showed in recent posts (see here and here), what does it mean for a democratic Alabama if they come to control the "free press," as well? Writes Forbes:

Investigative and independent mainstream journalism is dead in Alabama. Sadly, Southern Company’s criminal enterprise holds the purse and keys.

In December, National Public Radio published an article titled, “In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics.” 

The article highlighted how Alabama Power funneled money to Alabama Political Reporter (APR) and Yellowhammer News, and in turn, received exclusively positive coverage while fiercely attacking Alabama Power’s critics.

The NPR report confirms the anonymously sent financial documents we received and what we suspected when APR and brain amputee Josh Moon attacked and smeared the CDLU in 2020.

Now we have uncovered a new development.

In addition to funding news sites that attack their critics, an affiliate of Alabama Power, the Alabama Power Foundation, funded the acquisition of a black-owned news site in Birmingham, the Birmingham Times.

What was the roundabout process that brought the Times under the auspices of Alabama Power? Forbes describes it:

In 2016, James Lewis sold the newspaper to The Foundation for Progress in Journalism (FPJ), a not-for-profit organization. The Foundation was incorporated on February 20, 2013, with no reported donations that year.  

In 2014, the Foundation for Progress in Journalism received $35,000 from the Alabama Power Foundation, its sole donor. In 2015, the Alabama Power Foundation contributed another $100,000 to the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, which was 100% of its income.  In 2016, the Alabama Power Foundation contributed another $50,000 to the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, which used its cash on hand to buy the Birmingham Times. 

And guess who incorporated the foundation?

Alabama Power’s sister-wife Balch & Bingham.

On August 19, 2020, the Foundation for Progress in Journalism changed its name to the Bronze Valley Foundation.  The registered agent’s address is 600 18^th Street North, Birmingham, Alabama, the same address for Alabama Power Company.

The Bronze Valley Foundation is associated directly with the Bronze Valley Corp. which was formed in Alabama as a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation in 2015.  Its address is the same as Alabama Power Company’s.  The registered agent is J. Houston Smith, III Alabama Power Vice President of Government Affairs and former Balch & Bingham partner.

Bronze Valley Corp. was originally incorporated under the name “Elevate Alabama, Inc.” The name was changed to Bronze Valley Corp. on November 28, 2017, which was shortly after Randall Woodfin was sworn-in to his first term as Mayor of Birmingham.

The current board of directors listed on Bronze Valley Corp. include Jeff Peoples, the new Chairman and CEO of Alabama Power, and Houston Smith.

Bronze Valley Corp. acknowledges in its Impact Report for 2018 to 2020 that it receives principal financial support from Alabama Power Company, the Alabama Power Foundation, Regions Bank, and the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Whew, that is quite a long and winding road. And we haven't even addressed the City of Birmingham's place long the trail. K.B. Forbes fills us in:

On August 20, 2020, the City of Birmingham withdrew $1,146,377.76 from a money market account at BBVA Compass Bank.  Mayor Randall Woodfin used this money to pay a “batch” of Birmingham Times invoices for “Legal Advertising.” The payment was coded as a “Nondepartmental” expenditure.

This $1,146,377.76 payment came out of the city’s $412.8 million operating budget for 2020-2021.  As of December 16, 2022, Woodfin has quietly funneled $1,815,170.84 to the Birmingham Times during his tenure as Mayor of Birmingham.

A breakdown of the city payments to the Birmingham Times Media Group and affiliated entities is available in the city’s Open Checkbook under the “Transactions Report” portal when the vendor name Birmingham Times Media Group is entered.

Included in Mayor Woodfin’s $1,815,170.84 payments to the Birmingham Times entities is a $32,500.00 recurring payment for “Professional Fees,” an amount that doubled from the $16,250 recurring payments on April 26, 2021.  

During his tenure as mayor, Woodfin has paid the Birmingham Times entities $228,105.00 in “Professional Fees,” alone.

A search of the Birmingham Times website (as of December 28, 2022) reveals that no classified legal advertisements have appeared on the newspaper’s website since January 12, 2017.

While the Birmingham Times has published a print edition during Woodfin’s tenure as mayor, we have been unable to verify or quantify the volume of “Legal Advertising” the city has placed in the Birmingham Times printed edition during this five-year period.

According to Gaebler.com, the estimated minimum rate for ads in the Birmingham Times is $23. Gaeber notes that “advertising rate estimates are typically for a column inch of black and white advertising space.  Seasonal factors should also be considered.”

Prior to Woodfin becoming mayor, the Birmingham Times received about $75,000 a year from the city for the placement of legal ads.

As for the term "Happy News," we are not making up that one; it seems to be an editorial theme at the Birmingham Times of 2023, writes Forbes:

After the change in ownership at the Birmingham Times in 2016, the newspaper hired a seasoned team of executives and reporters, improved its design, enhanced its online presence, and published a steady stream of “Happy News” for its targeted readership.  

