Living the Greyt Life...

Judge denies second motion filed by defense to dismiss case against Ebro greyhound killer Ronnie Williams

2011-09-19T10:07:00.000-04:00

http://www.newsherald.com/news/dismiss-96700-motion-second.html

Former greyhound trainer's motion to dismiss is denied
News Herald Staff Report - September 08, 2011

CHIPLEY -- A second motion to dismiss the case against Ronald “Ronnie” Williams has been denied.

Williams is charged with 42 counts of felony animal cruelty in relation to the death of 37 dogs in the kennels at Ebro Greyhound Park and the severe neglect of five survivors.

The motion filed by public defender Floyd Griffith in early August claimed the animal cruelty statute Williams is being prosecuted under is unconstitutional because of its vague definition of willfully causing an animals pain and suffering and “does not give fair warning” to people of common intelligence.

Circuit Court Judge Christopher Patterson denied the motion on Tuesday, stating in his order the “statutory language is both plain and unambiguous” and “the lack of specific intent provisions… does not render the statute unconstitutional on due process grounds.”

An earlier motion to dismiss was also denied last month.

Study by Dr. Guillermo Couto/OSU confirms greyhounds' blood pressure rises in veterinary hospital settings

2011-09-19T09:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/osu-ee090611.php

'White-coat effect' elevates greyhounds' blood pressure

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The "white-coat effect" is not reserved for only the human patients who see their blood pressure rise in response to the stress of a doctor visit.

In a new study, researchers have determined that anxiety associated with being in a veterinary hospital elevates the blood pressure in retired racing greyhounds – a breed known for having higher-than-average blood pressure in the first place.

The average systolic arterial pressure – the top number in a blood pressure reading – in the dogs was about 30 points higher in a veterinary clinic when compared to blood pressure recorded at home.

The environment seemed to make all the difference. Blood pressure readings recorded in a home were similar when taken by either a veterinary student or the dog's owner. In general, normal blood pressure in dogs, as in humans, is 120 over 80.

Some animals' blood pressure readings normalize after they've had time to acclimate to the hospital setting, but in these greyhounds, that trend is less common. According to the researchers, this study suggests that the presence of the dog owner might have a more calming effect than the passage of time in the clinic.

"We see a lot of greyhounds and they are very high-strung dogs," said Guillermo Couto, professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Ohio State University and senior author of the study. "Some greyhounds come in here with blood pressure above what an instrument can read – that is 300 systolic. We know this could not really be their blood pressure because these dogs would be dead. But we also almost never get blood pressure under 150 or 160 for systolic.

"In the study, their blood pressure was nearly normal at home, independently of whether the researcher or the owner checked the pressure. To my knowledge, nobody has documented that white-coat effect in dogs with hard data before."

Most of the estimated 200,000 pet greyhounds in the United States are former racers that have been adopted at the end of their careers. Couto and colleagues recommend that retired racing greyhounds' blood pressure be recorded in the home if possible to provide a more accurate measure.

The study is published in the current issue of the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

The scientists performed the study with 22 retired racing greyhounds that are enrolled in a blood donor program at Ohio State's Veterinary Medical Center. The average age of the dogs was 7 ½ years. Twelve were male and 10 were female.

Blood pressure measurements were taken in three different ways: in the veterinary medical center by a veterinary student wearing scrubs; in the dog's home by that same student, again wearing scrubs; and in the home by the dog's owner.

In-home blood pressure readings were taken between seven and 28 days after the hospital measurements to avoid any effects of the dogs' blood donations during their hospital stays. The owners then followed the student's in-home reading 24 hours later.

The student used a specialized machine and instructed each owner on how to use it, providing reading material and offering a demonstration. The machine costs about $1,500, but Couto said manufacturers are currently working on developing a less expensive and more user-friendly device that could be used by dog owners in a home setting.

The researchers recorded systolic pressure, diastolic pressure – the lower number in a blood pressure reading, mean arterial pressure and heart rate.

The systolic and mean arterial pressures, as well as heart rate readings, taken in the hospital were significantly higher than all of those same measures taken in the home environment. The average hind-limb systolic pressure was 165, compared to at-home measures of 131 and 133 when taken by the researcher and the owner, respectively.

"This study emphasizes the need to consider the environment in which the blood pressure is measured before diagnosing or eliminating hypertension," Couto said.

Unlike the blood pressure readings, heart-rate levels, while still higher than in the home, were lower in the clinic among "veteran" greyhounds that had frequently visited the hospital before the study. According to the researchers, this finding suggested that acclimation to the clinical environment did affect this particular stress response.

The researchers also found that the limb used to measure blood pressure affected the results. Measures were taken in both forelimbs and hind limbs. Measures tended to be higher in the back legs, but the reasons for this were not determined by the study.

Couto and his colleagues are now exploring whether retired racing greyhounds' hypertension resulting from this white-coat effect causes any damage to their kidneys or other organs.

Couto, an oncologist, is leading a number of studies on these animals to gauge the effects of racing on their health, as well as likely genetic contributions to their high risk for bone cancer. Since he adopted his first retired racing greyhound 20 years ago, he has been committed to investigating their physiologic idiosyncrasies.

"They're hypertensive and yet they don't have target organ lesions that people with hypertension get. They have strokes, unlike most dogs, but the strokes they have are different from strokes in hypertensive humans. Their kidneys and eyes don't take a beating from the high blood pressure," he said. "So my thinking is that greyhounds are 'Type-A personality' dogs. They are raised in a racing environment, but they are pack animals, so this stresses them out. And then once they retire, they are couch potatoes. We're trying to put all of this together, and it's all aimed at promoting wellness in these dogs."

This research was supported by the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Summer Student Research Fellowship Program and Ohio State's Greyhound Health and Wellness Development Funds.

Co-authors include fourth-year student Christina Marino, clinical instructor Richard Cober and Maria Iazbik, managing director of the Animal Blood Bank, all of Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Alabama bingo retrial delayed

2011-09-19T09:41:00.000-04:00

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Judge-delays-retrial-in-Ala-gambling-retrial-2141096.php

Judge delays retrial in Ala. gambling retrial
By Phillip Rawls, Associated Press - August 25, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday agreed to postpone a retrial in Alabama's gambling corruption case for three months to give attorneys on both sides more time to prepare, even though the new date could cause a conflict with their favorite college football teams.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson had originally set the retrial to begin Oct. 3, but both defense and prosecuting attorneys complained that didn't give them enough time to get ready and handle other cases they have.

During a hearing Thursday, Thompson set a tentative date of Jan. 9.

Bill Baxley, defense attorney for VictoryLand casino lobbyist Tom Coker and a University of Alabama graduate, pointed out that date coincides with the national football championship game in New Orleans, and some of the people in the trial and some of the potential jurors might want to attend the game if Alabama or Auburn is competing in it.

Baxley's request for a different date got shot down by the judge. "You have a judge who went to neither Alabama nor Auburn," said Thompson, who got his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University.

Thompson said he will rule later on federal prosecutors' request to split up the seven remaining defendants for three separate retrials rather than trying them all at once.

Thompson said the federal government chose to indict the defendants together and try them together initially, and he's reluctant to split them up for retrials.

"You indicted them together. You deal with the consequences," he told federal prosecutor Edward Kang.

Originally, nine defendants were tried together for nine weeks and then jury deliberations took an additional week. On Aug. 11, the jury acquitted two defendants, Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery and VictoryLand lobbyist Bob Geddie. The jury found the others not guilty on some charges and couldn't reach a verdict on others. No one was convicted.

Kang said the trial took much longer than anticipated because the defense spent many days questioning witnesses presented by the prosecution.

The judge bristled at that comment and said the trial went unusually fast for one involving well-known defendants facing multiple charges.

"I challenge you to find another case that tried nine defendants in nine weeks," Thomspon told Kang.

Kang said the prosecution wants to split the defendants into three groups for separate retrials because that would make the trials shorter and less complex. He proposed trying VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor and former legislative bill writer Ray Crosby first. Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb would be second. The remaining four defendants — former Sens. Larry Means of Attalla and Jim Preuitt of Talladega, casino spokesman Jay Walker and Coker — would be last.

All of the defendants except Coker oppose that.

One of McGregor's attorneys, Ben Espy, said prosecutors were trying to change the rules in the middle of the game because they were unhappy with the outcome. "They are concerned about getting an advantage," he said.

He said selecting three juries and holding three trials would take far longer than a single combined trial because much of the testimony would be repeated in each trial.

If the judge splits up the defendants for retrial, the first case would begin Jan. 9.

In addition to ruling on one retrial or three, the judge also must rule on the prosecutors' request to talk to jurors from the first trial to see why they couldn't reach a verdict on some charges. Thompson said federal judges in Montgomery usually don't allow jurors to be questioned after a trial.

It ain't over yet, Alabama - Gambling corruption retrial set for October 3

2011-08-17T10:38:00.001-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/us/16brfs-RETRIALSETIN_BRF.html

Alabama: Retrial Set in Corruption Case
By Associated Press - August 15, 2011

A federal judge plans to retry parts of a gambling corruption case starting Oct. 3.

A jury returned not guilty verdicts on 91 charges last week and could not reach a unanimous decision on 33 others. The seven remaining defendants — four current or former lawmakers, two high-profile lobbyists and one of the most powerful businessmen in the state — faced charges involving buying and selling votes on legislation that would legalize electronic bingo games in the state.

Two other defendants were acquitted of all charges.

Judge Myron Thompson of Federal District Court scheduled the retrial date on Monday after talking with federal prosecutors and defense lawyers.

The Justice Department asked the judge to split the seven remaining defendants into three groups for retrial, while some defense lawyers want one combined trial. Judge Thompson has not decided that issue.

Alabama bingo trial ends in acquittals and mistrials, no convictions

2011-08-17T10:24:00.000-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/us/12bingo.html?_r=2

In Alabama, No Verdicts of Guilty in Graft Case
By Campbell Robertson, New York Times - August 11, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A sprawling federal investigation begun nearly two years ago into corruption at the highest levels of state politics concluded Thursday with acquittals or mistrials, ending, at least temporarily, a case that could have put sitting politicians and powerful campaign donors behind bars.

Of the nine defendants — including four current or former lawmakers, two high-profile lobbyists and one of the most powerful businessmen in the state — a federal jury found two not guilty on all counts and acquitted the rest on some counts, while a mistrial was declared on others. No one was convicted on any charge. Jurors had deliberated for a week.

The case, which involved allegations of a scheme in which casino operators and lobbyists bribed state lawmakers for favorable votes on a gambling bill, was unquestionably a complicated one.

But while the judge has already said he will schedule a new trial within the month and new indictments are even expected, the result was a serious blow to federal prosecutors, who had charged defendants on 39 counts including bribery and extortion.

“They scored zero today,” said Susan James, the attorney for Jay Walker, a former spokesman for an Alabama casino complex who was acquitted on all but two charges. “This jury didn’t give the government a thing, not one thing.”

Milton McGregor, a multimillionaire casino operator and prodigious political donor who was the chief target of the prosecution, was found not guilty on three counts and faced a hung jury on 14 others, including a conspiracy charge. “We appreciate the jury’s service in this important public corruption trial,” said a Justice Department spokeswoman. “Our prosecutors will discuss next steps as we move forward in this matter.”

It was an anticlimactic result to a political and legal saga in Alabama going back for years over the legality of so-called electronic bingo machines, which are nearly identical in appearance to slot machines.

The former governor, Bob Riley, and several judges found that these types of machines were against state law, despite the fact that they had sprouted up throughout the state and could be found in huge numbers at Mr. McGregor’s greyhound racing track, VictoryLand.

The machines were to be the cornerstone of another planned casino complex, called Country Crossing, in which Mr. McGregor had a financial stake.

In the spring of 2010, the state legislature considered a constitutional amendment that would have settled the legal question, permitting and regulating some forms of gambling, including electronic bingo.

During the session, rumors surfaced of a federal investigation, involving wiretapped phones and legislators wearing concealed recording devices. Last October, 11 people were arrested on charges of participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy to bribe lawmakers in return for “yes” votes on the legislation. Two would later plead guilty.

Over the course of the trial, jurors were treated to an inside look at a nexus of lobbying, politics and big business in Alabama, and the view was not pretty. Casual racism and sexism peppered expletive-laden conversations, promises of money were routine and many lawmakers, even those who knew they were on tape, seemed to have no problem bad-mouthing their colleagues.

Whether or not there are eventual guilty verdicts, there is certain to be collateral damage from some of the trial testimony.

The prosecution’s case largely revolved around the testimony of two men who had pleaded guilty to taking part in the alleged bribery scheme, thousands of phone calls that federal agents had intercepted and face-to-face conversations that were secretly recorded by three state lawmakers. Many of the conversations involved Mr. McGregor and lobbyists discussing campaign donations with lawmakers as they counted votes on the gambling legislation.

Defense lawyers argued that the discussions did not constitute bribery, even when cooperating witnesses said that bribery was implied and understood. The prosecution and the cooperating witnesses, defense lawyers argued, were giving a nefarious cast to conversations about the routine give-and-take of politics.

South African commission's review of gambling industry recommends against dog racing due to welfare and financial concerns

2011-08-17T10:17:00.000-04:00

http://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/red-light-for-dog-racing-1.1115659

Red light for dog racing
By Marianne Merten, Political Bureau - August 11, 2011

Dog racing should not be legalised because of concerns for the welfare of the animals and doubts there are enough punters to support it.

This emerged during a briefing in Parliament yesterday by a commission that conducted a review of the gambling industry.

“There’s a strong lobby around dog racing, but it is a very small sector. Given the limited demand and the problems associated with it, we did not think it should be legalised,” said review commission chairwoman Astrid Ludin.

Commissioner Stephen Louw, a politics lecturer at Wits University, said that it wasn’t clear South Africa had the capacity to regulate dog racing, which was often little more than a backyard operation.

Countries where dog racing was popular struggled to control the retirement of animals and overbreeding.

In the case of horse racing, the commission proposed a clear separation of racecourse ownership from that of totes, and tightening of regulations on financing and taxing of bookmakers, totes and other betting offices.

The National Assembly’s trade and industry committee heard that more research was required into dice and card games and fahfee, a long-established game of chance involving betting on numbers and symbols, often inspired by dreams. “Fahfee... has been taken over by gangs from mainland China, who are investing the money in abalone smuggling,” Louw said.

The proliferation of poker, which is illegal outside casinos, electronic bingo machines with unlimited payouts in easily accessible venues such as shopping malls, and online gambling were also concerns.

Better law enforcement was needed to ensure public spaces and gambling spaces remained separate, including separate entrances so shoppers didn’t accidentally come across gambling.

Illegal establishments often remained open owing to a province’s lack of political will, and sometimes lack of capacity, to close them down, said Louw.

The review also recommended the merger of the National Lotteries and the National Gambling boards to give oversight to the National Gambling Policy Council and establish a “professional”, independent body to distribute lottery funds as grants to charities in an effort to separate the grant-making and compliance enforcement functions.

Greenetrack in the red: Alabama issues $75 million tax bill

2011-08-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Ala-seeks-75-million-in-taxes-from-Greenetrack-1773664.php

Ala. seeks $75 million in taxes from Greenetrack
By Phillip Rawls, Associated Press - August 8, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Greenetrack is fighting a $75 million tax bill from the state and says in court papers the assessment far exceeds the track's assets.

Greenetrack's lawyers filed an appeal in Greene County Circuit Court over the state Revenue Department's attempt to collect $61.8 million in taxes and $13.7 million in interest for sales taxes not paid on electronic bingo proceeds from 2004 through 2008.

Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway has scheduled a status conference with attorneys on Aug. 25.

"We intend to fight the assessment," track attorney John Bolton of Montgomery said Monday.

Carla Snellgrove, spokeswoman for the Revenue Department, said the department doesn't comment on pending litigation.

The tax case involves the 850 electronic bingo machines operated by the track prior to a raid by then-Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force in July 2010. Riley's task force contended the machines were illegal slots and seized them.

The track's attorneys argue in court papers that state law doesn't allow sales taxes to be collected on gross receipts from electronic bingo machines. They also argue that the track is not liable because charitable organizations had the licenses to operate the machines and paid Greenetrack for its property, use of the machines and staff.

Greenetrack was once one of the nation's most popular dog tracks. But full-fledged casinos in Mississippi and the opening of a dog track in Birmingham cut its business to the point it discontinued live racing and relied on simulcast races and electronic bingo to bring business to the rural track 85 miles southwest of Birmingham.

In court filings, the track's accountants list its total assets at $15.75 million — or about one-fifth of what the state government says it owes.

Bolton said that the tax dispute resulted from an audit done by the state Revenue Department, and that he is unaware of any audit being conducted for the period from 2009 through the closure of the machines.

A separate court hearing is scheduled Tuesday on a new type of electronic bingo machine that Greenetrack opened in March.

State police seized the new machines May 31 using a search warrant obtained by state Attorney General Luther Strange's office, which contended the machines were illegal slots. The judge who issued the search warrant, Special Circuit Judge Houston Brown, ruled last Wednesday that the warrant was based on misleading information and that Strange must return the machines.

The judge will hear a request from Strange on Tuesday to put the order on hold while the attorney general appeals to the Alabama Supreme Court.

Ronnie Williams' defense: He didn't murder the greyhounds, he just let them suffer and die (slowly and painfully)

2011-08-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

http://www.waltonsun.com/news/charges-95929-newsherald-suspect-chipley.html

Greyhounds abuse suspect denied motion to dismiss charges
By Chris Olwell, News Herald Writer - August 8, 2011

CHIPLEY — A Chipley man contends that while he may be responsible for the deaths of 37 dogs, he did not kill them.

