Have Alabama federal prosecutors been bumped from a controversial corruption case in favor of Justice Department Public Integrity Section attorneys?
The names of local federal prosecutors Louis Franklin and Stephen Feaga are missing from recent court documents filed in the case, but attorneys from public integrity continue to be listed, the Montgomery Advertiser reported Wednesday.
The high-stakes case involves VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor, who, the federal government charges, abandoned legitimate lobbying efforts and bribed state lawmakers in an effort to win support for a constitutional amendment that would have allowed electronic bingo machines in the state. The amendment passed the state Senate in March 2010, but died shortly after that when the FBI announced its corruption investigation.
One casino owner and two lobbyists pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the probe, while four former state lawmakers, two government employees and two lobbyists were among those who stood trial on the charges.
A year ago, Criminal Division chief Lanny Breuer held a news conference to trumpet the charges, calling the alleged bribery scheme “astonishing in scope.
But during a trial in August, other defendants were acquitted on several counts and the jury could not reach a verdict on several other charges. Following the trial, legal observers in Alabama questioned DOJ’s handling of the case, saying that Washington prosecutors didn’t understand Alabama.
DOJ officials disputed that claim, saying that public integrity attorneys try cases across the nation and have had tremendous success during the past year.
And now comes news that public integrity attorneys will be handling the case by themselves.
DOJ spokeswoman Laura Sweeney downplayed the move. “Prosecutors schedules often change due to other cases and obligations,” she said in a statement. “Based on the expected length of the upcoming trial, some members of the prosecution team aren’t available to participate. It isn’t uncommon for there to be changes when retrials occur in trials expected to last several months.”
Stephen Feaga’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this report.