“Happy News” features positive stories about community events and uplifting profiles of non-controversial people.

“Happy News” does not include hard-hitting, investigative reporting that exposes known polluters in Alabama; spotlights public corruption within local, state or federal government; or shows the need for transparency and accountability in government operations and campaign financing laws.  

Because the Birmingham Times has received $1,815,170.84 from the City of Birmingham during Woodfin’s term in office (through December 31, 2022), “Happy News” does not include any criticism of the Woodfin administration on any issue.

Finally, “Happy News” does not include any kind of negative media coverage of Alabama Power, Southern Company, the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal, or Alabama Power’s networking business partners and political allies.

The Birmingham Times is not required to publicly disclose the names of the individuals and/or entities that have financially benefited from the $1,815,170.84 Mayor Woodfin funneled to Birmingham Times entities between the time he assumed office in 2017 and the end of 2022.

Neither the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, nor the Bronze Valley Foundation, has disclosed this information, either.

How does al.com enter the picture? Here's how, Forbes reports, and it involves collaboration on a subject of the utmost seriousness:

One of the board members of the Bronze Valley Foundation is Bob Blalock, a public relations spin doctor at Alabama Power Company. Prior to joining Alabama Power, Blalock was a reporter and editorial page editor at The Birmingham News.  He is a specialist in molding public opinion on controversial issues.

Beginning on September 4, 2022, the Birmingham Times Media Group and AL.com started collaborating on a series of articles for publication in the Birmingham Times that focus on the sky-high homicide rates in the city.  The articles soft peddled the severity of the violent crime in the city and portrayed Woodfin in the best light possible.

AL.com is Alabama’s largest mainstream new media organization. It operates the Huntsville Times, Birmingham News, and Mobile Press Register.

Under the collaboration arrangement, AL.com produced content that was published in the Birmingham Times, as written by Al.com employees John Archibald, Amy Yurkanin, Greg Garrison, Carol Robinson, Ryan Michaels, and Roy Johnson.

Behind the scenes, the money wheel keeps spinning, helping to churn out high-quality "Happy News":

Shortly before this collaboration began, Woodfin’s recurring payments to Birmingham Times entities for “Professional Fees” increased from $16,250 to $32,500 for each payment. It is not known what portion of this increase in fees, if any, was funneled to AL.com under the collaboration arrangement.

What is known, however, is the fact that AL.com aligned with the Birmingham Times in showering Woodfin with consistent and favorable news coverage, at taxpayers’ expense.  

It is also known that both the Woodfin administration and executives at the Birmingham Times appear to have taken extreme measures to conceal the flow of money that is reported in this post.

Neither the Birmingham Times, nor AL.com, has publicly disclosed their transformation from an independent news reporting role to paid standard bearers for Woodfin’s “marketing and promotions” program funded by Alabama Power.

Mayor Woodfin has never publicly disclosed the fact that taxpayer dollars have been funneled through the Birmingham Times entities to a financially struggling AL.com, which has turned a blind eye to questionable financial practices at City Hall, and the alleged corruption tied to Southern Company’s criminal enterprise and their hired guns at Alabama Power, Balch & Bingham, and Matrix.

Shameful!

As Southern Company scandal deepens, attention turns to Alabama's rotting "justice system," with major news outlets on a trail of Southern-fried corruption

 

What once was a story of alleged corporate malfeasance involving Alabama Power, Southern Company, and related entities is evolving into a story about Alabama's dysfunctional "justice apparatus." Our post on Monday (1/16/23), focusing on the criminal case against prominent black attorney and businessman Donald Watkins, showed the state's decaying judicial and law-enforcement systems are so broken they can produce outcomes that are tainted, even rigged. Is that a sign that victims of the Alabama Power saga stand little chance of achieving justice -- given Alabama courthouses (both federal and state) often are the places where fairness and the rule of law go to die?

The answer to that question might prove to be yes. But as we also reported on Monday, multiple sources state that national and international news outlets are investigating apparent corruption tied to Alabama's corporate titans. When those stories hit the streets, it might give rogue judges and prosecutors little place to hide -- suggesting that all hope might not be lost for victims.

How did we get to this point? K.B. Forbes, CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group, has used his organization's blog, banbalch.com, to lead the way in exposing dubious actions that often center around the Matrix LLC consulting firm of Montgomery and Birmingham's Balch & Bingham law firm. It's a tale that Alabama's mainstream media (MSM) seems reluctant to touch, but Forbes has not hesitated to dive into the muck. His findings have been consistently distressing, even shocking. And in a post today titled "Tangled: Southern Company’s Criminal Enterprise, Law Enforcement Stooges, Compromised Judges, Paid-Off Media, and the Miscarriage of Justice, he reports that the whole sordid mess started because of -- surprise, surprise -- money:

Southern Company allowed their most profitable subsidiary Alabama Power to run free, like outlaws in the Wild West.