But Judge Christopher Patterson denied a motion to dismiss 42 counts of felony animal cruelty against Ronald “Ronnie” Williams on Monday. Williams is accused of letting 42 greyhounds in his care die of starvation, dehydration or asphyxia in a kennel at Ebro Greyhound Park.

Thirty-seven greyhounds were dead when an investigator with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation discovered them at Ebro on Oct. 29, 2010. Another five dogs still were alive among the decaying remains of the dead.

Three of the surviving animals had duct tape wrapped around their necks so tightly they were gasping for air when they were discovered, officials said. There was also duct tape wrapped around the neck of one of the dead dogs.

Deputy Public Defender Floyd Griffith filed a motion to dismiss the charges. In the motion, Griffith argued that, in the case of the animals with necks not wrapped in duct tape, whatever crime that occurred was only a misdemeanor because it was an act of omission rather than commission. As for the dogs with the tape around their necks, Floyd wrote there is no evidence Williams was responsible.

Essentially, the motion argued Williams didn’t do anything to kill the dogs; they died as a result of what he allegedly didn’t do. If Williams had shot the dogs, he would be guilty of felony animal cruelty because he would have acted intentionally. Merely depriving the animals of necessary food, water or shelter until they die is only a first-degree misdemeanor, Floyd argued.

In the state’s response to the motion, Assistant State Attorney Erin Oliver wrote there was evidence Williams applied the duct tape. Williams admitted to being custodian of the animals and was in “exclusive [sic] possession” of the kennel. Even if the evidence is only circumstantial, it should be sufficient to withstand the motion to dismiss, she argued.

“If the state’s evidence is all circumstantial, whether it excludes all reasonable hypotheses of innocence may only be decided at trial, after all the evidence has been presented,” she wrote.

Patterson ruled on the motion without hearing oral arguments Monday because the facts were in dispute.

“I do find that there are material and disputed facts that do exist… and the court is required by law to deny your motion to dismiss, Mr. Williams, at this time,” Patterson said.

Patterson also ordered a subpoena for Williams to obtain records from the veterinarians who examined the animals.

Alabama bingo trial jury begins fifth day of deliberations

2011-08-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

You can check in for updates at the following Twitter feed:

http://twitter.com/#!/bingotrial

Bye bye, Mile High

2011-08-05T07:01:00.000-04:00

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/211538/346/Commerce-City-to-take-on-65-acre-urban-renewal-project

Commerce City to take on 65-acre urban-renewal project
KUSA Channel 9 TV News - August 3, 2011

COMMERCE CITY - The old Mile High Greyhound Park Dog Track will be torn down to make room for new businesses and housing.

Located at 62nd Avenue and Dahlia Street, the dog track has been around since 1949. The last dog races took place in 2008. Nowadays, the track is occasionally used for off-track betting but is mostly vacant.

Commerce City's Urban Renewal Authority will pay a little more than $3 million for the almost-vacant site.

"This is an opportunity, a bold step [and] a proactive step by the Urban Renewal Authority in Commerce City to look at controlling its destiny in this area and region," City Manager of Commerce City Jerry Flannery said. "The connectivity of the area has been stifled a little bit by the size of this site, so we want to connect the community and make it one."

Flannery says the Urban Renewal Authority plans to conduct a thorough extensive public process to get input from businesses and residents.

The project will be one of Denver's biggest urban renewal projects.

"Urban Renewal Authorities in Commerce City have really redefined [the city]," Flannery said. "This is one more opportunity to really make a broad statement to the region as well as our citizens in Commerce City and make them proud of this region."

Gulf Greyhound Park delays application for live race dates

2011-08-05T06:56:00.000-04:00

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/247742
Commission looks to race tracks to recoup money
By Michael A. Smith, Galveston County Daily News - July 31, 2011

LA MARQUE — Gulf Greyhound Park has delayed applying for live race dates in 2012 and part of 2013 as the state racing commission ponders ways to recoup about $1.7 million in annual funding taken from it by the Texas Legislature.

While the commission said it’s too early to know how it will try to recover the money, it’s clear operators at the dog racing track, 1000 FM 2004 in La Marque, expect they will have to pay more to the state in fees and won’t schedule lives races until they know how much.

The issue came to light when Gulf Greyhound Park failed to file an application for live race dates for all of 2012 and the first eight months of 2013 by the commission’s July 15 deadline. That led some industry observers to speculate the park, which like most race tracks has seen hard financial times, was about to drop live racing for a more profitable simulcasting-only format or close altogether.

Gulf Greyhound Park is the only dog track in Texas still offering a full schedule of live racing as tracks nationwide are squeezed by competition from other forms of gambling. The two other licensed dog tracks in Texas — Valley Race Park in Harlingen, and Gulf Coast Racing, in Corpus Christi — have all but abandoned live racing in favor of simulcasting. Of the estimated 632 races planned during 2012 and 2013, 622 will be at Gulf Greyhound Park, 10 at Valley Race Park and none at Gulf Coast Racing, according to the commission.

Sally Briggs, general manager of Gulf Greyhound Park, said the application for live race dates would be filed when the state decided how much more in fees it would charge horse and dog track operators.

The root of the issue is decision by lawmakers during the 82nd Legislature about who would get the money from a phenomenon called “outs” in the racing industry.

An “out” is a winning pari-mutuel betting ticket that goes uncollected by the winner.

Unlikely as it may seem, millions of dollars of winnings go uncollected at Texas horse and dog tracks each year.

From 2006 to 2010, gamblers left $8.4 million in uncollected winnings at the five horse and three dog tracks operating in Texas, an average of about $1.7 million a year.

In the past, the commission had used money from outs to help fund its operations. After Sept. 1, the money will go to the state’s general fund, leaving the commission looking for ways to make up the shortfall.

Even with the outs money, the commission’s revenues were running only about 6 percent ahead of the expenses it incurs regulating live horse and dog racing and pari-mutuel betting in the state, spokesman Bill Childs said.

The commission, which employees about 50 people, spends about $5 million a year licensing and regulating the horse and dog racing industries in Texas, according to its records.

The money is spent on such things as monitoring the health and safety of the dogs and horses, issuing licenses to track employees, ensuring wagering rules are being followed and supervising live races, according to records.

An ad hoc committee of the commission met with industry stake holders July 26 in Austin discuss, among other things, adjustments to the fees track operators and others must pay to the state.

The committee would meet again Aug. 15 and make recommendations, including about fees, to the raceing commission board, Childs said.

“It’s far too early in the process to know how the commssion will make up for that revenue,” Childs said.

In 2006, Gulf Greyhound Park petitioned the state to reduce the number of live races it held, in part because operators were feeling squeezed by fees. At the time, the park was paying live race fees of more than $200,000 a year and was expecting increases that would drive the total of all fees to more than $400,000 a year.

Alabama bingo trial updates

2011-08-05T06:46:00.000-04:00

http://www2.dothaneagle.com/news/2011/jul/29/5/bingo-corruption-trial-tom-coker-defense-continues-ar-2204257/

Bingo corruption trial: Entire defense rests
Jury will be fully sequestered during deliberations
By Lance Griffin, Dothan Eagle - July 29, 2011

MONTGOMERY – Friday began as a morning just like any other morning here at the bingo corruption trial.

Then, suddenly, all nine defendants rested their case.

Moments after the jury entered the courtroom, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson made a statement.

“Mr. McGregor, I believe you have something to announce to the jury?”

With that, Victoryland owner Milton McGregor and lead attorney Joe Espy walked to the lectern in the courtroom on the second floor of the Frank M. Johnson Federal Building.

“Your honor, the McGregor defense rests,” Espy said.

The remaining eight defendants followed suit, ending the defense portion of the case after one day and one witness.

Closing arguments will begin Wednesday and are expected to last about two days. Thompson and the attorneys will spend Monday and Tuesday hammering out matters dealing with the length of the arguments and the proposed jury instructions. It is expected the jury will begin deliberations under full sequestration Friday.

Thompson said he will also rule on renewed motions for acquittal Monday at 9 a.m.

The defendants’ decisions to rest came as a surprise to many, and were made following a Thursday night meeting between attorneys in the case.

Jim Parkman, attorney for Sen. Harri Anne Smith, said a perceived weary jury played into the decision. Jury selection in the case began June 6.

“Our impression was that the jury got it, one way or another.”Parkman said.

Only one defendant, lobbyist Tom Coker, had begun his defense case. Coker attorney Bill Baxley questioned Richard “Dickie” Whitaker, director of governmental affairs for the Medical Association of Alabama, about a $10,000 contribution Coker gave to defendant Sen. Quinton Ross on behalf of the association after the Senate passed pro gambling legislation. The government contended the Coker gave the money on behalf of McGregor through the medical association in response to Ross’ repeated requests for campaign donations in exchange for his vote on electronic bingo legislation. Government prosecutor Edward Kang aggressively cross-examined Whitaker for most of the day Thursday.

____________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110801/NEWS/110801012/Judge-dismisses-counts-against-McGregor-Crosby?odyssey=nav|head

Judge dismisses counts against McGregor, Crosby
By Sebastian Kitchen, Montgomery Advertiser - August 1, 2011

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Monday dropped 12 counts against legislative analyst Ray Crosby and one of the charges against VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor in the ongoing federal corruption case.

Thompson ruled that McGregor was acquitted on count 3, which charged McGregor and lobbyist Bob Geddie with bribing state Rep. Barry Mask. They were both charged with federal programs bribery and aiding and abetting on the charge.

"As to count 3, the evidence presented by the government under the theory it asserted to the court is insufficient to support a conviction under this count," Thompson wrote in his order.

Thompson dropped the conspiracy charge against Crosby and all 11 of the honest services charges against Crosby. All of those counts charged all nine of the defendants.

There is one count of federal programs bribery and aiding and abetting remaining against Crosby, who was paid $3,000 a month by McGregor while he was also being paid to work for the Legislature.

Thompson denied motions for acquittal by lobbyist Tom Coker; former state Sense. Jim Preuitt of Talladega and Larry Means of Attalla; current state Sens. Quinton Ross of Montgomery and Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb; and former Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker.

They are charged for their roles in an alleged scheme in which casino interests bribed state lawmakers to vote for gambling legislation.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/08/alabama_bingo_trial_closing_arguments.html

Alabama bingo trial prosecutors focus on 'greed' as closing arguments begin
By Brendan Kirby, Press-Register - August 3, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Prosecutors in the Alabama State House vote-buying trial started their closing arguments today much the way they approached opening statements 7 weeks ago — by painting the defendants as greedy for money.

In between, prosecutors tried to show that VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor conspired with Country Crossing owner Ronnie Gilley and several others to bribe state legislators in order to win passage of a controversial law that would have given voter a chance to legalize electronic bingo machines.

McGregor, 2 of his lobbyists, a spokesman for Gilley, a legislative analyst and 4 current or former state senators are on trial.

“Mr. McGregor didn’t try to get this bill passed legitimately,” prosecutor Edward Kang told jurors. “You see, he had too much at stake.”

Kang said McGregor had made millions of dollars by capitalizing on the willingness of patrons to risk their money in his casino but “he didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”

Kang reminded jurors of testimony indicating the stakes McGregor had riding on the outcome of that bill, which cleared the state Senate in March of last year but died in the House of Representatives after the FBI investigation became public.

McGregor’s personal and business income plummeted from $48 million in 2009 to a $4 million loss the following year, largely due to then-Gov. Bob Riley’s crackdown on electronic gambling. Passage of the constitutional amendment would have expressly made those machines legal.

McGregor also had invested heavily in both his own operation and Gilley’s Country Crossing project in Houston County.

“My ass is on the line,” McGregor says in one of many conversations that the FBI secretly recorded. “I have a $200 million note that I’ve got to pay right now.”

The evidence has shown, Kang argued, that the “politics-as-usual defense” does not hold water.

Kang argued that the evidence has proved that McGregor’s lobbyists, Tom Coker and Bob Geddie, actively participated in the conspiracy so they could “cash in” when the bill became law.

“They know the rules of the game, and they knew their conduct in this case went way over the line,” he said. “And you know what? They didn’t care.”

Prosecutors offered testimony that Geddie told and employee at his firm to conceal McGregor as the true source of campaign checks he delivered to state Rep. Barry Mask in the two of two unrelated political action committees.

Prosecutor says Milton McGregor only cares about one color

Kang spent much time this morning trying to tie McGregor and his lobbyists to Gilley and lobbyists Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, all of whom have pleaded guilty and testified during the trial.

He pointed to phone records showing McGregor and Gilley exchanged 73 phone calls during the legislative session — 8 per day.

“Do you call your spouse, your kids, 8 times a day?” he said.

Kang noted that McGregor approached even lawmakers whom he had long opposed, like Mask and state Sen. Scott Beason. He said that shows clearly that McGregor was not simply making contributions to like-minded politicians but, in fact, were bribe offers.

Kang said McGregor didn’t care about red or blue — Republicans or Democrats. “He cares only about green — the color of money,” he said.

Kang also made the case against Jay Walker, who served as the spokesman for Country Crossing. “Ronnie Gilley was Jay Walker’s gravy train, and Walker knew that,” he said.

Walker on a recorded conversation March 24 told Gilley that he told then-state Sen. Jim Preuitt that all he needed was his vote. In exchange, Walker offered his campaign services, including polling and help lining up appearances by country music stars.

Kang also pointed to a portion of a phone conversation in which Gilley talks to Preuitt about country state George Jones possibly buying a truck from his dealership. Preuitt’s side of the conversation was not recorded.

Kang pointed to evidence that Ray Crosby, who worked for the agency in charge of helping lawmakers draft legislation, took $3,000 a month from McGregor but did not disclose the arrangement until he filed an amended form after the FBI began investigating. Even then, Kang said, Crosby listed it as “passive income” in an attempt to hide the arrangement and listed the source as MCGP — initials for McGregor’s company that the public would not be able to easily identify.

Kang reminded jurors of testimony that state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, I-Slocomb, was kicked out of the Republican Party, which he characterized as an incentive to take Gilley’s money and change her position on gambling.

“Sen. Smith had to somehow fill the void by her loss of Republican support,” he said.

Smith also, according to testimony from former state Sen. Steve French, 3 times offered her a campaign contribution in exchange for supporting the bingo bill. Kang said it demonstrates that Smith was getting paid to recruit fellow lawmakers.

Kang also tried to persuade jurors of the guilt of 2 former senators, Preuitt of Talladega and Larry Means of Gadsden. He said Means actively looked for handouts when he found out Preuitt had been offered a bribe.

“Sen. Means was greedy,” he said. “He wanted a piece of the action that Sen. Preuitt was getting.”

Kang pointed to testimony from Pouncy that Means’ request amounted to a “shakedown” for $100,000 and that Massey later authorized the payment.

State Sen. Quinton Ross, too, aggressively demanded contributions even though he was unopposed in the upcoming election, Kang said. Pouncy testified that the Montgomery Democrat, a longtime gambling supporter, told her in 2009 that he was “not feeling the love.” That, Kang said, was evidence the Ross was leveraging the close upcoming vote to get donations.

Five weeks after the vote, Ross got a $10,000 contribution from the Alabama Medical Association, which Kang said was a laundered bribe.

Prosecutors still have about an hour before defense attorneys begin making their arguments.

West Virginia greyhound racing protected by powerful state politicians

2011-07-23T19:11:00.000-04:00

http://westvirginianews.blogspot.com/2011/07/west-virginias-governor-wont-be.html

West Virginia Governor Won't Be Stopping Greyhound Dog Racing
Earl Ray Tomblin's Family Business Keeps The Money Flowing And Dogs Dying
By Jack Swint, Publisher, WV News Staff - July 21, 2011

“Of all the creatures, man is the most detestable. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot.” ~ Mark Twain

_____________________________________________________________________________________

West Virginia is only one of seven remaining states that allow greyhound dog racing in the entire US. The other states have since banned the brutal sport due to public outcry and groups like GREY2K USA who kept the pressure on state governments until they banned it. Unlike those states that have closed down this industry, WV has a form of insurance that will keep the dogs racing and money flowing in.

Our Governor, Earl Ray Tomblin grew up inside the families ongoing greyhound racing business which has made his parents and brother one of the top winning owner-breeders and trainers in this state. And according to state records, their greyhound dog operation is the primary source of income for Freda and Earl Tomblin Sr. Tomblin also has many friends and political support from members of the greyhound industry and the casino’s too.

WV Senator Mike Green has been associated with dog racing since at least 1998 and was partners in “Green-Maupin Kennel” until 2008. Campaign reports show he has taken in thousands of dollars over the years from donations to his election from greyhound members.

Let’s be completely honest and practical. Taking into account that Tomblin is the most powerful and influential man in state politics and his parents, friends and associates primary source of income is derived from this industry, it’s a safe bet that as long as Tomblin is governor greyhound racing is here to stay.

Acceptable Casualty Rate

How serious of an injury does it take for a dog to be euthanized? Dogs like Freda Design, a 1-year-old black greyhound owned by the Tomblins was put down on Halloween 2010 after she was simply bumped by another dog and suffered a broken leg during a race.

Is there an acceptable greyhound dog casualty rate at dog tracks in WV? It appears that Dan Adkins; Executive Owner at the Tri-State Track in Cross Lanes WV thinks so. In a February 2011 news article he proudly stated that the number of injuries has dropped the past two years and is now near the national average.