Why? Because Alabama Power’s excessive profits helped pay for the billion-dollar cost overruns at two Southern Company boondoggles: The Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia and the Kemper Plant in Mississippi.

Forbes then turns to possible avenues for victims to seek justice:

Ex-Alabama Power CEO Mark A. Crosswhite appears to have run a criminal enterprise that gives multiple victims of the misconduct standing to sue Southern Company with civil RICO lawsuits.

Civil RICO lawsuits against Southern Company, Matrix, Balch & Bingham, and others offer plaintiffs a solution to the rigged and corrupt system of justice and law enforcement in Alabama.

The acts carried out by Alabama Power, Balch, Matrix and others associated to the criminal enterprise are actionable. And the civil RICO statute provides triple damages to victims.

Now with Monday’s explosive post showing Southern Company’s law enforcement stooge and disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town authorized the subpoena of Alabama Media Group to find out the identity of an innocent, online commentator, the tangled web of law enforcement stooges, compromised judges, and paid-off media demonstrate a horrific enterprise engaged in acts of injustice.

While Forbes focuses on RICO as a possible civil remedy for victims of corruption, he also provides an example of how Alabama "crime fighters" can be incompetent, compromised or both. For this, we turn to the case of Shelby County attorney Burt Newsome, who has been the victim of a mysterious head-on vehicle crash that nearly killed him, plus a case of brazen identity theft -- not to mention Balch's apparent efforts to ruin a sizeable chuck of his banking practice, and the peculiar actions of a state judge who shows signs of being compromised. Writes Forbes:

When the Southern Company’s criminal enterprise sent two sets of outfits and travel bags to Newsome’s wife and each of his four children as a threatening message, local law enforcement had the audacity to blame his young twins who couldn’t read of ordering the items, picking correct clothing sizes, and inputting a stolen credit card number and home address on a website.

Fraudulently using a stolen credit card is a Class C Felony in Alabama. Why in God’s name did local Shelby County Sheriff Deputies ignore this crime and dismiss it as an act of his two young children?

Some of this might be too bizarre to grasp in one setting, so we will summarize the fundamental parts: Someone stole Burt Newsome's credit-card out of his wife's vehicle and used the card to charge items that were sent to the home to terrorize Newsome's family.

Did law enforcement take this seriously? Nope. Neither the Shelby County Sheriff's Office nor the U.S. Attorney's Office have taken any apparent meaningful action.

To top it off, Southern Company has been less-than-forthcoming about the Newsome case, writes Forbes;

In January of 2018, Jim Kerr, the Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel at Southern Company told us unequivocally that Southern Company/Alabama Power was not involved in the Newsome Conspiracy Case.

But that was untrue, a lie.

A year later we uncovered that the staged arrest of Newsome in 2013 was done by the cop-son of a retired Alabama Power executive.

The anonymous documents we received in November show that Alabama Power paid to have the Newsome family terrorized, paid to tar and feather Newsome falsely as a rapist, and, to add a cherry on top of this cluster of injustice, paid-off the media to attack Newsome.

Southern Company’s paid-off media, the discredited Alabama Political Reporter, wrote a long-winded article in 2021 attacking the merits of the Newsome Conspiracy Case while defending Alabama Power and making disgraced ex-CEO Mark A. Crosswhite sound like a poor victim of this blog. (Cry us a polluted river!) . . .

Alabama Power paid Alabama Political Reporter at least $120,000 a year according to documents we received anonymously.

In 2018, Kerr may have looked the other way and let Alabama Power act like outlaws. Or maybe Kerr was lied to by subordinates.

All that changed in 2022, when news report revealed that Alabama Power spied on Southern Company Chairman and CEO Tom Fanning and his then-girlfriend in 2017.

The outlaws had shot themselves in the foot.

While Southern Company is cleaning house and restructuring, the corrupt state of affairs and infrastructure in Alabama remains.

Donald V. Watkins, the Newsome Family, the Forbes Family, the CDLU, GASP, and others have one remedy to clean up this Alabama mess and detangle the corruption: a federal civil RICO lawsuit.

Newly obtained documents show that corporate thugs and Justice Department rogues teamed up to make the Donald Watkins criminal trial a sham proceeding

Donald Watkins

 

This marks the day Americans  celebrate the progress we have made on matters of race. It also, however, is the day a breaking story in Alabama reveals the disgraceful lengths the state's corporate power structure -- which is predominantly white, of course -- will go to destroy a prominent black attorney and businessman.

The story, which comes to us via the banbalch.com blog and the CDLU public charity and advocacy group, also shows that elements in our "justice system," which also is mostly white, hold little regard for constitutional concepts such as "due process" and "equal protection under law," especially as they should have applied to the 2018-19 trial of Donald Watkins.

In essence, this is a story about corporate power brokers and compromised justice officials working behind the scenes to ensure that the Watkins criminal trial of would be a sham proceeding. And that suggests, sadly, that America's progress on race still has a long way to go. It's another disgusting chapter for our blog, which since 2007 has written extensively about the rot that has settled in on our justice system at all levels -- state, federal; trial and appellate. 

K.B. Forbes, CEO of the CDLU, shines a white-hot light on recently obtained documents that reveal the ugliness behind the Watkins case. In a post titled "Sealed Documents Show Southern Company’s Law Enforcement Stooges Silenced Critics and Media," Forbes writes:

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we expose the appalling lengths to which Southern Company stooges went to go after and destroy an African American leader and his supporters.

Southern Company’s criminal enterprise not only greased and corrupted the judicial branch in Alabama to protect their wholly owned subsidiaries, but also corrupted the executive branch and law enforcement to silence critics and the media.

From the Newsome Conspiracy Case to the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal, obstruction of justice not only occurred in the court system, but some acts were sadly done by law enforcement officials.

The CDLU has anonymously received a bombshell: a sealed court document from the crimimal case against African American businessman and attorney Donald V. Watkins.

And the document is utterly devastating and demonstrates that the office of disgraced and now ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town was indeed in Southern Company/Alabama Power’s pocket.

Town, a Donald Trump nominee, was confirmed as U.S. Attorney in August of 2017. It did not take him long to target Watkins, on matters that seemingly had already been put to bed, writes Forbes:

In October 2017, Town’s office opened a new federal criminal investigation into the same business transactions between Watkins and a handful of investors in his waste-to-energy business that had been probed by federal prosecutors in New Jersey from July 2015 to February 2016. These prosecutors cleared Watkins on all allegations of wrongdoing.

The move came at the same month as Southern Company’s $2-million-a-year consultant “Sloppy Joe” Perkins hand-wrote a detailed outline of an orchestrated smear campaign against Watkins.

[Sloppy Joe’s secret, hand-written notes from October of 2017 were published four years later in September of 2021 causing a firestorm.]

Perkins’ notes, at page 3, specifically referenced his knowledge of “federal subpoenas” involving Watkins. At the time, the only federal subpoenas involving Watkins were those issued by Town’s newly empaneled grand jury.

 

This is from Watkins' 2021 post about Perkins hand-written notes:

Perkins' notes called for Atlanta Attorney Mario Williams to be investigated after Williams successfully convinced top-notch New Jersey-based federal prosecutors in January 2016 to end their six-month grand jury proceedings into various business transactions between former New York Jets football player Bryan Thomas and me (and a handful of other professional athletes who were my personal friends and business associates). The grand jury review concluded that the business transactions in question complied with all federal laws. In his notes, Perkins described his planned outreach to these athletes. In October 2017, Birmingham federal prosecutor Lloyd Peeples, a homegrown bigot from Dothan, Alabama, commenced a new federal investigation into the same business transactions that were probed and cleared by the New Jersey federal prosecutors. Perkins specifically referenced the "federal subpoenas" in his notes. Unlike the polished career federal prosecutors in New Jersey, Peeples' grand jury leaked enough evidence to fill a water reservoir. In his notes, Perkins did not explain who leaked him information regarding "federal subpoenas."

Forbes provides insight on how all of this played out in the murky waters that run through the Hugo Black Courthouse in the Northern District of Alabama (Birmingham):

Watkins did not become aware of any federal grand jury proceedings or subpoenas issued by Town until February of 2018.

Why would Sloppy Joe know about subpoenas coming out of the secret proceedings of a federal grand jury?

Why, one would ask, was Sloppy Joe in the know?

We believe Southern Company’s criminal enterprise took immediate action against Watkins after he published critical stories about Perkins and his firm Matrix in September of 2017.

Watkins accused Perkins of allegedly targeting the family of a rape victim, Meagan Rondini, who committed suicide after law enforcement and others allegedly dismissed or ignored her accusations against the son of a prominent family in Alabama.

Eventually, Watkins was indicted.

As for the CDLU's newly obtained documents, they show Jay Town's disregard for fundamental rights goes beyond due process and and equal protection; it also goes to matters such as free speech and privacy. Writes Forbes:

The sealed documents that we received are alarming to First Amendment rights and privacy.

During the height of the criminal trial, Jay Town’s office filed a sealed subpoena demanding to know who was making counter arguments and critical comments about the prosecution and trial on the AL.com website comments area.

TheTruthHurts48 burned up Town and his team. 

Ripping up First Amendment rights like mobsters wanting to break one’s legs, Town’s office filed the subpoena on February 25, 2019. Three days later, Alabama Media Group, owners of AL.com, filed a motion to quash. The issue, according to court records, was resolved shortly thereafter but details are unknown.