He said there were only 25 deaths in more than 43,000 racing starts last year. Shouldn’t the stats be 0 deaths in the past 43,000 race starts?

According to Adkins, “If you compared these numbers to the NFL or even horse racing, this would be a very low percentage.” Several devout pet owners we spoke to said that’s about as silly as downplaying it if there were only 5 NASCAR driver deaths in the past 100 race starts or 12 athletes killed in the last 40 Olympics.

According to the most recent state records available, at least 3,208 greyhound injuries have been reported at Adkins track since 2005, and nearly 200 dogs have died. Further, it’s likely that the actual number of injuries and deaths is even higher because we learned during our investigations back in 2008 that the majority of off the track incidents go un-reported.

At the Wheeling WV dog track, 707 greyhounds were reported injured between January 2008 and September 2009. More than one hundred of these injuries involved broken legs, and other reported injuries included dislocations, broken ankles, lacerations, fractured skulls and spinal injuries. Additionally, 62 dogs died or were euthanized during this period.

“Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane and should end,” said GREY2K USA Executive Director Carey Theil in a 2011 interview with the Charleston Newspaper. “Dogs play an important role in our lives, and deserve to be protected from individuals and industries that would do them harm.”

Besides the injuries and deaths that occur, racing greyhounds endure lives of terrible confinement. They live inside warehouse-style kennels in rows of stacked cages that are barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around. They are confined for long hours each day, with shredded paper or carpet remnants as bedding.

In Closing

Once again, let’s be honest and call it what it is. Does Governor Earl Ray Tomblin have a close-vested interest in keeping greyhound racing in WV? It’s not a political decision; it’s about family and friends who depend on dog racing to live. Bottom line, to ban racing would take away his parents primary source of livelihood. What sibling wouldn’t want to protect his family and business if they could?

During the recent governors race, one of Tomblins opponents brought out Earl Ray's personal and family involvement in the greyhound dog racing industry. Even though the information was all true, the media actually called it an attack against Tomblin. His campaign called it "cheap politics" and goes on to say that this was an attempt to smear not only all of the good things the governor had accomplished but the allegations were lies. It's possible that the truth can be mistaken for cheap politics.

Most people you speak to detest greyhound racing and or any form of animal cruelty. There are specific laws in WV dealing with cruelty to any animal. Over the past several years more and more people are convicted and sentenced to jail for injuring and or killing animals.

Why hasn't there been one person arrested, fined or even cited for any of the reported injuries-deaths at either greyhound track? Officials at the Humane Society say they detest the deaths and injuries that occur because of racing. But, they don't do anything about it!

Speaking about this injustice is not the same as doing something about it. Yes, it is a huge industry that many people depend on for their livelihood. From the trainers to the owners all the way down to the local business economy who sell the food, supplies and medicine for the dogs. The list goes on and on.

Does that make it right?

Macau Daily Times guest column by GREY2K USA Director Caryn Wood

2011-07-23T18:53:00.000-04:00

http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/27377-The-View-Greyhounds-welfare.html

The View: Greyhound’s welfare
Guest Column by Caryn Wood, Macau Daily Times - July 18, 2011

Editorial Note

As the guest column on greyhound post-racing welfare – sent to Macau Daily Times by Ms. Caryn Wood – was yesterday being prepared to be published on our paper’s ‘The View”, an online petition calling for an end to greyhound racing in Macau has gathered more than 5,000 signatures, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

Launched after a Sunday Morning Post investigation published in June found that 383 healthy greyhounds were put to death at the Canidrome last year, the online petition came, according to the Hong Kong daily, after a letter signed by 24 animal-welfare groups in China was sent to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard calling for an immediate halt to the export of greyhounds to Macau.

The subject of greyhound welfare was covered by the MDTimes in “Greyhound euthanasia sparks debate: Born to race” – an extensive article published on Friday, 8 July 2011.

______________________________________________________________________________________

As the world watches, Macau is at a crossroads and can begin taking the correct path by discontinuing cruelty to greyhounds.

Every major animal protection organization in the United States and abroad is opposed to greyhound racing and believes it is cruel and inhumane. While dog racing proponents describe a well-regulated industry, the facts prove otherwise.
It is inherently cruel for the greyhounds endure abysmal confinement in cages day in and day out. It is equally cruel to lead them out to race, knowing they face the risk of injury and death. Countries that report on racing injuries describe greyhounds suffering broken limbs, broken necks, paralysis and more. Greyhounds have literally died at the finish line from cardiac arrest.
Considered short-term investments, overbred so there is always another greyhound to use as a replacement, the greyhounds are valued only as long as they generate a profit. Greyhounds’ post-racing welfare falls entirely to volunteer adoption groups that work to place greyhounds in loving homes around the world.

The situation in Macau is far worse, however. There is no way out for the Canidrome greyhounds, as they cannot be adopted and cannot leave Macau.

Out of touch with 21st century mores, Macau lacks licensed veterinarians and lacks current animal welfare laws, instead relying on statutes dating back to the 19th century. The result is that the unfortunate pawns in this scenario, the Canidrome greyhounds, face a bleak prospect and are routinely killed. Rather than enacting new animal welfare legislation, which has been pending since 2008, the government turns a blind eye to the greyhounds.

Although the Anima Macau Society for the Protection of Animals works tirelessly for greyhound welfare, it is constrained by the antiquated and inhumane system that deems ex-racing greyhounds inconsequential and disposable. Nearly 400 Canidrome greyhounds were killed last year, and more than one greyhound per day continues to be killed.
While Macau is known as the Las Vegas of the East, it should be remembered that greyhound racing ended there in 1982 after only two seasons, and the State of Nevada legislatively banned greyhound racing in 1997. Since 2001, twenty-six dog tracks in the United States have either closed or have ended live racing. The public’s increased awareness of the cruelty of greyhound racing has had a significant negative impact on racing revenues. In the last two decades, commercial dog racing has experienced a steady, catastrophic decline, and now represents less than 1% of all wagers made each year in the United States.

GREY2K USA is the largest greyhound protection organization in the U.S. We have ended dog racing in Massachusetts through the ballot initiative process, and our legislative bills to prohibit dog racing passed in Rhode Island and New Hampshire. We have presented and passed legislation to restore greyhounds to anti-cruelty laws in New Hampshire and Florida. In 2009, we helped draft the bill that illegalized dog racing in Guam.

GREY2K USA applauds and supports lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho for voicing his concerns about the lack of current animal welfare laws and the resulting impact on the greyhounds. We join the public outcry by animal welfare groups and citizens, and we call on those who care about animals to stand up for these dogs.

We urge lawmakers and government officials to do the right thing and give Macau’s greyhounds the chance at a new life they deserve.

Caryn Wood
Director, GREY2K USA
www.grey2kusa.org

Campaign to ban hare coursing in The Republic of Ireland

2011-07-14T09:56:00.001-04:00

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/animal-rights/cruel-animal-sport-rabbits-and-dogs-suffer-%E2%80%9Clive-hare-coursing%E2%80%9D

Cruel Animal Sport: Rabbits and Dogs Suffer in “Live Hare Coursing”
By Phyllis M. Daugherty, Opposing Views - July 11, 2011

In 2010, people worldwide were appalled and sickened by photos and videos of the suffering and death of helpless wild rabbits (hares) and injuries to dogs at Ireland’s” live hare coursing” events. These were posted with the pleas of John Fitzgerald of Kilkenny County, Ireland, founder of Campaign to Abolish Cruel Sports, to help end this brutal “blood sport” in Northern Ireland.

Animal lovers globally e-mailed their disapproval and disgust to government officials in Northern Ireland, demanding the permit NOT be granted again to allow these barbaric and atavistic events in which the terror and pain of innocent animals is exploited for the pleasure of hunters and gamblers.

"HARE COURSING” BANNED IN NORTHERN IRELAND (2010 Campaign)

On July 9, 2011, John Fitzgerald wrote:
“Last year the Northern Ireland Assembly (Regional Parliament) voted by a narrow margin to ban hare coursing after an incredibly heated debate...but banned it was, in that part of Ireland.

“This was in large part thanks to the campaign, including response by readers of the powerful OpposingViews.com article which was circulated, along with other material, to all members of the Northern Ireland Assembly!”

THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND MUST ALSO BAN "HARE COURSING"

Ireland, known as The Republic of Ireland, is much larger than Northern Ireland and is considered a sovereign nation. Its capital is Dublin. Northern Ireland is considered part of the UK and its capital is Belfast. Both are on the same island, but Ireland covers about five-sixth of the island and consists of 26 counties, while Northern Ireland is comprised of only six counties.

Live hare coursing still is supported by some powerful politicians in the Republic of Ireland, despite being opposed by a majority of the Irish people according to opinion polls. Politicians in Ireland are very sensitive to negative global perception that can negatively impact trade and tourism, and they need to be reminded that consumers and tourists are sensitive to the way animals are treated in countries where they vacation or consider business agreements.

The Coalition to End Cruel Sports is asking for e-mails to Minister Jimmy Deenihan to end live hare coursing in the Republic of Ireland. ministersoffice@tcs.gov.ie

Here is a video of hare coursing as practiced in Ireland:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58qbzC-GI4&feature=player_embedded

WHAT IS “HARE COURSING?”

Hare coursing is a “blood sport” in which pairs of greyhounds are set loose to chase captive wild rabbits (hares) within a wire-enclosed field. There is heavy gambling on the outcome of each race or "course.” The dog that is first to "turn" the hare (divert it from its straight run to the opposite end of the enclosure) is declared the winner in each race. Points are awarded for various other aspects of each greyhound's performance in chasing the hare.

Though the stated intention is not specifically to kill the hare, most of the animals are inevitably either injured, through mauling or being literally tossed into the air by the dogs, or after the coursing event they often die from Capture Myopathy, a condition that affects a number of wild species, including the Irish Hare.

Each year, coursing clubs use nets to capture thousands of innocent wild rabbits for these events. Some hares die during capture, becoming entangled in the nets and breaking bones etc. These are either killed because they are unable to run or they are used to "blood" greyhounds as part of their training. This involves feeding them live to the dogs.

In captivity, many hares also die, of diseases resulting from the cramped and unnatural conditions in which they are kept.

From beginning to end, hare coursing is immensely cruel and completely against Nature...the animals are snatched from their natural habitat and "trained" as the coursing officials call it, to run in a straight line. At the actual coursing events, the rabbits (hares) must run for their lives so that spectators can gamble and cheer on the competing dogs.

The hare is deemed a mere pawn in the whole game -- a plaything that serves as live bait for the dogs. Its terror as it seeks to evade the hyped-up greyhounds is a source of mirth and entertainment to the audience.

HERE’S HOW OUR E-MAILS CAN HELP

Each year, the Irish Government must grant a special license that permits coursing clubs to capture hares for this appalling “blood sport". Without that license, hare coursing would cease. The decision as to whether or not to grant the license must be made before the end of August, as the netting (capturing) usually begins in September.

John Fitzgerald writes:
“We are appealing to the relevant Government Minister NOT to grant the license this year and are asking you to join us in making that appeal. We want him to follow the example of Northern Ireland, which outlawed hare coursing last year.”

If you feel this is a cause worthy of a few minutes of your time, please send a brief letter or email to Mr. Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts and Culture, Dail Eireann, Dublin 2, Ireland, asking him simply NOT to issue the license that will permit hares to be captured for another season of live hare coursing in the Irish Republic.

You can email the Minister at ministersoffice@tcs.gov.ie.

John Fitzgerald is also the author of the best-selling book, Bad Hare Days, and can be contacted at jfitzg3@eircom.net

Race fixing in the UK: Greyhound was given drugs to affect his performance

2011-07-14T09:37:00.001-04:00

http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/9133684.Greyhound_was_given_Viagra_and_cannabis/

Greyhound was given Viagra and cannabis
By Chris Webber, Darlington and Stockton Times - July 12, 2011

A GREYHOUND trainer has pleaded guilty to pumping his dog full of Viagra to win races.

Anthony Gregory Fowler, 61, told an RSPCA inspector his greyhound Jake, would “run his head off” when given the drug, a court heard.

Fowler, of Doncaster Crescent, Stockton, was affecting the odds at unlicensed dog race meetings, Hartlepool Magistrates’ Court was told yesterday.

The court heard he would give Jake and other dogs cannabis to slow them so they would lose races. When the odds improved Fowler would place bets on the same greyhound and give it Viagra or a testosterone-based drug.

John Ellwood, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said police interviewed Fowler in September last year after receiving reports he was involved in selling cannabis. Fowler told the officers he was drugging his dogs and police informed the RSPCA.

Mr Ellwood said: “He admitted in interview that he fed his greyhounds cannabis when he wanted them to lose races. He did so by boiling the cannabis.

“When he wanted the dog to win the race he injected it with a drug which turns out to be nandrolone, which is a testosterone derivative.

“He explained that the nandrolone and travel sickness pills which he had would affect the way the dogs would run and in particular he showed the officer Viagra tablets which according to him make them “run their heads off”.”

Fowler was interviewed by an RSPCA inspector at a later date but by this time Jake was dead. Fowler said the dog had injured its shoulder at a race meeting and a vet said fixing the shoulder would be costly.

Mr Ellwood said cannabis could cause convulsions and hallucinations in dogs. Viagra could cause inflammation of the blood vessels.

Fowler had initially denied charges against him but he changed his plea to guilty yesterday to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog and two counts of administering drugs to a dog knowing it to be poisonous or injurious.

No mitigation was given, and Fowler will be sentenced next Tuesday, after a probation report has been prepared.

He declined to comment at his home last night.

Trudy Baker, founder of Redcar-based greyhound protection group Greytexploitations, said: “I’ve never heard of Viagra being used but there’s been eight cases of dogs testing positive for cocaine in the last three years.

The industry is self-regulating and it’s just not done properly.”

Pennsylvania bans greyhound racing simulcasting

2011-07-08T11:25:00.000-04:00

One week ago today, the Pennsylvania legislature passed House Bill 67, prohibiting the broadcast of greyhound racing from tracks in other states (article below).

On July 7, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed House Bill 67 into law.

Congratulations and gratitude to Citizens Against Greyhound Racing for their hard work to make this happen.

And sincere thanks to state Rep. Curt Schroder for sponsoring this humane legislation!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

http://dailylocal.com/articles/2011/07/01/news/doc4e0e517a06861330979077.txt

Legislature bans greyhound race broadcasts
Daily Local News, Chester County - July 1, 2011

A bill prohibiting the simulcasting of greyhound racing in Pennsylvania is on its way to the governor.

Greyhound racing is illegal in Pennsylvania, and House Bill 67 would prohibit greyhound races in other states from being aired in Pennsylvania.

Specifically, the bill prevents any person or business from financially benefiting from the transmission or receipt of interstate or intrastate simulcasting of greyhound races.

The House approved the legislation in February. The Senate unanimously passed the bill Wednesday. Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign the bill, which is sponsored by state Rep. Curt Schroder, R-155th of East Brandywine.

“As the owner of rescued greyhounds, I have seen the devastating effect the racing industry has had on these dogs,” Schroder said in a statement. “They make fine pets and it is gratifying to me to know that Pennsylvania will not be supporting an industry that abuses and neglects these sweet and gentle animals.”

Under the bill, anyone found to violate the law could face civil penalties of up to $10,000.

Protestors at SOKC: "Death visits Sanford Orlando Kennel Club and every track throughout the United States."

2011-07-07T19:08:00.000-04:00

http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2011/07/06/4e14910021f4d

Protesters rally to save Greyhounds
By Laura Newberry, Seminole Chronicle - July 6, 2011

The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida staged a protest at the Sanford Orlando Kennel Club in Longwood, challenging bettors and greyhound owners to reassess the controversial sport of dog-racing.

Nearly 20 protesters stood outside as race-goers filtered into the stands of the racetrack June 25, brandishing signs with slogans such as "dog racing kills thousands" and passing out informational flyers that reflected poorly upon the racing industry.

"Death" made an appearance at the protest, donning a grim-reaper costume in an attempt to make a statement about the high number of greyhound casualties caused by racing.

"It's how we can demonstrate the truth," said Carla Wilson, coordinator for ARFF. "Death visits Sanford Orlando Kennel Club and every track throughout the United States."

According to Vic Harrison, the general manager of the Sanford Orlando Kennel Club, ARFF has held annual protests on the racing grounds for the past few years.

"I totally respect their right to meet in public and their views as long as they don't disrupt our business, which they didn't. The signs were pointed more at the greyhound industry than our site specifically," Harrison said.

Wilson said that she first became involved in activism when her and her husband, Bryan, adopted a former racing greyhound in 1996. The dog was initially left at a "kill vet" after it could no longer race.

The condition of their young but physically-drained dog motivated them to volunteer for the greyhound rescue, and they dealt with the Sanford Orlando Kennel club on a regular basis.

"We'd pick up dogs from the kennel. We saw firsthand what was going on," Wilson said. "They smell bad. A lot of them were infested with fleas, ticks, internal parasites. Their teeth were rotting out of their mouths. All of these things were very routine when we got the dogs."

According to Carey Theil, the executive director of Grey2KUSA, a national nonprofit greyhound protection organization, racing dogs generally live in cramped quarters.

"The greyhounds are kept inside windowless buildings in warehouse-style wooden or metal kennels, and there are two rows stacked on each side," Theil said. "Each building has as many as 100 greyhounds, and the entire compound has anywhere from 500 to 1,000 greyhounds."