Because of guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press rights, U.S. Department of Justice guidelines are clear that there are mandatory consultation requirements and Jay Town and his office should have obtained authorization at least 30 days before issuing a subpoena to a media outlet like Alabama Media Group.

We doubt Town’s office did. Town was too busy sipping cocktails with Alabama Power CEO Mark A. Crosswhite, who resigned in disgrace this past November.

How did the recently obtained documents come light? Forbes provides insight -- and he does not intend to let the material just sit in a desk:

We received the anonymously sent, sealed court documents last spring. As whistleblowers, we have forwarded the documents to the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Recently we learned who TheTruthHurts48 is, and the person told us that they attended the Watkins trial everyday and believe the trial was an absolute miscarriage of justice.

TheTruthHurts48, who works remotely, used an IP address and VPN associated with their employer. After the trial, the person was unexpectedly fired by their employer for no reason. They believe Jay Town caused the abrupt termination.

Exactly one year after Jay Town’s office filed that subpoena, on February 25, 2020, Alabama Media Group published an “End of an Era” story and announced, “Beginning Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 at 5 a.m. CST, we’ll eliminate website comments…”

As disarray continues to engulf Birmingham's Balch & Bingham law firm, solo practioner Burt Newsome keeps overcoming obstacles in pursuit of justice

From the scene of the Burt Newsome vehicle crash.

 

Birmingham's Balch & Bingham law firm continues to operate in a state of disarray, according to a report at banbalch.com, which operates under the banner of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group. 

Prominent entities in Balch's backyard have terminated the firm in recent weeks, reports K.B. Forbes, CEO of the CDLU. Apparently struggling to hire and retain experienced attorneys with solid resumes, Balch resorted to promoting a lawyer who played a central role in the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal.

To top it off, Shelby County attorney Burt Newsome, whom Balch targeted for ruination via a dubious arrest on a menacing charge and distribution of his mug shot to clients, seems to be thriving. Writes Forbes:

Eight years ago embattled law firm Balch & Bingham declared in a pleading in the Newsome Conspiracy Case that they had the legal right to “ruin a rival.”

Instead, Balch ruined themselves, losing tens of millions in legal fees, 18 of 18 major lobbying clients, and dozens of seasoned and legacy partners.

Now that disgraced ex-Alabama Power CEO Mark A. Crosswhite was ousted, the once-prestigious, now egregious, law firm has been exposed as part of a criminal enterprise funded by the deep pockets of Southern Company and will be part of a highly anticipated civil RICO lawsuit.

So toxic Balch has become, the Jefferson County Commission terminated the firm last month, according to Politico.com, joining the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department that terminated Balch in 2019.

Signs of the toxicity do not end there, reports Forbes:

And this week, apparently unable to attract experienced partners from other firms or retain new attorneys, Balch announced the promotion to partner of junior ghost-writer extraordinaire, and spy-vs-spy man Irving Jones, Jr. , a central figure of the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal.

Jones infiltrated meetings of the public charity and environmental group GASP and helped ghost-write “dumbed-down” letters for convicted felon and ex-Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert to be signed by African American residents in the AstroTurf campaign to block EPA testing in North Birmingham, according to court testimony in 2018.

Jones had left Balch but returned in 2018. So embarrassed by the rehire, Balch took three weeks to acknowledge that Jones had returned. Jones’ return happened a little more than two months after Gilbert’s conviction.

How is Burt Newsome doing? Pretty darned well, it appears, considering that he was the target of a head-on vehicle crash that shows signs of being an attempted hit. Newsome suffered a badly broken leg, but somehow managed to survive the crash -- and the experience does not seem to have dimmed his taste for justice. How did Newsome survive, given he was driving a Volkswagen Jetta while hit head-on by a Ford Explorer? Forbes can't explain that one, but he writes:

Meanwhile, Burt Newsome, who was viciously targeted by the criminal enterprise and nearly murdered assassinated killed in a mysterious head-on collision in 2020, won a precedent-setting opinion in the 11th Circuit yesterday.

The 11th Circuit three-judge panel unanimously reversed a lower-court ruling in Mortgage Corporation vs.Bozeman ( 21-10987).

Law 360 reports: 

An Alabama U.S. district court ruling that dissolved the mortgage lien on a bankrupt debtor’s home ran afoul of federal law, the Eleventh Circuit said in a precedent-setting opinion that reaffirms the right of secured creditors to full recovery of mortgage loans.

With outstanding professionalism and legal brilliance, and adding to his enormous victory for a Mexican farmer in May, Newsome has vigorously defended the rights of his clients with tenacity.

The 11th Circuit decision, highly applauded in banking circles, should open more doors for Newsome.

As a solo practitioner, it's never been clear why Newsome would be considered a "rival" of a "Big Law" outfit such as Balch. It's also never been clear what drove Balch's apparent beef with Newsome. But this does seem clear: Balch appears to have misplayed its hand at several steps along the way, writes Forbes:

The late Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., general counsel at Balch & Bingham, vowed to fight Newsome to the death.

Sadly, Baker died in 2020.

Balch and the criminal enterprise stupidly wasted millions and lost tens of millions in fees to win a slam-dunk and corrupt judgment of $242,000 against Newsome.

Now the judgment and counterfeit order used to trample Newsome will play a leading role in the Civil RICO lawsuit against Balch, Southern Company, Matrix, and others.

Newsome won’t take it on the chin, not for himself or his clients.

Newsome’s determination for justice has not been hindered, not even by a criminal enterprise or a near-death, head-on car wreck.

And we, the CDLU, along with the public in general, energetically applaud Newsome’s perseverance.

Go, Burt, go!

Records show Alabama Power paid Frank Matthews, who has touted Louis Farrakhan's antisemitic remarks, to assist with intimidation of the company's critics

Frank Matthews (Birmingham Times)

 

Financial documents related to alleged corruption involving Alabama Power and Southern Company show the firms paid an activist and antisemite to assist in a campaign to harass and intimidate critics and perceived enemies of the big utilities, according to a report Tuesday at banbalch.com, which operates under the banner of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group.

The attacks were directed at K.B. Forbes, publisher of Ban Balch and CEO of the CDLU, and Birmingham attorney Burt Newsome, who has engaged in legal battles with the power company and related entities. Writes Forbes:

The anonymously supplied financial records and documents that we, the CDLU, received show that Southern Company/Alabama Power paid Frank Matthews thousands of dollars in the summer of 2020 in a campaign of terror and intimidation against the CDLU, the Forbes family, and Burt Newsome.

The expenditures, paid by Matrix LLC, were approved by Zeke Smith, executive vice president of external affairs at Alabama Power.

Matthews has been described as an activist and founder of the Outcast Voters League in a September 2022 profile by the Birmingham Times. But he also has been tied to antisemitic statements that originated with Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, who espouses an anti-white theology and blames Jews for the slave trade, Jim Crow, and general black oppression, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Writes Forbes:

Matthews, who self-proclaimed himself as “God’s Gangster,” defended and praised Louis Farrakhan, the antisemite and anti-white racist who came to Birmingham in June of 2013.

In the summer of 2020, on the seven-year anniversary of the visit, Matthews declared that it was a “Privilege and honor to meet the most regarded! honorable Louis Farrakhan” in a Facebook Post.

Matthews then spouts his own hate, writing, “We don’t care what Jewish Foundation or Federation or no house negroes that didn’t want the minister here.”

What ties Matthews to the intimidation campaign against Forbes and Newsome? Facebook posts tell the story, Forbes reports: 

Who did Matthews tag in that Facebook post dated June 14, 2020?

Carlos M. Chaverst Jr., the illustrious but easily distracted rebel-rouser.

A little over two weeks later, Chaverst attacked K.B. Forbes, the chief executive officer of the CDLU, as a “racist ass white man” on a Facebook post attached to a Facebook Live video where at the end of the video Chaverst rambles about the “white man” K.B. Forbes and talks about Forbes’ home, while labeling him WYPIPO.

[Note: Chaverst had three Facebook profiles in 2020. The Montez Chaverst profile has since been deleted]

Two days later, on July 4th, the Apostle Brenda Paige Ward, having rented a large van from Budget Rentals at the Birmingham Airport, showed up in Forbes’ neighborhood and held a two-minute “shoot and scoot” fake protest adjacent to Forbes’ home, terrorizing neighbors and Forbes’ then-8-year-old daughter, who cried thinking they were killing an innocent African American like George Floyd.

The next day, the Apostle posted that she enjoyed going to Jazz at the Park on Independence Day.

And who did the Apostle tag? Carlos M. Chaverst, Jr.

Frank Matthews appears to have utilized Chaverst and the Apostle in the campaign of intimidation and terror, and Southern Company paid him well.

Forbes and the CDLU were working with the U.S. Department of Justice as informants about the misconduct in Alabama, and Alabama Power boosters  did not like the fact.

Forbes had dispatched numerous letters and provided hundreds of pages of documents, including the jaw-dropping photos of disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and ex-Alabama Power CEO Mark A. Crosswhite chugging cocktails together.

How does all of this tie together? Forbes explains, noting that the attacks spread to Burt Newsome:

By these acts, Southern Company was trying to silence, intimidate, and threaten Forbes and his family.

The antisemite booster was then paid in late August of 2020 to put up signs for a website that falsely claimed that Burt Newsome was a rapist and that Forbes was defending a rapist.

Southern Company appears to have wanted to discourage and intimidate Newsome from defending or continuing to pursue ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s $75-million civil lawsuit against Balch & Bingham and Drummond, while discouraging Forbes and the CDLU from reporting about the Roberson case or defending Newsome in the Newsome Conspiracy Case.