Bryan Wilson, who is also a coordinator with ARRF, said that the greyhound bedding in the kennels includes scraps of newspaper or carpet remnants.

A Grey2KUSA research report states that racing dogs are confined to their cages for approximately 20 hours a day, and are "turned out" into an open area to relieve themselves about three to five hours a day.

"A lot of the dogs get "kennel rub," where the hair is rubbed off the back of their legs because they're pushed into these tiny little crates and their legs are pushed into the ground," Bryan Wilson said.

Although Bryan and Carla Wilson commented specifically on the poor conditions of the Sanford Orlando kennels, Harrison maintains that their facilities are suitable.

"Our kennel area is clean and safe. It's a warm environment when it needs to be, and cool when it needs to be," Harrison said.

According to records, a state investigator that visited the Sanford Orlando kennel compound in April 2006 reported that 18 adult greyhounds were cramped into nine crates designed to hold one dog. The kennel helper stated that they were there for three days, and there was no water in the cages.

The fliers that the ARFF protesters passed out at the Orlando Sanford facility described similar kennel issues.

"There are people that are just casual bettors, and those people that see our protests might be persuaded not to come back," Carla Wilson said. "There are so many other forms of entertainment that don't involve animals racing and watching man's best friend go around in a circle so you can throw money on his back."

According to Harrison, a greyhound's racing career usually ends before the dog reaches five years old. When the dogs are no longer in racing condition, the majority of owners decide to give them up.

"We work very closely with six local greyhound adoption agencies. Last year we sent 700 greyhounds to be adopted out by the agencies," Harrison said. "We're happy to promote that. These animals make wonderful pets."

Carla Wilson said that ARFF does not consider this to be an adequate solution to the over-breeding and racing of greyhounds.

"There are not enough foster groups and agencies to handle so many dogs being bred and discarded by this industry. To say that they're all getting adopted, that's virtually impossible. It's not the case," Carla Wilson said.

Marilyn Varnberg, founder of Greyhound Adoptions of Florida, has been rescuing greyhounds in the area for more than 18 years.

Varnberg said that most of the dogs she sees come to her with career-ending injuries.

"We do a tremendous amount of broken legs. Most race-dog owners won't pay to repair them," Varnberg said. "It's a constant battle to fundraise and care for these dogs. It has become the norm that it isn't the responsibility of the owner or trainer."

"When you have a pack of 8 dogs running at 45 miles per hour, they collide into one another," Bryan Wilson said.

According to Carla Wilson, dog racing is a dying industry. Since 2001, the number of dog racetracks in the U.S. has fallen from 49 to 22.

Thirteen of these tracks are in Florida.

"The greyhound racing industry in terms of attendance and revenue is down by 90 percent from 20 years ago," Carla Wilson said. "At some point, dog racing is going to cost more to manage, operate and monitor than is bringing in money for the state. You can't operate that sort of business in hard economic times."

Grey2KUSA reports that the number of greyhounds being bred to race is shrinking with the revenue. 12,801 dogs were registered to race in 2010 as compared to 26,207 in 2005.

According to Theil, eight states have banned dog racing completely, including Pennsylvania and Virginia.

"Orlando management and kennel ownership is really out of touch with what the majority thought is today on dog racing," Theil said. "They are stretching greyhound racing to the very end, even though there are an overwhelming majority of Central Florida residents who support greyhound racing ending."

Efforts to prop up Texas dog racing with slot machines fail again

2011-07-07T18:57:00.000-04:00

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cypress/news/article_ca67970d-96ad-59fe-b795-834d3d729ce5.html

Casino, other gambling in Texas remains legislative longshot
By Michael Reed, Regional News Bureau - July 5, 2011

As recently as May, legalized casino gambling and slot machines were topics for consideration among lawmakers in Austin.

Mired in a budgetary shortfall that eventually spilled over into a special session, legislators were asked by state Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) to consider a gaming bill as a potential means to avert such severe cuts to health care and education during future.

Not surprisingly to most Capitol onlookers, Ellis pulled the bill from consideration two weeks after it was introduced, seeing what he called at the time “the handwriting on the wall.” The votes were just not there.

It was at least the third time since 2007 that Ellis has brought forward legislation that would have allowed, at a minimum, slot machines at race tracks or casinos in tourist resorts.

The five-term senator and his staff did not make themselves available to comment on what, if any, gaming-related legislation he might offer during future sessions.

Jim Wortman, director of Gaming Education and Research at the Conrad Hilton College at the University of Houston, said legislation similar to that proposed by Ellis consistently faces a pair of big hurdles every time it comes up.

First, the groups lobbying for gambling in some form, greyhound tracks, horse race tracks, some convention centers and casino interests, all want different things — gaming that benefits them, specifically.

“There is just no exciting parameter for everyone to climb on board with,” Wortman said. “They want slot machines where it will help them.”

In addition, according to the 30-year researcher on gambling, no one has brought forward a plan that shows how gaming might benefit all of the counties in Texas, rather than just the ones with large enough metropolitan areas to support venues with gambling.

“If I’m in the Hill Country, I’m saying what’s in it for me,” Wortman said, adding the logical conclusion would be lost local revenues once discretionary dollars started being spent on legal gambling outside the county.

The second and perhaps larger obstacle in his view is the inability of proponents to get gambling bills out of committee. Anti-gaming forces have been highly effective in controlling key committee positions for a number of years now, he said.

Wortman said he has “no doubt” a gaming referendum would pass, if it made it before voters, however. “They are afraid the general public will say let’s do it.”

Meanwhile, money goes elsewhere

Each year, Texans spend about $2.5 billion gambling in other states, even by most conservative estimates. Obviously, seeing that money spent at home could mean a boon to both taxing entities and businesses.

“OK, I’ll go ahead and use the appropriate term. I would bet there will be legislation filed again next session,” said Mike Lavigne, a pro-gaming lobbyist. “This effort has been going on for over a decade in some form.”

Lavigne said track operators will remain vigilant in trying to get legalization allowing slot machines at racing venues before voters as soon as possible. It is a matter of survival. Many track operators are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with tracks across the state line that have slots and other forms of gambling.

“There will be fewer race tracks this (next) session, one or two less anyway, just because the Legislature does nothing to help the industry,” Lavigne said. “That’s fine, but voters should get a say on how this messes with jobs and property taxes.”

Still, many opposing groups, such as Texans Against Gambling, a coalition of political, religious and law enforcement groups, maintains gambling doesn’t boost revenues over the long haul and leads to crime and bankruptcies. They say those on fixed incomes are hurt the worst.

The group says most of those who place wagers are “convenience gamblers,” who don’t go farther than 30 miles from home to participate. They argue that most of the money is already local money that could have been spent in a better way.

More dirty dealings from Milton McGregor?

2011-07-07T18:37:00.000-04:00

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9O10TEG0.htm

Casino owner cited in complaint against Ala. judge
By Phillip Rawls, Associated Press - June 22, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Ala.
A casino owner accused of buying votes in Alabama for pro-gambling legislation is cited in a judicial complaint against a former state judge, who's accused of letting a gambling lobbyist bankroll her re-election campaign while she was handling a custody dispute involving the casino owner's grandchildren.

An attorney for VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor said Tuesday that he did nothing wrong and the complaint filed against former District Judge Patricia Warner of Montgomery is based on errors.

"It's reckless and somebody is going to have to answer for that," defense attorney Joe Espy said Tuesday outside the federal courthouse.

The 72-year-old McGregor is in the third week of a trial where he and eight others are accused of buying and selling legislators' votes for pro-gambling legislation with campaign contributions. The legislation was designed to keep McGregor's now-closed VictoryLand casino in Shorter operating.

Late Monday afternoon, the state's Judicial Inquiry Commission filed a complaint against Warner, a Democrat who resigned unexpectedly last week less than six months into her second term. The 74-count complaint accuses Warner of judicial misconduct in several cases, including the one involving an effort by McGregor's former son-in-law to regain visitation rights with McGregor's grandchildren.

The complaint will be heard by the Alabama Court of Judiciary, which can sanction her if it finds her guilty of misconduct and impose financial penalties. A spokesman for the state pension system said Warner qualifies for state retirement benefits. The amount was not immediately available.

The complaint contends that McGregor contributed at least $286,000 to eight political action committees controlled by lobbyist Johnny Crawford and then Crawford's PACs gave $20,750 to Warner. That's out of $75,455 the Democratic judge reported raising from all sources for her campaign.

The complaint said Warner should have stepped down after McGregor's son-in-law questioned her impartiality because of the PAC donations from Crawford, "a known lobbyist for Mr. McGregor and the gambling industry and the father of Laurel Crawford, Judge Warner's staff attorney."

The complaint said McGregor's ex-son-in-law, Todd Brown, was unable to visit his children for nearly two years because the judge suspended his visitation rights and acted "in bad faith" on his request for her to step aside.

Espy said Tuesday the complaint is in error because Crawford has never been a lobbyist for McGregor.

Annual lobbying statements filed by Crawford with the State Ethics Commission don't list McGregor as a client, but his client list does include International Game Technology, which supplied games for McGregor's electronic bingo casino and the Country Crossing casino of Ronnie Gilley.

Gilley has pleaded guilty in the Statehouse corruption case and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

Crawford said Warner has been a family friend for many years, and he raised money for her campaign, including hosting a fundraiser reception at his house. But he said only $500 came from one of his political action committees where McGregor had contributed. He said the other PACs he used to support her campaign had no money from McGregor.

In the federal court trial involving McGregor, Republican state Rep. Barry Mask of Wetumpka wrapped up two days of testimony Tuesday and explained how he worked with the FBI to record phone calls to McGregor. Mask said McGregor promised him significant campaign contributions if he would support pro-gambling legislation and that McGregor said he would get the contributions to come from friends so that they could not be traced back to McGregor.

Debbie Moore, who organized a fundraiser for Mask, said a representative of McGregor's gambling business wanted to buy all 100 of the $50 tickets to the fundraiser. When she told him none were available, he said they would attend anyway. She said two men showed up at the event on Feb. 15, 2010, with donations totaling $5,000 -- the exact price of all the tickets. The two men were lobbyists for McGregor, and one of them, Bob Geddie, is on trial with the casino owner.

In an interview Tuesday, Crawford said there was no switching around of contributions to his PACs to hide the origin of the money donated to Warner.

"Absolutely not," he said.

Crawford also said he never discussed the child custody dispute with his daughter.

In the complaint against Warner, the Judicial Inquiry Commission said only two of her 29 rulings that got appealed to higher courts were upheld, and she disregarded the legal standards that the higher courts told her that she should follow.

Warner's attorney, Charles Dauphin, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Dauphin is with former Attorney General Bill Baxley's law firm, which is representing one of McGregor's lobbyists, Tom Coker, in the federal court trial.

Catching up on the Alabama bingo trial...

2011-07-07T18:07:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that it's been a month already since the gambling corruption trial began in Alabama!

Here are a few of many articles published in the trial's first five weeks.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/06/alabama_bingo_trial_revolves_a.html

Alabama bingo trial revolves around greed, US says
By Kim Chandler, The Birmingham News - June 11, 2011

MONTGOMERY -- VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor is a wealthy man, but he got greedy and bribed state legislators in the hopes of making hundreds of millions more dollars for himself, a federal prosecutor told jurors Friday.

Justin V. Shur told jurors in opening statements of the highly anticipated corruption trial that McGregor and the other defendants bought and sold State House votes in exchange for campaign contributions and business opportunities.

But defense lawyers contended the government's own wiretaps will show there were no bribes. The prosecution's case is built upon the testimony of "two crooks" and "three amigos" -- two men who have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify, and three legislators who wore wires to capture conversations with colleagues at the State House, said Joe Espy, attorney for McGregor.

McGregor; Sen. Harri Anne Smith, I-Slocomb; Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery; former Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla; former Sen. Jim Preuitt, R-Talladega; County Crossing casino spokesman Jay Walker; former legislative employee Ray Crosby and two of Montgomery's most influential lobbyists -- Tom Coker and Bob Geddie -- are being tried on charges of buying and selling votes for a gambling bill last year.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in their opening statements painted contrasting pictures of the defendants and campaign contributions at the heart of the case.

The defendants alternately were described as greedy criminals and honest, upstanding business people. What prosecutors told jurors were bribes and conspiracy, defense lawyers described as legal campaign contributions and legitimate political maneuvering.

Prosecutors told jurors the case is simple. It's about selling votes, said Shur, deputy chief of the Justice Department's public integrity section.

"This case is not about gambling. It's certainly not about politics," Shur told jurors. "This case is about two things. It's about corruption. It's about greed."

Shur said that, in 2010, McGregor stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars from electronic bingo machines. But McGregor was desperate and turned to bribes, Shur said, because he was three votes short of what he needed in the Alabama Senate to pass a bill that could have let him keep the gambling machines at his VictoryLand casino.

The bill would have held a statewide referendum on allowing the machines at casinos owned by McGregor and a few others.

At the time, Gov. Bob Riley had launched a campaign to close down electronic bingo operations across the state, including VictoryLand.

"Milton McGregor was so desperate that he offered a legislator one million dollars for a single vote," Shur said.

'Hear the defendants'

Shur told jurors that, when prosecutors play recordings from telephone wiretaps, "You are going to hear the defendants commit these crimes in real time."

But he cautioned jurors that they won't hear the defendants say, "Sir, I'm offering you a bribe." That's not how people talk, he said. But he told jurors the meaning of the conversations should be clear.

Espy told jurors there's a reason there are no explicit offers on the tapes.

"There are no bribes on any tapes, because there ain't any bribes," Espy said, his voice rising with emotion.

While Shur's opening was direct and professorial, Espy made a fiery and impassioned plea to jurors.

"This man did not bribe anyone. This is an honest man," Espy said of McGregor.

Country Crossing owner Ronnie Gilley and Gilley lobbyist Jarrod Massey will be two key witnesses for the prosecution. Gilley and Massey originally were defendants in the case but pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Defense lawyers suggested Massey and Gilley were behind any wrongdoing and now would say anything to whittle their prison sentences.

"It's Ronnie Gilley and Jarrod Massey that are responsible for this mess," said Susan James, a lawyer representing Walker.

Shur told the jury that Smith, Preuitt and Means initially were opponents of the gambling bill but changed their votes after getting hefty contributions, or promises of contributions, from Gilley or McGregor.

Smith at times shook her head no as prosecutors said she received half a million dollars in contributions from Gilley for her vote.

Defense lawyers told jurors that the senators voted for the bill because it would let people decide whether the gambling machines should be legal.

Smith attorney William White said the tapes will show Smith did not do what prosecutors claim.

"Thank God for the tapes. Thank God for the tapes," White told jurors.

Ross lawyer H. Lewis Gillis told jurors it would have been a waste of cash to buy Ross' vote because he had supported the gambling legislation for years. Gillis said Ross' innocent fundraising calls were being distorted and mischaracterized by the government.

Preuitt lawyer Ron Wise said Gilley offered to fund his campaign, and Preuitt turned him down.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson seated 12 jurors plus five alternates to hear the case. The panel is almost entirely female, consisting of 15 women and two men, and split about evenly along racial lines.

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Monday.
Written by Kim Chandler (Birmingham News) and Brendan Kirby (Press-Register). News staff writer Martin Swant contributed to this report.

____________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Tape-Ala-senator-offered-1M-for-vote-1423305.php

Tape: Ala. senator offered $1M for vote

By Phillip Rawls, Associated Press - June 14, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A state senator working with the FBI recorded a casino lobbyist promising $1 million a year from two casino owners if he provided a key vote for pro-gambling legislation, according to testimony Tuesday in a gambling corruption trial.

"What I'm saying is there is a million out there and you can use it however," Country Crossing casino lobbyist Jarrod Massey said on the tape played Tuesday in federal court.

He said the money could be furnished through a public relations job that would require little work or Republican Sen. Scott Beason could direct where gambling interests made $1 million in political contributions. The recording was one of several that Beason made while helping the FBI with its investigation of Statehouse corruption.

Massey said his employer Ronnie Gilley, developer of Country Crossing casino in Dothan, and Milton McGregor, owner of VictoryLand casino in Shorter, were working together to pass the legislation, and he would make sure they kept the commitment to Beason of Gardendale.

"I'm good with that," Beason replied.

Under cross-examination by McGregor's attorney, Beason acknowledged that McGregor was not there when the $1 million was discussed.

Nine people, including McGregor, are on trial in federal court on charges accusing them of buying and selling votes on legislation designed to protect electronic bingo machines at McGregor's and Gilley's now-closed casinos. Gilley and Massey have pleaded guilty and will testify later.

Beason, the first witness in the trial, will return to the stand Wednesday for the third day.

The Beason recordings played in court on Monday and Tuesday included meetings with Massey, Gilley and McGregor. The gambling advocates were short of the 21 votes they needed in the Senate to pass their legislation and were trying to get Beason on board. In most of the tapes, Beason was the first person to mention money.

That prompted a juror to send a note to the judge Tuesday asking if the meetings "could be considered entrapment?" The juror also asked if Beason was coached on what to ask the defendants.

After consulting with lawyers from both sides, the judge told the jury that entrapment is an issue of law and he would instruct the panel on the law before deliberations begin.

Then Beason testified that he talked with FBI agents about who would be at each recorded meeting, but "they never wrote anything down" for him to say in the meetings.

On one tape made Feb. 18, 2010, Beason recorded a meeting he had with Massey, Gilley and McGregor in Montgomery, where McGregor told him, "We need your vote."

Beason said he wanted to take a leadership role in the Republican Party, but lacked the financial means to do it.

"What can y'all do to help and how does that happen?" Beason asked.

"We damn sure support who supports us," McGregor told Beason, but the casino owner never mentioned any details of what the support might be.

In a recording from Feb. 19, 2010, Beason and Massey met in Homewood. Beason told Massey, "I want you to tell me what you have in mind."

Beason, a longtime opponent of gambling, was concerned about how a pro-gambling vote would be viewed.

"In order to do a lot of good, sometimes you've got to go through playing the process," Massey said.

Beason met with Gilley and Massey in Prattville on Feb. 23, 2010, where Gilley told him, "We feel like we are going to have the votes."

Then Massey told Beason, "We're solid as a rock."

Beason's recordings often contained critical remarks about other Republicans. In one comment, he accused former Gov Bob Riley of trying to help Mississippi casinos by cracking down on gambling in Alabama. Beason said he was playing a role to keep the conversation going on the tapes.

McGregor's attorney, Bobby Segall, portrayed Beason as playing more than a role. He accused the Republican senator of being politically ambitious and trying to bring down McGregor because he contributes to Democratic candidates.

Beason said he does consider McGregor to be a threat to the Legislature's Republican majority, but that was not his motivation for contacting the FBI.

"My reason was to get to the bottom of what was going on in the Legislature," he said.

____________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110629/APN/1106290635

FBI lays out VictoryLand owner's calls in trial

By Phillip Rawls, Associated Press - June 29, 2011

Federal prosecutors in Alabama's gambling corruption trial used phone records Wednesday to try to tie the state's largest casino owner to a scheme to buy legislators' votes with campaign contributions.

Agent John McEachern testified that with the help of state Rep. Barry Mask, the FBI recorded a phone call between Mask and VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor on the morning of Feb. 15, 2010.

In that call, McGregor said he needed Mask's vote on pro-gambling legislation and promised to help his re-election campaign. But he said the help wouldn't come directly from him because that would be politically controversial in the Republican legislator's Elmore County district.

"My bottom line is I'm committed to help you in a significant way through friends of mine," McGregor promised in the tape-recorded call. He also told Mask, "I'll start making calls later today."

McGregor and eight others are in the fourth week of a trial on charges accusing them of buying and selling votes on pro-gambling legislation. The legislation was a proposed constitutional amendment designed to protect VictoryLand in Shorter and other electronic bingo casinos from raids by state police. McGregor's casino 15 miles east of Montgomery once offered 6,000 machines, but is now closed.

McEachern testified that the FBI subpoenaed McGregor's phone records and found that he called his lobbying firm, Fine Geddie and Associates, 14 minutes after hanging up with Mask.

Mask testified earlier in the trial that indicted lobbyist and defendant Bob Geddie showed up at his campaign fundraiser in Tallassee on the night of Feb. 15, 2010, and Geddie left $5,000 in contributions.

McEachern said the FBI was taping Mask the next day as the legislator called McGregor to say thanks. In that call, McGregor said he had called Geddie after hanging up with Mask on Feb. 15 and asked Geddie to represent him at the fundraiser.

Records presented in court showed the $5,000 in contributions came from political action committees operated by Geddie rather than directly from McGregor.

Prosecutors originally hadn't expected to call the FBI agent as a witness Wednesday. Country Crossing casino owner Ronnie Gilley, who has pleaded guilty to bribery, was supposed to be on the stand for a fifth day. But he became ill and went to the doctor.

Prosecutor Louis Franklin said the doctor diagnosed Gilley as being dehydrated and ordered him to rest for 24 hours and drink lots of fluids. Franklin said Gilley will return to the witness stand later.

During Gilley's four days of testimony as a prosecution witness, he admitted offering bribes to legislators to gain their support for the legislation.

Huntsville political consultant Bryant Raby, who operates four political action committees, testified that Gilley contributed $200,000 to Raby's PACs on March 24, 2010. That was six days before the state Senate passed the pro-gambling legislation pushed by Gilley.

Raby said he later met with David Mowery, a campaign consultant for indicted state Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb, and after that meeting, wrote $200,000 in checks to other PACs. He did not say what he and Mowery discussed, but prosecutor Barak Cohen asked him, "If not for that meeting would you have written these checks?"

"No," Raby replied.

Cohen asked Raby if money can be transferred between political action committees to disguise the original source of the money before it is giving to a candidate.

"Yes it could," he answered.

Raby also testified the PACs wrote $30,000 in contributions to Smith's re-election campaign on Jan. 11, 2010. Then Gilley sent the PACs $30,000 the next day.

Under questioning by Smith's attorney, Raby said he didn't know whether the checks were related because his uncle, former congressional candidate Steve Raby, was running the PACs back then.

________________________________________________________________________________________

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/07/bribery_or_innocent_politics_l.html

Bribery or innocent politics? Lawyers on both sides of bingo trial ask FBI agent about wiretap conversations

By Kim Chandler, Birmingham News - July 6, 2011

MONTGOMERY, Alabama --- Defense lawyers and prosecutors in the State House vote-buying case went back and forth this morning in their questioning of an FBI agent alternately portraying conversations picked up on wiretapped calls as bribery or innocent politics.

Prosecutor Edward Kang said he wanted to focus on what the defendants "actually said" on the calls.

Kang asked FBI Agent John McEachern about two calls between VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, hours before the Senate was scheduled to vote on a gambling bill that McGregor had been feverishly working to get approved.

Ross asked McGregor for a campaign donation noting that the "window is closing on us fast."

McEachern indicated that was reference to the upcoming bingo vote. The calls took place on March 29 and the morning of March 30, 1010. The Senate voted on the gambling bill on the afternoon of March 30.

Kang also noted after McGregor assured Ross he would do anything to get him funds and after a conversation with lobbyist Tom Coker, Ross received a $10,000 donation from the Alabama Medical Association. Coker was the group's lobbyist.

Coker told McGregor that he was going to get Ross a, ... a check from the, uh, medical association and from the soft drink folks."

McGregor, Coker, Ross and six others are on trial on charges of participating in a conspiracy to buy and sell votes for a gambling bill before lawmakers in 2010. The bill would have called for a statewide referendum aimed at legalizing electronic bingo machines that McGregor wanted to offer at his VictoryLand dog track.

But on cross-examination by McGregor lawyer Ben Espy, McEachern agreed that another reasonable interpretation of the "window is closing on us fast" could be a reference to the upcoming qualifying deadline to run as a candidate.

McGregor and Ross during the call had discussed whether Ross would have opposition in his upcoming election.

McEachern also acknowledged during cross-examination that Ross did not discuss his vote or make any promises of official action during those calls with McGregor.

Defense lawyers tried to suggest to jurors that McEachern had a limited understanding of politics and the limited perspective of cooperating witnesses.

Espy asked McEachern if it wasn't true that he only had pieces of the puzzle and not the complete picture.

"I don't know if we'll ever know the complete picture with "the corruption in the Alabama Legislature," McEachern said.

Prosecutors at one point this morning complained to U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson that members of McGregor's defense team were making comments during witness testimony. A prosecutor said because he could hear the comments, he suspected that jurors could hear them as well.

Thompson said he had not heard the comments but he had seen some lawyers shaking their heads. Thompson warned both sides not to make comments or gestures. Thompson said defense lawyers would have been flying across the room to object if prosecutors had done that.

Mexican Assistant AG: Judge who freed Jorge Hank Rhon acted with "bias and subjectivity"

2011-07-07T14:19:00.000-04:00

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/jun/20/lt-mexico-tijuana-ex-mayor/

Mexican prosecutor: freeing of ex-mayor worrisome
The Associated Press - June 20, 2011

The dismissal of charges against a former Tijuana mayor allegedly caught with 88 guns at his home could set a worrisome example of allowing illegal weapons possession to go unpunished, Mexico's top organized crime prosecutor said Wednesday.

Assistant Attorney General Patricia Bugarin said the judge who freed gambling magnate and former mayor Jorge Hank Rhon acted with "bias and subjectivity" in dismissing the federal charges.

The ruling "could result in impunity for crimes like illegal weapons possession," Bugarin said, noting the prosecution has appealed the Tuesday ruling.

Bugarin said the judge may have erred in accepting as evidence surveillance camera tapes from Hank Rhon's luxurious home, despite the fact the tapes may have been edited.

The weapons were found in a warrantless raid by soldiers on the home last week, and the judge ruled Tuesday that the soldiers' description of that raid didn't hold up to scrutiny.

Hank Rhon was also freed Tuesday from state custody after a judge refused a request by Baja California state prosecutors to hold him in a homicide investigation.

State officials said Wednesday that he continues to be a subject of that probe, because one of the guns found at his home was linked to three killings.

Dog track owner Jorge Hank Rhon walks free

2011-07-07T14:06:00.000-04:00

http://latindispatch.com/2011/06/14/mexican-judge-orders-the-release-of-jorge-hank-rhon-for-lack-of-evidence/

Mexican Judge Orders The Release Of Jorge Hank Rhon For Lack Of Evidence
By Andrew OReilly, Latin America News Dispatch - June 14, 2011

UPDATE: After being released from custody early Tuesday, Baja California state prosecutors immediately rearrested Jorge Hank Rhon in connection with a murder investigation.

A Mexican judge ordered the release Tuesday of Tijuana’s former mayor due to lack of evidence, after he was arrested earlier this month for the illegal possession of a large cache of firearms and ammunition.

Jorge Hank Rhon, one of Mexico’s richest men and a major player in the country’s opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), had been held since June 4 when soldiers raided his expansive Tijuana estate and found 88 firearms and nearly 10,000 rounds of ammunition on the property.

Mexican federal prosecutors said only 10 of the weapons were licensed and the prosecutor of Mexico’s Baja California state later added that ballistic tests showed that two of the guns found had been used in homicides, but Hank denied any knowledge of the guns and his lawyers said that the weapons did not belong to him.

Judge Blanca Evelia Parra said there was not enough evidence presented before time ran out on the constitutional limit to hold Hank and the eight others arrested with him on charges of illegal possession of weapons, ammunition and possession of weapons for use only by the military. The ruling can be appealed.

The judge’s decision was made early in the morning and soon afterward Hank’s lawyers, a Maserati used by the politician and hundreds of supporters were outside the prison where he was held.

It is unclear if officials might try to re-arrest Hank on other charges, as he still faces questions over two of the seized guns that authorities have linked to the Tijuana killings of a security guard in December 2009 and an alleged car thief in June 2010.

Hank’s arrest was viewed by supporters and some members of his fellow PRI members as a political attack by the government of President Felipe Calderón in the lead-up to the country’s presidential campaign season. It was rumored that Hank was planning to run for another political position in Baja California, perhaps governor.

His release can also be seen as a setback for the Calderón administration’s prosecution of organized crime in Mexican courts. Hank is allegedly involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and the murder of a Tijuana journalist.

“It’s going to be a huge embarrassment to the Calderon administration,” said David Shirk, director of the University of San Diego’s Trans-Border Institute and an expert on the Mexican judicial system. “It’s not so much that they made a mistake. It’s that they have not been able to convict a noticeable number of organized crime suspects.”

Besides supporters from Tijuana and the PRI, Catholic Church leaders also gave their backing to the former mayor.

“I have confidence in God that everything will be conducted in accordance with the law and you will soon be back with your family and us again,” Tijuana Archbishop Rafael Romo wrote in a letter to Hank Rhon that was published Monday in Mexican newspapers.

A large celebration is planned at Grupo Caliente, the racetrack Hank owns, upon his return to Tijuana.

Texas Racing Commission responds to GREY2K USA regarding the death of Crispins Place

2011-06-14T18:34:00.001-04:00

The 'official' response'from the Texas Racing Commission can be found here:
http://www.grey2kusa.org/pdf/TXRC2011.pdf

For more information from GREY2K USA Executive Director Carey Theil, please see:
http://saving-greys.blogspot.com/2011/06/texas-racing-commission-responds-to.html

In memory of Crispins Place, who suffered and died in Texas at the hands of the cruel dog racing industry.

He was a champion racer, who won a $30,000 stakes race at Mardi Gras called The Hollywoodian in May of 2010.

Just nine months later, he was euthanized for a broken leg, untreated by a veterinarian for two days following the injury. He was only two years old.

Lost but not forgotten.

Texas greyhound euthanized after suffering for two days with broken leg - trainer gets insufficient fine and no suspension

2011-06-14T17:56:00.001-04:00

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/234998

Greyhound protection group appeals decision
By Michael A. Smith, Galveston County Daily News

LA MARQUE — A Massachusetts-based greyhound protection group has asked a state commission to reopen a local case and consider a stiffer sanction against a dog trainer fined $500 for violating rules against inhumane treatment of racing animals.

In a May 18 letter to Rolando Pablos, chairman of the Texas Racing Commission, the group Grey2K USA said the fine against trainer Craig Alan Edwards was “clearly insufficient” and sent a message that the commission didn’t take the humane treatment of greyhounds seriously.

The group argues Edwards’ license should have been suspended, as often has happened in similar cases occurring at greyhound racing tracks across the country, Executive Director Carey Theil said in an interview.

At issue is the treatment of a dog named Crispins Place, which suffered a serious leg injury Feb. 14 during a morning workout at Gulf Greyhound Park.

The Gulf Greyhound Board of Judges ruled April 10 that Edwards failed to seek veterinary care for Crispins Place until Feb. 16 “subjecting the greyhound to unnecessary suffering,” according to commission documents.

That was the first time Edwards had been cited for a violation of the commission rule against inhumane treatment of racing dogs, according to the documents.

Edwards, who could not be reached for comment, agreed to a settlement with the board March 10 and paid the fine March 19, according to commission documents.

The commission’s general counsel last week was drafting a reply to Grey2K, said spokesman Bills Childs.

Childs said he could not speak about the likelihood of the commission reopening the case before the attorneys had replied to the group.

In general, however, the commission will not reconsider a case unless an appeal is filed within three says of a decision, he said.

The sanction against Edwards had not been light compared to those the commission handed down in similar cases, Childs said. The $500 fine was the first that large in almost three years and most were about $250, he said.

Edwards attempted to care for Crispins Place by wrapping the injured leg and giving the dog pain medication, Childs said. He erred by not having the dog seen by a veterinarian for more than a day after the injury, Childs said.

Crispins Place was put to death because of the injury, but that would have been the outcome even if a veterinarian had seen the dog immediately, Childs said.

Trainers are employed by kennel operators who bring dogs to race tracks in hope of winning purse money. The tracks provide kennel facilities, but the trainers are not employed by the tracks.

Formed in March 2001, Grey2K USA is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to passing stronger greyhound protection laws and ending what it calls the cruelty of dog racing, according to its website.

Alabama gambling corruption trial begins

2011-06-07T12:54:00.000-04:00

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110607/NEWS02/106070325/Jury-selection-gambling-trial-starts-Riley-country-music-stars-among-potential-witnesses?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

Jury selection for gambling trial starts; Riley, country music stars among potential witnesses
By Sebastian Kitchen, Montgomery Advertiser - June 7, 2011

The long list of potential witnesses in a high-profile federal corruption trial includes former Gov. Bob Riley, Alabama Education Association head Paul Hubbert, country stars George Jones and Lorrie Morgan, and former Attorney General Troy King, according to information revealed Monday.

A host of current and former state legislators are also on the list of people who could testify in a federal trial against VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor, two current state senators, two former state senators, two prominent lobbyists, and two others. They are accused of conspiring to buy and sell support for pro-gambling legislation.

The trial started with jury selection Monday at the Frank M. Johnson Jr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse downtown.

The other defendants include current state Sens. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, and Harri Anne Smith, an independent from Slocomb; former state Sens. Larry Means, D-Attalla, and Jim Preuitt, R-Talladega; lobbyists Tom Coker and Bob Geddie; legislative analyst Ray Crosby; and Jay Walker, who was a spokesman for the Country Crossing development.

Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley and his lobbyist, Jarrod Massey, have already pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. Lobbyist Jennifer Pouncy, who worked for Massey, has also pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate.

Other potential witnesses for the prosecution include Hubbert, state Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale; former state Rep. Benjamin Lewis, R-Dothan; Rep. Barry Mask of Wetumpka; former Sen. Steve French of Mountain Brook; Sen. Paul Sanford of Huntsville; former Sen. Larry Dixon of Montgomery; former state Sen. Lowell Barron of Fyffe and former House Speaker Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia.

Beason, Mask and Lewis, who is now a district judge in Houston County, cooperated with the investigation and wore recording devices.

Other potential witnesses include former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, House Speaker Mike Hubbard, Retirement Systems of Alabama director David Bronner, Rep. John Knight of Montgomery, former Rep. David Grimes of Montgomery, former Sen. Wendell Mitchell of Luverne, former U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, her husband Bill Canary of the Business Council of Alabama, former Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, former Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford, Public Service Commissioner Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, federal agents involved in the case, and businessmen including Greg Calhoun and Jimmy Rane.

A number of political consultants or lobbyists in Alabama are among those who could testify including Joe Fine, Steve Raby, Joe Perkins, John Anzalone, Paul Hamrick, Zac McCrary, David Mowery, Rick Heartsill, Greg Jones, Johnny Crawford, John Teague, Jerome Gray and Claire Austin.

First Baptist Church senior pastor Jay Wolf and former Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church pastor John Ed Mathison were also on the list.

The sponsors of the legislation at the heart of the trial, bills that would allow people to vote on whether they wanted to legalize electronic gambling at certain locations in the state, are among the potential witnesses. The sponsors were Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, and Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia.