Jeff Peoples, who approved the expenditure and contract that was used to terrorize the Newsome Family, has since been promoted as CEO and Chairman of Alabama Power.

Jeff Peoples and Zeke Smith should be immediately fired for hiring an antisemite apologist, being engaged in nefarious and criminal misconduct, and for contributing to a criminal enterprise that will be held accountable in a much-anticipated civil RICO lawsuit.

Forbes adds the following:

Matthews even called the CDLU and left a vulgar message for us. (Note: Audio of the message can be heard near the end of a post at the following link.)

Forbes concludes with this:

An apostle, a rebel-rouser, and an antisemite booster meet in a bar…

You can’t make this stuff up.

Florida Power & Light dumps Matrix LLC, in essence telling the firm to "take a hike"; will Southern Co. be next to find Matrix a liability and cut the cord?

 

One of the nation's largest utility companies has severed ties with the Matrix LLC consulting firm of Montgomery, AL, according to a report at banbalch.com, which operates under the banner of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group. Florida Power & Light {FPL}did not quietly part ways with Matrix; it fired a dagger at the firm and its founder, Joe Perkins, in the process.

K.B. Forbes, publisher of Ban Balch and CEO of the CDLU, reports that one act from Matrix's bag of "dirty tricks" proved to be a bridge too far for FPL:

Perkins, founder of Matrix, was embroiled in a nasty legal fight last year with his once-protégé Jeff Pitts, exposing unsavory and nefarious misconduct, including the surveillance of Southern Company CEO and Chairman Tom Fanning and his then-girlfriend in 2017.

In August, an FPL company spokesman said in a statement. “Learning about the surveillance of the CEO of Southern Company further reinforces our decision to have severed all ties with Matrix, a consultant we regret ever having associated ourselves with.”

FPL regrets "ever having associated . . . with" Matrix? Ouch! That's got to sting. 

There was no room for niceties in that statement, but Forbes notes some oddities about FPL's communique:

Sloppy Joe Perkins has become the laughing stock in political circles especially now that Alabama Power CEO Mark A. Crosswhite, “the most powerful man in Alabama,” was ousted in late November.

The letter dispatched by a law firm on behalf of FPL makes a request on entities like the CDLU “to cease any and all disparaging communications or negative publicity involving or relating to the Matrix LLC consulting firm or any of its affiliates.”

Why would FPL dispatch a final letter to non-parties about Matrix and Sloppy Joe’s bruised feelings? We, the CDLU, have mentioned FPL peripherally, so why a letter to us?

Observers state that FPL is solidifying the fact the company was not behind any leaks, attacks, document dumps, or negative publicity regarding the Matrix Meltdown and are attempting to prevent any involvement in potential litigation associated with Perkins and his affiliated companies.

If FPL felt the need to provide cover for itself, that could be a sign of rocky waters ahead for Matrix. In fact, FPL might not be the only company wishing to separate from Matrix. Writes Forbes:

In late November, we, the CDLU, received documents and financial information about Southern Company’s expenditures through Matrix. The letter from FPL’s lawyers was dispatched a couple weeks later

With potential civil RICO litigation impacting utilities because of Matrix’s misconduct, Matrix, like Balch & Bingham, has become a third-party risk.

FPL is cleaning up loose ends while Sloppy Joe was cut loose and terminated. A spokesman at FPL confirmed to us yesterday that the relationship was over, definitely over.

When will Southern Company terminate Sloppy Joe, Matrix, and his affiliated companies?

Will King & Spalding’s criminal investigation on behalf of Southern Company cause the same “regret ever having associated” with Sloppy Joe?

Alleged sleaze connected to Southern Company has left Alabama with a rigged judicial system that harms ordinary folks -- including my wife -- in myriad ways

Abdul Kallon

 

Allegations of misconduct that have been swirling around Alabama Power; its parent firm, Southern Company; and related entities, such as Matrix LLC, could wind up shining much-needed light on the judicial corruption that has plagued Alabama for years, according to a report this morning from banbalch.com, which operates under the banner of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group.

Southern Company has a vice-like grip on the Alabama judiciary, resulting in unlawful rulings that benefit the company and its associated entities -- with all of this often going unnoticed by the public or the press. Writes K.B. Forbes, CEO of the CDLU and publisher of Ban Balch:

With the numerous documents, financial records, and insurmountable evidence of Southern Company’s criminal enterprise, now the greasing and corruption of the judicial branch of Alabama is under scrutiny.

 This is a profoundly important issue, one that hits close to home in the Schnauzer household. In fact, we've had an up-close view of courtroom activities that provide a distressing answer to this question: How does judicial corruption (or incompetence, or both) affect everyday Americans? Consider my wife, Carol. Crooked federal-court rulings, in the Northern District of Alabama, robbed her of full ownership rights to her own house. No, kidding. And Carol's experience ties in with the bigger picture that K.B. Forbes examines. How? The judge who butchered the ruling against Carol was Abdul Kallon, the same judge who oversaw the North Birmingham Bribery Trial -- and when reports surfaced about apparent corruption in that case -- gave up his lifetime appointment and bolted for Seattle, seemingly hoping no one could find him there.