Between the prosecution and the attorneys for the nine defendants, they listed more than 100 potential witnesses or people they could refer to during the trial. The potential jurors were asked if they knew any of the defendants or their families, the attorneys, or any of the potential witnesses.

Attorneys for McGregor are pushing for Riley to testify. Riley formed a task force to try to stop what he said were illegal slot machines at VictoryLand and Country Crossing. Riley is fighting the subpoena, according to the Associated Press.

The Alabama Senate passed the gambling legislation in March 2010. The next day, federal authorities informed legislative leaders from both parties of the investigation into potential corruption related to the legislation. The House never passed the proposal.

The government alleges that bribery and other crimes were committed in 2009 and 2010 as McGregor and Gilley and their lobbyists pushed for passage of the legislation.

At the same time, Riley's task force was ramping up its pressure and trying to shut down the casinos, which was successful either through raids or the threat of raids.

Much of the indictments and the prosecution's case are based on wiretapped conversations between the defendants.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said Monday that jury selection would likely take two more days including today. The legal teams begin combing through another panel of potential jurors at 8 a.m. today.

Smith, as she walked out after the first day of trial, said she was excited the federal trial had started after eight months and that there seems to be a "great pool of people interested in fairness," which she said is all someone in her situation could ask for.

Smith, who said the process is a new experience for her personally, said the deliberations were slow to start with on Monday, but that it was a good productive day.

Montgomery attorney Bobby Segall, one of several lawyers representing McGregor, asked potential jurors repeatedly about their views on gambling and its legality, about their religious and political views, about how they viewed those who have made money from gambling, and whether they knew about conservative organizations such as Eagle Forum or the Christian Coalition.

David McKnight, an attorney for Coker, asked potential jurors if they had a negative connotation of lobbyists and if they thought because someone was in that profession that they are involved in sinister activities.

McKnight asked jurors if they could keep an open mind until after prosecutors, who will present their case first, are finished and the defense lawyers are able to present their case. He said that could take weeks or months.

Other defense attorneys asked whether potential jurors had a problem with a candidate asking for and receiving campaign contributions to run for office.

Ron Wise, attorney for Preuitt, asked whether the juror pool took issue with his client owning a car dealership and whether they have had negative dealings with car dealers.

Lewis Gillis, attorney for Ross, asked the potential jurors whether they believe people expected something in return if they give a campaign contribution.

"The jurors look bright and energetic, and we look forward to presenting our case to them," Gillis said after court adjourned for the day about 6 p.m. Monday.

Segall also asked the jurors whether they would try to keep their conversations private if they believed the government was trying to intercept them.

Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track closes for the season

2011-06-07T12:36:00.000-04:00

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/03/our-world-slowly-fading-away/

Our World: Slowly fading away
By Steven Beardsley, Naples Daily News - June 3, 2011

Everything has its season, according to the Bible and The Byrds. Local greyhound racing is no exception.

On a warm Memorial Day afternoon, the Naples-Fort Myers track in Bonita Springs said goodbye to its live racing season, hosting a final matinee for a modest crowd. The dogs would later be trucked to Miami, where they’ll race through the summer before returning in November. Naples-Fort Myers will remain open for the duration.

The day felt like most others at the track. Handlers moved dogs through each part of 16 races, from the preliminary weigh-in and inspection, to the starting boxes and back to the kennels.

Spectators flipped through $2 programs and placed bets. They avoided the sun, sipped on cheap drafts and abandoned worthless tickets to the ground.

Starr Scuderi, 39, brought her 5-year-old daughter, Mae, for the family’s first visit since moving to the area in August.

“I think we’ve lost every single thing we bet on,” Scuderi chuckled.

The afternoon wore on, the heat grew and the crowd thinned. The Scuderis and other families departed, leaving a small group of older and more serious bettors behind.

Norman Santini, 57, sat in the vacant second tier, his attention split between the track and a simulcast race from Palm Beach. A one-time regular, Santini said he now prefers Internet poker or blackjack at the Indian casino.

Phil McGuire, 79, and his wife, Nell, 72, shared a table a distance away. The Cape Coral couple have seen the track change over the past 30 years.

“A long time ago you used to see the same people here all the time,” Phil McGuire said. “Now you don’t see the same guys anytime.”

When the track switched from year-round racing to a seasonal schedule in 2010, one kennel owner told me it was a welcome throwback to greyhound racing’s glory days, when dogs raced on a circuit. Fewer races would mean better-quality races, he said.

Last Monday, it felt like another nail in the coffin of a slowly dying industry.

Racing is a shadow of what it once was. Revenues have fallen 54 percent in the past decade as bettors and gamblers turn to other alternatives, including the Internet and posh Native American casinos. Public support for dog racing is questionable, meanwhile. A recent Mason-Dixon poll found more Florida respondents viewed racing unfavorably (49 percent) than those who viewed it favorably (38 percent).

Tracks see the writing on the wall. This past legislative session, they lobbied for a bill to decouple greyhound racing from the more lucrative card rooms and slot machines. Current law mandates tracks host a minimum of races to maintain other gambling.

The bill failed in the last moments of the session, as track owners pushed for more perks.

And so race days like Memorial Day will stay a novelty, a vestige of Old Florida that vanishes from the spectator’s memory as soon as their losing ticket hits the floor.

Some seasons fade longer than others.

Caliente Greyhound Track owner Jorge Hank Rhon detained: 'A warehouse full of skeletons' and an arsenal of guns

2011-06-07T12:16:00.000-04:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304474804576368024020151168.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs%3Darticle

Mexican Politician Detained on Gun Charges
By José De Córdoba, The Wall Street Journal Latin America - June 5, 2011

MEXICO CITY - Authorities detained one of Mexico's most controversial and wealthiest politicians on suspicion of illegally keeping an arsenal of over 80 guns and automatic rifles in his house, setting off a political furor.

Soldiers acting on a tip burst into the Tijuana home of Jorge Hank, 55, a former mayor and a pillar of the Mexico's former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party's establishment, and detained him and 10 employees in the early hours of Saturday morning. On Sunday, Mr. Hank was flown to Mexico City and was being questioned by police officials in charge of investigating organized crime.

Mr. Hank's detention sparked demonstrations in his favor by supporters in Tijuana, as well as a flurry of angry statements from PRI party barons.

In a letter written to Mexico's human rights commission, Mr. Hank claimed Sunday he had been set up by the army after eight hooded men burst into his bedroom as he slept. "Around 5 am, they told me to stand by some weapons that were on the floor and they took photographs," he wrote in the letter which was shown on Mexican television channel Milenio TV. "The weapons were on the floor and I had never seen them before nor do I recognize them."

Mr. Hank's lawyer Oscar Téllez did not immediately return a telephone call left at his office. Earlier, Mr. Téllez told reporters he had not been able to consult with his client, and Mr. Hank's wife told reporters the guns, which according to Mexico's Defense Ministry included 48 automatic rifles, had been legally acquired.

"We will not allow political witch hunts, repressive acts or intimidation," said PRI president Humberto Moreira. Mr. Hank is closely linked to the PRI's political machine in the State of Mexico where the party's candidate for governor, Eruviel Ávila is poised to win the governor's seat in key elections next month. The state of Mexico elections will serve as a run-up to next year's presidential election in which the PRI's presumed candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, the current governor of the state, also holds a wide lead in the polls over potential rivals.

Mr. Ávila's campaign manager quickly distanced the candidate from Mr. Hank. "There is not one cent of Mr. Jorge Hank Rhon's money in the campaign of Eruviel Ávila," said campaign manager Luis Videgaray.

In a statement, the ruling conservative National Action or PAN party defended Mr. Hank's detention and said the government was simply applying the law and preventing acts of "impunity."

But despite the PAN's disclaimers, some analysts did see an overt political motive in Mr. Hank's detention. "This is a scalp that President Felipe Calderón wants to hang on his wall before he leaves office," said George Grayson, an expert on Mexican politics at the College of William and Mary. "I suspect it's the first of several scalps he will place on his wall before elections as a way of discrediting the PRI."

Mr Grayson said Mr. Hank was an easy target. "He doesn't have a closet full of skeletons, he has a warehouse full of skeletons," he said.

A self-proclaimed billionaire, whose company Grupo Caliente, or "Hot Group," operates a Tijuana dog track as well as a string of casinos and off-track betting parlors all over the country, Mr. Hank is one of Mexico's most colorful—and notorious—politicians. The father of 19 children, Mr. Hank is also known for operating a private zoo stocked with exotic animals.

Mr. Hank has been the frequent target of accusations of political corruption, drug ties and even of murder. His bodyguard and another employee were convicted for the 1988 killing of a reporter who worked for Tijuana's investigative weekly Zeta magazine. In full page advertisements, Zeta still continues to accuse Mr. Hank of being the mastermind behind the murder, although Mr. Hank was never charged with the murder.

A 2009 WikiLeaks cable signed by the U.S. consul in Tijuana says "Hank is widely believed to have been a corrupt mayor and to be still involved in narco-trafficking." The cable recounts how Baja California state police refused to follow an alleged drug trafficker who took refuge in Mr. Hank's Tijuana dog racing track, right across from the consulate. "There are still plenty of safe havens for organized crime in the border region," the diplomatic cable says.

In the past, Mr. Hank has said accusations against him are lies.

The former mayor is the son of the late legendary PRI politician Carlos Hank, known as "The Professor." The late Mr. Hank rose from being a humble school teacher to being governor of the state of Mexico as well as mayor of Mexico City. He is most remembered for coining a famous aphorism, which described the corruption of the PRI, the political party that ran Mexico for seven decades before losing power in 2000: "A politician who is poor is a poor politician."

Dothan Eagle editorial on Greenetrack slot machine seizure

2011-06-07T12:03:00.000-04:00

http://www2.dothaneagle.com/news/2011/jun/02/editorial-long-last-ar-1918675/

Editorial: At long last
By Dothan Eagle editorial - June 02, 2011

Months have passed since the threat of seizure of electronic bingo machines by Alabama authorities shuttered casinos in Dothan and Macon County, and many — including this editorial board — questioned why similar operations in Greene County were allowed to reopen and conduct the purportedly illegal business of electronic bingo.

It’s a valid question, but it’s no longer open-ended. On Wednesday, Greenetrack in Eutaw and Frontier Bingo in Knoxville were served with search warrants, and more than 700 gambling devices in those businesses were seized.

That’s been long overdue, and it’s likely no coincidence that this week’s raids come just before the opening of a federal corruption trial for several lawmakers and lobbyists and Victoryland owner Milton McGregor accused in a vote-buying scheme to secure passage of a gambling bill.

Perhaps this raid will lead to a definitive ruling on the legality of electronic bingo, which the courts seemed to have tip-toed around since then-Gov. Bob Riley put Country Crossing’s electronic bingo operation in his sights in late 2009. Although the Alabama constitution prohibits gambling, electronic bingo, played on machines that resemble flashy slot machines in a casino atmosphere and pay off in vouchers for cash when a player wins, is authorized by tweaking constitutional amendments that allow traditional bingo in various Alabama counties. Similar games had been played in other parts of the state without incident, and millions of dollars were spent locally to build a controversial but apparently legal bingo operation south of Dothan.

Legislation that would have given Alabama voters an opportunity to authorize electronic bingo would have answered the legal question had it passed both the legislature and a referendum. It was never approved in the state house, and an investigation led to the arrests of several lawmakers and lobbyists, along with Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley and Victoryland’s McGregor.

The bingo operation in Greene County has little if nothing to do with the upcoming trial, but it has everything to do with the sort of wink-wink, nudge-nudge, cobbled-together, contradictory runarounds pervasive in Alabama law.

The trial will determine whether corrupt behavior took place in the advocacy of the gambling bill in question.

Now the state needs a determination of the relationship of electronic bingo to the paper-and-dauber game voters thought they authorized years ago.

Greenetrack's gamble doesn't pay off

2011-06-07T11:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110602/NEWS/110609947/1007?Title=Attorney-general-defends-raid-on-Greenetrack-bingo-machines

Attorney general defends raid on Greenetrack bingo machines
Wednesday seizure mirrors raid of 11 months ago
By Robert DeWitt, Senior Writer Tuscaloosa News - June 2, 2011

EUTAW - In a virtual repeat of a scene played out 11 months ago, state law enforcement agents on Wednesday seized bingo machines from Greenetrack that Attorney General Luther Strange claims are illegal gambling devices.

“Greenetrack was closed when I came into office,” Strange said. “They made the determination to reopen, and we sent in investigators as we would in any other case. They had illegal slot machines.”

The raid seized more than 700 machines from Greenetrack and a small operation in Knoxville called Frontier Bingo, the release said. Officials plan to hold the machines as evidence for a forfeiture proceeding in Greene County Circuit Court, Strange said in the news release.

Strange said he gave Greenetrack the opportunity to go to court with a few seized machines “and make the case on legality.”

“Unfortunately, they didn't want to take us up on our offer; they opened and we informed them if they're not willing to do that, we'd have to treat them like any other,” Strange said.

John Bolton, an attorney for Greenetrack, disagreed with Strange's contention that he offered to test machines. Bolton agreed that the two sides met, but there the interpretations differ.

“I'm not going to call him a liar, but he wants to rewrite history,” Bolton said. “Basically, we asked for a meeting, and we had a meeting and we agreed to a process where we would go forward with the existing (800-machine) forfeiture action in Greene County.”

Greenetrack CEO Luther Winn said the raid caught him by surprise. He claims he offered the Attorney General's Office an opportunity to observe how the machines operate, but that no one from the office showed up.

The raid apparently comes after a series of discussions that ensued after Greenetrack reopened its electronic bingo operation in March.

“Greene County has done everything it can to comply with the law,” Winn told reporters standing at the gate to Greenetrack on Wednesday while enforcement officers from the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and Department of Public Safety loaded machines onto tractor-trailer rigs in the background. “We were wanting a response from them. What we got was the task force knocking on our door.”

Last year, then-Gov. Bob Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling seized 835 machines from Greenetrack. John Tyson, who was the task force's director, called them illegal slot machines. Greenetrack officials called them electronic bingo machines. Gov. Robert Bentley has since dissolved the task force and turned over enforcement responsibilities to Strange.

During that raid last July, task force members did not confiscate 72 machines that people played by entering a personal identification number. Winn said Greenetrack officials were told at the time that those machines did not fit the definition of an illegal slot machine.

The players inserted no cash or card and the machines dispensed nothing of value. Instead, it credited the player's account. Greenetrack re-fitted its operation with this kind of machine.

Winn said the only reason Greenetrack changed the electronic bingo machines was so they would not fit the task force's definition of a slot machine. But he contends the machines confiscated last year and the machines confiscated this year were legal. He also pointed to a constitutional amendment that makes electronic bingo legal in Greene County.

Strange's office had asked Greenetrack to turn over some of the machines it installed in March. But Greenetrack refused because the state already has in its possession 835 machines from last year's raid. Winn said he wants the state to take those machines to court and get a judge to rule on whether the machines are legal bingo machines or illegal slot machines. If a court rules that the machines seized last year are illegal, he would concede that the machines seized Wednesday are illegal.

“The issue is going to boil down to, ‘do these machines play bingo,' ” Winn said. “If those machines (seized last year) don't play bingo, these machines don't play bingo.”

Winn accused Strange of working on Riley's behalf.

“The attorney general took this action because he's carrying Gov. Bob Riley's water,” Winn said.

Winn noted that Riley appointed ABC Agent George Cook as Greene County Sheriff after former Sheriff Ison Thomas' death. The amendment legalizing bingo in Greene County gives the sheriff the power to regulate and license bingo. Cook, who stepped down as sheriff in December after Joe Benison's election, took part in the Wednesday raid on Greenetrack.

He also complained that Strange got the search warrant from a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge, rather than going through Greene County Circuit Court. The governor had promised that bingo would be treated as a local matter in counties where bingo is legal, Winn said. Benison and District Attorney Greg Griggers were satisfied that Greenetrack's operation was legal, Winn said.

Strange called the raid the culmination of an investigation that has been ongoing for several months. His release noted that the country's largest gaming machine manufacturer pulled its machines from Alabama earlier this year. The release said Greenetrack reopened with machines that law enforcement agents have deemed illegal.

Winn noted that the state has been holding machines for almost a year without acting to determine if they are legal, and that Greenetrack is being denied due process.

“This is punishment before you are found guilty,” Winn said.

The operation has 140 employees, most of whom will be out of a job, he said. The facility employed about 400 people before the raid last July.

Greenetrack also offers simulcast wagering on horse and dog racing, but Winn said he is uncertain whether the facility would remain open without bingo.

Winn provided documents that indicate an ongoing conversation between Greenetrack's attorneys and the attorney general's office. On March 24, the attorney general apparently told Greenetrack officials that their machines were illegal slot machines that do not play traditional bingo and that they were identical to the ones seized last year. Greenetrack officials were given the option of shutting down and removing the machines, shutting down and letting the state seize the machines or face action by law enforcement.

Greenetrack's attorneys responded by arguing against the attorney general's contentions and offering to demonstrate the machines.

Montgomery Bureau Chief Dana Beyerle contributed to this report.

VictoryLand to end live dog racing

2011-05-16T11:23:00.000-04:00

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9N588OG0.htm

Troubled Alabama dog track ending live races
The Associated Press - May 11, 2011

Shorter, Ala.

The financially troubled VictoryLand in Shorter is ending live dog racing, officials said Tuesday.

Chief Operating Officer Lewis Benefield said electronic bingo games subsidized live greyhound racing for many years, and live races are no longer feasible now that bingo is shut down.

He said daily races will end after Saturday. Races for young greyhounds will be held May 18, 21, 25 and 30. Then all live racing will be suspended after a run of nearly 27 years. Simulcast dog and horse races will remain at VictoryLand daily except Tuesdays.

A track spokesman said the end of live dog racing will result in 200 layoffs, but he couldn't say how many employees would remain to handle simulcast racing and food service.

The track missed paying its property taxes at the end of 2010, and its owner, Milton McGregor, faces trial June 6 on charges accusing him of buying votes for pro-gambling legislation that could have protected electronic bingo games.

VictoryLand once had about 2,000 employees at its dog track, casino, restaurants and hotel, but the casino and hotel closed last year during the state government's crackdown on privately operated electronic bingo casinos.

"Greyhound racing will resume when we can again offer the electronic bingo games which for many years subsidized the cost of live racing," Benefield said.

Florida greyhounds to continue running for their lives

2011-05-16T11:12:00.000-04:00

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/63044/greyhound-bill-dies-in-florida

Greyhound Bill Dies in Florida
By Jim Freer, Bloodhorse.com - May 15, 2011

Greyhound tracks in Florida are preparing for business as usual after the Florida legislature did not pass a controversial bill that would have allowed them to stop live racing but continue other gaming businesses, including poker and simulcasts of Thoroughbred races and other pari-mutuel sports.

The state’s Greyhound tracks had sought the proposed change, noting that revenues from their live racing have been declining for more than a decade. Separately, representatives of animal rights groups had lobbied for passage of the bill.

In late April, the House and Senate passed similar bills that would have allowed any of Florida’s 16 Greyhound tracks to stop racing or choose to significantly reduce racing schedules beginning July 1, 2011.

But on May 7, the final day of the annual regular session, leaders of the two houses could not reconcile differences over the amount of tax credits that would have been transferred from Greyhound tracks that halt racing to those that continue racing.

“We ran out of time,” said Dan Adkins, general manager of Mardi Gras Casino Florida in Hallandale Beach. “We expect there will be another effort on this next year.”

That facility was known as Hollywood Greyhound before it added a casino with Las Vegas-style slot machines in 2006. Magic City Casino in Miami, formerly known as Flagler Greyhound, also has a casino with slot machines. None of Florida’s other Greyhound tracks are in counties where casinos are permitted for pari-mutuels.

“It will be difficult for some tracks in smaller markets in the state,” Adkins said. “On the positive side for us, we have a casino. But we are in a market (southeast Florida) with heavy competition.”

Mardi Gras lost money on live racing last year but is profitable in other gaming operations, Adkins said.

Florida has had Greyhound racing since 1931. For several decades the sport often attracted large crowds from a combination of local residents and tourists.

But those numbers have been declining since the 1990s amid the growth of pro team sports and other gaming around Florida. Data from the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering show live handle at the state’s Greyhound tracks declined from $196 million in fiscal 2005-2006 to $117 million in fiscal 2009-2010.

Florida greyhound racing will continue to cost the state and the dogs

2011-05-16T11:05:00.000-04:00

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/may/10/wire-dog-racing-lives-bill-deregulate-dies-final-n/

At the wire: Dog racing lives as bill to deregulate dies on final night of session
By Matt Clark, Naples Daily News - May 10, 2011

The dog owners won this one at the wire.

A piece of state legislation that would have hastened the decline of greyhound racing in Florida died in the waning hours of the Florida legislative session Saturday.

House Bill 1145 would have eliminated a state regulation requiring Florida’s dog tracks to hold a minimum number of greyhound races each year, allowing them to focus on their more profitable poker rooms. It passed by a wide margin in the House and the Senate with some changes.

But Jack Cory, chief lobbyist of the Florida Greyhound Association, which is made up of dog owners, breeders, and kennel operators opposed to the legislation, said the bill failed after track owners pushed for additional tax breaks and slot-like arcade games at the tracks as the House and Senate versions were being debated.

“The bill just basically died of its own weight,” Cory said. “When the slot machine issue came up, that’s what put the nail in the coffin.”

Cory said the bill would have put 8,000 greyhounds at risk and led to the loss of 3,000 jobs and $50 million in economic impact, but proponents of the bill — an unlikely grouping of track owners and animal rights activists — said it would have led to the end of an increasingly unpopular form of entertainment.

“I was in Tallahassee the last two months and I’m still recovering,” said Carey Theil, executive director of Grey2K USA, a nonprofit that aims to end dog racing for humane reasons and promote greyhound adoption.

“It’s tough,” Theil said of the bill’s demise. “It’s heartbreaking to lose on the final night of the session.”

Theil said a victory with the bill would have dealt a significant blow to greyhound racing nationwide, as 13 of the 23 dog tracks in the country are in the “greyhound state,” as the Florida Greyhound Association refers to it on its website.

But the bill wouldn’t have totally eliminated greyhound racing in Florida.

If the bill had passed, the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track wanted to reduce the number of races held annually at the track from the more than 3,200 currently required by the state to as little as 800, Izzy Havenick, the vice president of the track owner Southwest Florida Enterprises, told the Daily News in April. Havenick was not available for comment on this story.

Other tracks would also have kept the racing, said John Weber, a dog owner who lives in Estero. Weber, who owns 14 dogs, went to Tallahassee to lobby against the bill.

Weber said some dog owners and breeders agree that too many races are being held at the tracks, but that they and the track owners have failed to negotiate a compromise above the lower race count some tracks have suggested.

Additionally, Weber said the bill failed to specify how many races would end up being held, making it difficult to plan for the effects of the bill, including how many dogs to breed.

“The bottom line is the tracks and the kennels have never been able to sit down and work it out amongst themselves,” Weber said.

Cory said the bill was a tax break for millionaire track owners, which would have to pay fewer taxes as the number of races dwindled.

“If the track owner doesn’t want to be in the business of live racing, be honest to the people of Naples and send your license back to Tallahassee,” Cory said.

However, that tax revenue has dwindled significantly, from $40.1 million in fiscal 2000 to $5.2 million in fiscal 2010, according to a committee report on the bill.

“This is an industry that is no longer viable,” Theil said, adding that similar pieces of legislation have been debated in other states and that his group will continue to fight for the elimination of greyhound racing.

“The mandate that these live tracks conduct racing has essentially become a state subsidy for a business that no one is interested in,” Theil said. “These tracks in Florida have become poker rooms that happen to have dogs running in circles.”

Greyhounds lose at the finish line - Florida Senate fails to pick up decoupling bill, state's legislative session is over

2011-05-16T10:48:00.000-04:00

http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/grey2k-usa/florida-greyhound-bill-not-voted-on-our-fight-goes-on/340105504977

Florida Greyhound Bill Not Voted On - Our Fight Goes On
By GREY2K USA - May 7, 2011

Dear Friends,

Despite working until after 3 am, the Florida Senate failed to take up our greyhound bill, and the session ended. If we had been brought up for a vote last night, we would have won: We knew that and our opponents knew that. We had already won by super majorities (86-31 and 25-14) in the initial votes taken in each chamber.

In 2000, after we lost our first greyhound ballot question by the smallest margin in state history (49-51), and then proceeded to gather another 150,000 signatures to get back on the ballot in 2006, everyone knew we would win. So one of the tracks used a legal maneuver to knock us off the ballot that year.

What a blow this was to thousands of wonderful people.

But, as you know, we simply regained our strength and found the courage and tenacity to continue. The volunteers reassembled and we gathered those 150,000 signatures again! We got back on the ballot in 2008, and the greyhounds of Massachusetts won! We were able to keep fighting by putting aside our own fatigue and frustration and remembering that the dogs were depending on us.

To the thousands of people, in the state and around the world, who joined together to help pass the Florida measure, I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Please look inside yourselves and find the strength to keep fighting for these gentle friends.

Florida greyhounds are languishing in small cages right now, eating 4-D meat, and suffering injuries or dying when let out to race. It is for these dogs that we must continue to work together.

As Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy once said:

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

Republican or Democratic, Independent, Green or otherwise, we can all embrace these words. Please join me in fighting on. Victory will come.

Christine Dorchak
President, GREY2K USA

Urgent Action Alert: Florida Greyhound Bill in Jeopardy

2011-05-06T12:06:00.000-04:00

http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-050511.html

Dear Friends,

The Florida session ends TODAY and our bill for the greyhounds is in jeopardy.

The Florida House of Representatives has sent the greyhound bill back to the Senate for another vote! Please CALL BOTH your Senator as well as the Senate President NOW and ask that she or he VOTE YES TO ACCEPT THE HOUSE VERSION OF THE GREYHOUND BILL.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos may be reached at 850-487-5056.

Find your senator by going here: http://www.flsenate.gov/senators/find

Please also send a polite e-mail to our Senate Sponsor, Maria Sachs, and ask her to bring up the House version as soon as possible - sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov

Please act now!

Christine A. Dorchak, Esq.
President, GREY2K USA

Carey M. Theil
Executive Director, GREY2K USA

Greyhound decoupling bill hangs in the balance on last day of Florida legislative session

2011-05-06T11:56:00.000-04:00

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/62876/florida-bill-would-reduce-dog-racing-dates

Florida Bill Would Reduce Dog Racing Dates
By Jim Freer, Bloodhorse.com - May 5, 2011

The Florida House and Senate by wide margins have passed similar bills that would allow Greyhound tracks to stop racing or choose to significantly reduce racing schedules beginning July 1, 2011.

The main difference is over tax credits. The House bill would eliminate some racing-related credits for tracks that stop racing. The Senate bill would phase out those credits over five years and shift them to tracks that continue to race, and add them to existing credits.

The differences in the bills would need to be reconciled by midnight May 6. Florida Gov. Rick Scott is not commenting on whether he would sign the Greyhound bill, said a spokesman for his office.

If the bill becomes law, Magic City Casino in Miami and its affiliate, Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound in Bonita Springs, would continue to have live racing, said Isadore Havenick, a vice president of both tracks.

“But we would reduce our schedules,” he said. “We are now required to hold many more programs beyond the number for which there is demand.”

Havenick said that for the past several years both tracks have lost money on live racing but have been profitable with other forms of gaming.

“We are a dog track and we will keep racing,” said Havenick, whose family has owned and operated Magic City (formerly known as Flagler Greyhound) for three generations. Magic City will continue to send its signal to any Florida Greyhound tracks that stop racing, he said.

Dan Adkins, general manager of Mardi Gras Casino (formerly Hollywood Greyhound), said he has not decided whether the facility will continue to have live racing. The decision would be based partly on whether tax credits are available, he said.

Mardi Gras lost money on live racing last year but is profitable in other areas, Adkins said.

“We have the casino,” he said. “But if the bill doesn’t pass, some of the smaller tracks in other parts of the state might go out of business.”

Florida has had Greyhound racing since 1931. For several decades the sport often attracted large crowds from a combination of local residents and tourists.

But those numbers have been declining since the 1990s amid the growth of pro team sports and other gaming around Florida. Data from the Florida DPMW show live handle at the state’s Greyhound tracks declined from $196 million in fiscal 2005-06 to $117 million in fiscal 2009-10.

Representatives of Greyhound tracks and of animal rights organizations have lobbied for passage of the bill.

FL Senator Sachs on the dying industry of dog racing: "It is a business model that has seen its day."

2011-04-30T12:12:00.000-04:00

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/apr/29/senate-passes-bill-greyhound-racing/

Senate passes bill on greyhound racing
By Ryan Mills, Naples Daily News - April 29, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — Legislation that would end a state mandate coupling greyhound racing and card room gambling is one step closer to becoming law.

On Friday afternoon, the Florida Senate voted 25 to 14 to approve its version of a bill that would allow greyhound tracks to cut down the number of races they offer — or end racing all together — and still run their highly-profitable card rooms.

“We have an industry here that is dying,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach. “It is the dog racing industry. It is a business model that has seen its day.”

The House passed its version of the bill earlier in the week, but there are some differences between the two bills regarding tax credits. If the House passes the Senate version as is, it will go to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.

In 1996, the state authorized card rooms at greyhound tracks. To continue their card rooms, every year the tracks are currently required to conduct at least 90 percent of the performances that they conducted the year they applied for their initial card room license.

But over the last decade, greyhound wagering has taken a dive.

The legislation would decouple card rooms and slot machines from greyhound racing, leaving the fate of Florida’s greyhound racing industry to the market.

“If a track wants to race, this bill allows them to race,” Sachs said. “It doesn’t stop anybody from racing. It just says that the citizens of this state will not pay them to continue to race anymore.”

The vote was applauded by both track owners and animal rights group — an unlikely pairing.

However, greyhound kennel owners, breeders and trainers said the bill would decimate their industry.

“We’re coming out of the worst recession in the history of the country. Tell me another business that is doing the same amount of money they were doing five years ago,” said John Weber, a greyhound owner from Collier County who was lobbying at the Capitol Friday. “There is nobody.”

If the bill is signed into law, Southwest Floridians can expect to see fewer races at the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track. Currently the track runs about 400 performances a year, by state mandate. Izzy Havenick, the vice president of Southwest Florida Enterprises, which owns the Bonita-based track, would like to cut it back to 100 to 150.

“We believe in the free market system for businesses, and we believe we should be allowed to run our business by demand, not by mandate,” he said.

There was drama on the Senate floor before the vote, as a handful of Senators attempted to significantly change the bill with late-filed amendments. Senate President Mike Haridopolous stopped debate, and ordered everyone involved to work things out before debate was continued.

Ultimately, the amendments were not voted on. Haridopolos caught some flack regarding the procedures, but he defended himself.

“This has been the most open Senate, with multiple committee hearings for every individual who wanted it. Let’s be clear about that,” Haridopolos said. “Today we’re going to vote on this so we can focus on other issues.”

Florida Senate passes greyhound decoupling bill, 25-14

2011-04-30T11:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.postonpolitics.com/2011/04/end-to-greyhound-racing-in-sight/

End to greyhound racing in sight
by Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post Politics Blog - April 29th, 2011

Dog tracks would no longer have to run dog races but could continue to operate the more lucrative card rooms under a measure passed by the Senate and awaiting secondary House approval.

Sen. Maria Sachs, the bill sponsor, said the bill is needed so the state can stop bailing out the dying greyhound racing industry while keeping the tracks alive.

Palm Beach Kennel Club owners support the measure in part because fewer races will make their dog races more valuable when broadcast over simulcast at other tracks. Only three of the state’s existing 16 dog tracks, including PBKC, are expected to continue to keep running the dogs if the bill becomes law.

The measure would also benefit PBKC because it is one of the seven tracks that now purchase tax credits from other tracks who are eligible for the tax breaks but don’t generate enough revenue to use them.

Critics of the measure include the dog owners and breeders, who claim that doing away with the races will put thousands of workers out of a job.

But Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said the state would no longer have to subsidize “a business model that’s no longer profitable” through tax breaks as public interest in the races – and revenues from them – decline. Revenues generated for the state from dog racing have plummeted by more than half over the past 10 years, from about $40 million in 2000 to about $5.2 million last year.

The measure created a stir on the floor as some Republicans tried to amend the bill to accommodate the state’s thoroghbred industry.

Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, alleged that senators seeking to file the amendments were “were intimidated out of them.”

Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher, a former lobbyist who three years ago represented the Jacksonville Kennel Club, which opposed the amendments, disagreed, saying he didn’t want to bring up amendments that had not been previously heard.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, arms crossed and frowning at the podium, was not pleased by the exchange.

“If you want to continue to debate we will stay here as long as people want to continue to debate,” Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said. “We’re going to move this bill out of here today because I think we should focus on other bills.”

Left to defend her bill before the vote, Sachs reminded her colleagues that “it’s a dog bill pure and simple. Started as a dog bill and I want it to end as a dog bill.”

The Senate passed the House’s bill (HB 1145) by a 25-14 but made one change before sending it back for another vote. The Senate version would phase in changes to the tax credits tracks get for running the races over five years.

Florida House of Representatives passes HB 1145

2011-04-27T10:08:00.000-04:00

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/dcblog/2011/04/greyhound_bill_passes_fl_house.html

Greyhound bill passes FL House
By Kathleen Haughney, Sun Sentinel - April 26, 2011

The Florida House Tuesday approved a bill would let greyhound race tracks off the hook when it comes to offering hundreds of live races per year.

Under the measure, approved by a 86-31 vote, greyhound track permit holders can decide how many – if any—races they will conduct per year, while still allowing the race tracks to offer other card games and slot machines. Under current law, the ability to run card games was tied to the greyhound racing, but track owners have said that they need the ability to set the number of races depending on their business earnings.

There are currently 14 greyhound racing tracks in Florida that also have card rooms, including ones in Palm Beach County, Mardi Gras and Miami.

Bill sponsor state Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, said that the greyhound racing industry has been declining for several years and the state has propped them up through mechanisms such as tax credits. But some lawmakers raised concerns though that the bill would expand gaming in the state of Florida, despite assurances from Young.

“Nothing in this bill expands gaming in any way,” she said.

State Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said he believed otherwise.

“All you’re doing is converting race tracks to card room casinos,” he said.

According to legislative analysis, the change could have a minor private sector impact. Depending on how much live racing is decreased or eliminated, greyhound breeders, owners and trainers could see a drop in demand for their services.