We will have more in upcoming posts on the unpleasant -- and exasperating -- experiences Carol and I have had with judicial corruption. We also will examine this question: Are some of the cheat jobs we've experienced tied to Southern Company and affiliated entities, such as Alabama Power and the Balch & Bingham law firm? At the moment, we can think of at least one instance where there is a possible tie. I would not be surprised if we think of more -- either tied to Balch or a similar "big law" firm, such as Bradley Arant.

For now, let's turn to K.B. Forbes' analysis, which also points to baffling and brazen examples of judges acting with seemingly little, or no, respect for the rule of law. Writes Forbes:

A simple case of breach of contract and misrepresentation was sealed in its entirety. No minors, or victims of sexual assault or domestic violence were involved.

So why was the case sealed then?

Because the case was tied to Southern Company, its subsidiary Alabama Power, and/or sister-wife Balch & Bingham.

Observers have been stunned by the sheer control that Southern Company has over judges and the judicial branch in Alabama.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.

With the numerous documents, financial records, and insurmountable evidence of Southern Company’s criminal enterprise, now the greasing and corruption of the judicial branch of Alabama is under scrutiny.

In our view, the scrutiny cannot come too quickly -- or with too much intensity. Much has been written lately about threats to democracy. But it's possible that nothing threatens democracy quite like judicial corruption. As the son of a World War II veteran who landed on Normandy Beach three days after D-Day, I know men like my father put their lives on the line to protect the U.S. Constitution. But judicial corruption turns the Constitution on its head, often so the privileged and powerful can benefit -- with rulings coming out of the shadows, outside of public view. Here is more from K.B. Forbes about the breach-of-contract case:

The simple case of breach of contract and misrepresentation is ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s $75-million civil lawsuit against Drummond Company and Balch & Bingham.

No developments in the case are currently available because of the gag order, sealing of the case.

And the motions to seal the case were made shortly after disgraced ex-Alabama Power CEO Mark A. Crosswhite was subpoenaed to testify. (Gee, is Crosswhite among the privileged?)

Known as the rebirth of the North Birmingham Bribery Trial, the case caused uncontrolled panic by Alabama Power, Drummond, and Balch before it was sealed.

And why does Southern Company seal a case?

So it can cheat and hide high crimes and misdemeanors.

Forbes brings another case to the forefront:

Look at the Newsome Conspiracy Case, where Southern Company’s attorneys at Balch & Bingham sealed the case in its entirety, known as a secret Star Chamber.

The entire case was “won” on a counterfeit order that even Balch admitted was counterfeit.

The counterfeit order was embarrassingly affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court after contradicting an earlier, split-decision.

Judge Carole Smitherman, who presided over the Newsome Conspiracy Case, was completely biased, calling Newsome’s pleadings an attack on her family.

Why would she allude to her family?

Because her husband, Alabama State Senator Roger Smitherman, received more than $30,000 in legal bribes contributions from Southern Company-linked PACs and donors at critical junctures during the case. Senator Smitherman even sat in on the secret Star Chamber hearings of the Newsome case when no one outside of the case was supposed to be in the courtroom.

Let's return to the issue of privilege, and the price rogue judges extract from everyday Alabamians:

Crosswhite’s inappropriate relationship with disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town helped Alabama Power to be “unmentionable” during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial and allegedly prevented a broader investigation after the convictions, that could have led to indictments of Southern Company employees.

Except for Regions Bank in Birmingham, Alabama has no Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state.

Why?

Because of the high risk of a failed and compromised legal system.

What company CEO would want to deal with a corrupt and biased “system of justice” controlled and manipulated by a compromised few in Jefferson County and Montgomery?

The rule of law and the people’s court sadly does not exist, but RICO actions against Southern Company and its criminal enterprise can bring an end to an era of uncontrolled corruption and flagrant miscarriages of justice.

Hear, hear!

How bad is the judicial crisis in Alabama? Well, a judge signed off on what was essentially a state-sanctioned kidnapping in my "arrest for blogging" case. And yes, I spent five months in jail because of a blog post that never has been proven false or defamatory in a court proceeding that included minor details, such as discovery, a jury, a trial. This taste of "Alabama justice" made international news and caused me to be designated the only journalist in the western hemisphere to be incarcerated in 2013 -- all because of a judge (Claud Neilson) granting a prior restraint that has been held unconstitutional under more than 200 years of First Amendment law. That action put Alabama in company with countries such as Iraq, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Uganda.

Speaking of sealed court cases, my "arrest for blogging" case was sealed, and I've never seen the file to this day. And I was a party! How does that happen? Hey, we're talking "Alabama justice" here.