Sun Sentinel editorializes in favor of Florida decoupling bills

2011-04-27T09:56:00.001-04:00

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorials/fl-dog-racing-editorial-nb-20110423,0,2421340.story

'Decoupling' bill on dog races a solid bet
THE ISSUE: Measure would end dog racing requirement
Sun Sentinel Editorial - April 23, 2011

Dog racing is a fading business, pummeled by increasing public opposition to the "sport" and the reality that gamblers would rather bet on something other than dogs running around in circles.

To the chagrin of canine activists, but with the consent of Florida voters and a constitutional amendment, the greyhound racing industry has been able to remain afloat, largely through the addition of casinos, card rooms and other, more lucrative forms of gambling.

The tracks are back in Tallahassee this year. But this time, the effort by the industry and its lobbyists to prop up sagging profits is being applauded by some unconventional allies — animal rights activists. With good reason.

Legislation making its way through the Florida Legislature would end the requirement that dog tracks have live races if they want to keep their card games and other betting operations. It's sensible and practical to do so.

Of course, the link between the races and other gambling was a self-preservation effort by the racing industry. It dates back to the 1990s, when the tracks won the right to expand into card betting, but did so in a way that competitors could not open stand-alone casinos or card rooms without a dog track.

Now the live races are biting the industry's own hand, hemorrhaging profits because of the cost of maintaining the dogs and a downward spiral that has seen bets on dog races drop by 69 percent in the past 20 years, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering.

So SB 1594 and HB 1145, at their root, may be about gambling profits, but they have an undeniably humane benefit. "Decoupling" the live races requirement from the operation of card rooms and casinos would help hundreds if not thousands of greyhounds by allowing the marketplace, not the law, to dictate how often, and whether, dogs will be raced live.

And with wagers on the races continuing to drop off, it's a safe bet that the state's 13 dog tracks — three of them in South Florida — will significantly curtail dog racing. That will please animal rights activists, and it's a sound business move for a state that has a stake in the pari-mutuels' success.

It's a rare day when the greyhound tracks and animal rights activists are on the same side, and it's a sign that this legislation is a winner.

BOTTOM LINE: This measure is a safe bet.

Orlando Sentinel editorial: 'Help the hounds' by decoupling dog racing

2011-04-27T09:47:00.000-04:00

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-gambling-greyhound-limits-0426120110425,0,4081480.story

Our take on: Greyhound racing requirement
Orlando Sentinel Editorial - April 26, 2011

Help the hounds

To the chagrin of canine activists, but with the consent of Florida voters and a constitutional amendment, the fading greyhound racing industry has been able to remain afloat, largely through the addition of casinos, card rooms and other, more lucrative forms of gambling.

The tracks are back in Tallahassee this year. But this time, the effort by the industry and its lobbyists to prop up sagging profits is being applauded by some unconventional allies — animal-rights activists. With good reason.

Legislation making its way through the Florida Legislature would end the requirement that dog tracks have live races if they want to keep their card games and other betting operations. It's sensible and practical to do so.

Of course, the link between the races and other gambling was a self-preservation effort by the racing industry.

It dates back to the 1990s, when the tracks won the right to expand into card betting, but did so in a way that competitors could not open stand-alone casinos or card rooms without a dog track.

Now the live races are biting the industry's own hand, hemorrhaging profits because of the cost of maintaining the dogs and a downward spiral that has seen bets on dog races drop by 69 percent in the past 20 years.

So Senate Bill 1594 and House Bill 1145, at their root, may be about gambling profits, but they have an undeniably humane benefit.

"Decoupling" the live races requirement from the operation of card rooms and casinos would help hundreds if not thousands of greyhounds by allowing the marketplace, not the law, to dictate how often, and whether, dogs will be raced live.

That will please animal-rights activists, and it's a sound business move for a state that has a stake in the pari-mutuels' success.

Gilley pleads guilty to charges of Alabama vote buying

2011-04-27T09:25:00.000-04:00

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9MOTSNO0.htm

Alabama casino owner pleads guilty to vote buying
By Phillip Rawls, The Associated Press - April 22, 2011

Montgomery, Alabama - Country Crossing casino developer Ronnie Gilley became the third person to plead guilty in Alabama's gambling corruption probe and admitted Friday that he worked with another indicted casino owner to offer millions to legislators to pass pro-gambling legislation.

When Gilley walked into federal court shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, the stylish suits he used to wear and the country music stars that used to accompany him to the Legislature were gone. Instead, he stood before a federal judge in an orange jail outfit with his hands cuffed to a chain around his waist. His dress shoes were replaced by jail-issued plastic sandals.

"I'm sorry. I'm wrong, and my plea is guilty," Gilley told U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr.

Under a plea deal reached with prosecutors, he could be looking at more than 21 years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 15.

Gilley's lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, pleaded guilty earlier to offering millions in bribes for their client. Despite their pleas, Gilley had persisted in proclaiming his innocence until the judge recently refused to toss out information obtained through FBI wiretaps on the phones of Gilley and indicted VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor, who had a financial interest in Country Crossing.

Gilley's Country Crossing in Dothan and McGregor's VictoryLand in Shorter, 15 miles east of Montgomery, once attracted huge crowds by advertising electronic bingo machines that had flashing lights and graphics like slot machines. The casinos closed last year to prevent raids by the governor's gambling task force, which called the games illegal slot machines.

The two casino owners tried to get the Legislature to pass a constitutional amendment last spring that would allow the games to resume, but the bill died in April 2010 when the FBI revealed it was investigating allegations of corruption. Gilley and McGregor were arrested in October along with four present and former legislators and several casino lobbyists.

In his signed plea, Gilley admitted, "The defendant and McGregor, and the lobbyists and other individuals working for them, gave, offered and agreed to give money and other things of value worth millions of dollars to members of the Alabama Legislature in return" for voting for the gambling legislation.

He pleaded to half of the 22 counts against him: one of conspiracy, six of bribery involving public officials and four of money laundering by using political action committees and other contributors to hide the payment of money.

Gilley admitted his illegal acts involved the four present and former legislators charged in the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer said Gilley's guilty plea showed he thought votes could be bought and sold. "He participated in a wide-ranging scheme to bribe state legislators into supporting a law that would fatten his wallet," Breuer said.

McGregor's attorney, Joe Espy, said his client looks forward to demonstrating his innocence when he goes on trial June 6 with eight other defendants. He said federal prosecutors took advantage of Gilley to get a guilty plea because he was in jail, out of money and dealing with a sick family member.

"This does not affect Mr. McGregor," Espy said.

Attorneys for other defendants reiterated their plans to fight the charges.

Lewis Gillis, attorney for indicated Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said the plea agreement did not show any direct contact with Gilley. "Senator Ross is not guilty," Lewis said.

Gilley, a former real estate developer, built Country Crossing, a made-from-scratch small gambling town, on the outskirts of Dothan in 2009. It had restaurants, bars and other attractions named for country music stars that helped promote the gambling destination, including George Jones, Randy Owen, Darryl Worley and John Anderson. They often accompanied him to the Legislature to push for the pro-gambling legislation because the main attraction at Country Crossing was a huge barn-like structure filled with gambling machines.

Gilley told the judge that he was naive about politics when he started making plans for Country Crossing.

But he said he soon found politicians were "out for personal gain and to accommodate special interests."

Gilley said he persisted in developing Country Crossing and got caught up in corruption despite his best intentions.

"The closer I got to the flames, it seems I became engulfed by the fire instead of putting it out," he said.

Gilley, 46, had been the only one of the remaining defendants in jail, but the judge gave him a 24-hour pass Friday so he could be with his son, Dexter, who had surgery.

He could receive a five-year sentence and $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge, a 10-year sentence and $250,000 fine on each bribery charge, and a 20-year sentence and $500,000 fine on each money laundering charge.

His plea agreement calls for him to forfeit $200,000 and it provides a range of sentences from 21 years 10 months to 27 years and three months. His sentence could be less if he cooperates fully, including testifying against his co-defendants in June.

Uh oh - need we add 'broke' to Milton McGregor's list of problems?

2011-04-27T08:32:00.000-04:00

http://blog.al.com/wire/2011/04/victoryland_fails_to_pay_13_mi.html

VictoryLand fails to pay $1.3 million in state, local taxes
Associated Press - April 20, 2011

SHORTER, Alabama - VictoryLand in Shorter has failed to pay $1.3 million in state and local property taxes.

Macon County Revenue Commissioner Ed Corbitt says VictoryLand missed the Jan. 1 deadline to pay the taxes. The property was put up for a tax auction at the courthouse in Tuskegee on Tuesday. No one bid on the still-operating dog track and the closed casino and hotel. That means it technically goes to the state. But VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor has three years to pay the back taxes and clear title to the property. In the meantime, he can keep operating the dog track.

Corbitt said the county's largest taxpayer never had any problems paying its taxes in the past, but its financial picture has changed since its electronic bingo closed last year.

AP: 'Greyhound racing is in a steep decline'

2011-04-27T08:26:00.000-04:00

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/apr/24/BANEWSO13-greyhound-racing-is-fading-away/

Greyhound racing is fading away

By Sue Manning, The Associated Press - April 24, 2011

LOS ANGELES - For years, fans of greyhound races have faced off against animal welfare activists who say the dogs are kept muzzled in small cages, fed inferior food, injected with steroids and frequently injured at the track. Dog breeders, owners and racing lobbyists counter that the dogs are well-tended and love to run.

Despite their disagreement, there is no disputing this: Greyhound racing is in a steep decline. Racing fans blame the economy and competition from instant gambling like slot machines. Activists say it's time to end the races altogether.

Ten years ago, there were 50 greyhound tracks in 15 states. Today there are just 25 tracks in seven states, with 13 of them in Florida (Tampa Greyhound Track suspended racing in 2007 while St. Petersburg's Derby Lane still offers live racing).

Nationally, money bet on greyhound races dropped from $3.5 billion to $1.1 billion between 1991 and 2007, said Gary Thompson, director of corporate communications for Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas. Caesars owns Bluffs Run Greyhound Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

And there are probably fewer than 300 greyhound farms today, down from as many as 750 in the 1980s, at the peak of greyhound racing, said Gary Guccione, executive director of the National Greyhound Association.

Tucson Greyhound Park in Arizona was built in 1944 and at one time drew 3,000 bettors a day. Today, they are lucky if 50 or 60 people show up. Tom Taylor, the park's CEO and general manager, attributes the slide to state lotteries and tribal casinos along with the aging of racing fans and animal activist campaigns. He says adding slot machines could help save the park but would face serious opposition from the tribes who run Arizona's 27 casinos.

Iowa's two track owners want to call it quits but can't because they were allowed to build casinos or gambling halls on track grounds on the condition they keep the races running. Now the attached casinos subsidize 94 percent of race purses, Thompson said.

"The gaming industry is subsidizing a dying greyhound racing industry in Iowa," Thompson said.

Track owners have offered Iowa $10 million a year for seven years for permission to end the races, but the Iowa Legislature would have to change the law that made casino operations contingent on the tracks' existence.

Measures introduced in the Florida Legislature would allow some tracks to close, but the Florida Greyhound Association opposes the proposal, with lobbyist Jack Cory saying it could cost 3,000 families their jobs or small businesses.

Greyhounds live an average of 12 years and run between 42 and 45 mph, making them the fastest dogs in the world. Most racing dogs are between 11/2 to 5 years old.

Most races are just over a quarter-mile and average 31 seconds. Marathons are just under a half-mile and average 44 seconds, and middle distance races cover 3/8 of a mile and take about 38 seconds, Guccione said. Pari-mutuel betting is similar to horse racing, with the standard bet being $2.

Ann Church, senior director of government relations for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has been fighting the industry since the 1970s when dogs were "trained on live rabbits, kittens and other small animals," she said.

"Racing is dangerous," she said. "As they go around the different turns, they are prone to crashing into each other. Their legs get mixed up and they go down and when they go down, there are often broken bones, punctured lungs and other problems."

As the industry has lost money, Church claims conditions for the dogs have degenerated. "Dogs are confined, often with their muzzles on, for 20 hours a day because there are not enough people to care for them," she said. "The irony that a dog that so much likes to run is kept in a cage 20 hours a day is heartbreaking."

But Guccione, of the National Greyhound Association, says kennel crates are "very comfortable and plenty big enough. They jump into them gladly." They are padded with carpeting or shredded paper and the "crate is their home, their room, their happy place." He also says the chance of injury per race start is less than one-tenth of 1 percent.

Church says the dogs are also fed a low grade of food not fit for human consumption, but Cory, the Florida lobbyist, says the racing dogs are "fed the same quality of food I feed my dog, and he sleeps in my bed with me."

Greyhound farm inspections have been conducted since 1987 through a joint effort of the NGA and the American Greyhound Council, Guccione said. "We find the vast majority of farms to be in great condition and the greyhounds on those farms are in great condition," Guccione said.

FL House Economic Committee overwhelmingly approves HB 1145

2011-04-21T15:12:00.001-04:00

I was lucky enough to watch the live video stream of this committee hearing today.

It was very moving for me to see Marilyn Varnberg of Greyhound Adoptions of Florida speak about the many years she has spent rescuing greyhounds from the farms and the tracks - dogs that would have otherwise died when they were no longer competitive.

As the testimony drew to a close and the roll call was requested for the lawmakers' votes, I held my breath and grabbed a pen and paper to count the "yes" votes and "no" votes.

"Yes." Check.
"Yes." Check.
"Yes." Check.

One after another they came.

And I'm pretty sure I shed a tear of joy for every "yes" I heard - all sixteen of them - and then some.

House Bill 1145 passed 16-1 today.

Another step closer to victory for Florida greyhounds!

The Krebs Crew is celebrating today.

Tampa Tribune Editorial: FL House Bill 1145 is 'sensible' and 'would end the charade' of propping up the dying dog racing industry

2011-04-20T18:02:00.003-04:00

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/apr/13/PMEOPINO1-give-dogs-a-rest/

Editorial: Give dogs a rest
Tampa Tribune Editorial Board - April 13, 2011

Florida law now requires a dog track to run at least 100 live races a year to maintain its license for a casino or card room.

The races are increasingly unpopular and unprofitable, but the tracks are forced to keep the greyhounds running if they want to stay in business.

A sensible bill sponsored by Tampa Republican state Rep. Dana Young would end the charade by "decoupling" the live race requirement from the gambling license. Race track owners, obviously, support the measure, but animal protection groups also want a change that will result in fewer races that they believe are inhumane.

While the legislation would allow tracks to emphasize their other offerings, it would contract gambling, Young stresses, not expand it. Track owners would determine how many live races should be run. Off-track simulcast racing could be offered.

The kennels that raise greyhounds understandably don't like it. But the state should not keep the requirement simply to ensure them business.

The amount wagered on live dog racing dropped by 57 percent between 2002 and 2010. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports the Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach lost $2.5 million on dog racing last year. Since 1990, the amount of taxes collected by the state from the races has declined by more than 96 percent, from more than $75 million to less than $2.7 million last year.

Animal protection groups argue the races are inhumane, with the greyhounds enduring uncomfortable confinement and frequent injuries. Because of such concerns, only seven states still allow dog racing.

The industry emphasizes the dogs are treated kindly. But the key issue here is that it makes no sense to mandate races for which there is no longer a public demand. The legislation deserves adoption.

A slew of news stories on FL decoupling bills HB 1145 and SB 1594

2011-04-20T15:41:00.005-04:00

http://www.review.net/section/detail/4-12-2011-poker-trumps-dogs/

Poker trumps dogs
By Gulf Coast Business Review - April 12, 2011

Florida greyhound tracks may go dark soon, but their adjacent poker rooms will live on if similar bills working through the Legislature become law.

Legislation doing away with the requirement that greyhound racing permitholders offer live races to qualify for other licenses, including one to operate poker rooms, passed the House Finance and Tax Committee April 12. Greyhound racing was authorized in the state in 1931.

Gulf Coast greyhound tracks include St. Petersburg’s Derby Lane, Tampa Greyhound, the Sarasota Kennel Club, and Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound. Each has a cardroom. There are cardrooms at 14 of the 16 Florida greyhound tracks running races.

Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, sponsored HB 1145, which now goes to the Economic Affairs Committee, its last committee stop. A similar bill in the Senate, SB 1594, is on the April 13 agenda of that body’s Finance and Tax Subcommittee.

In the last decade, the total handle fell from $633 million to less than $292 million. A staff analysis of the House bill estimates that the state would lose at least $1.4 million next fiscal year without dog racing.

________________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.bradenton.com/2011/04/12/3108796/greyhound-legislation-moves-ahead.html

Greyhound legislation moves ahead in Florida House
By JODIE TILLMAN, Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau - April 14, 2011

Greyhound racing could fade away under legislation that would empower track owners to drop the events and still maintain money-makers like card rooms and slot machines.

A House bill sponsored by Tampa Republican Dana Young removes the state mandate that track owners must run a minimum of 100 live events each year to qualify for other licenses, including card rooms and slot machines.

The bill passed the House Finance & Tax committee today and has one more committee stop. Similar legislation is working its way through the Senate.

Young said her legislation (HB 1145) gets greyhound racing off government-sponsored life support. Since 1990, she said, the amount of state taxes collected for live greyhound racing has declined by 96 percent, from more than $75 million to less than $2.7 million. “At many facilities, live dog racing events are a money losing proposition, which, absent the mandate, may not take place,” she said.

Supporters of the bill include some track owners and animal rights groups. Critics include greyhound breeders, who say it would cost jobs, and gambling opponents, who say that it could open the door to an expansion of poker and card rooms.

Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Palatka, unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill so that voters in each county would decide whether to remove the mandate. Voters in 1958 approved greyhound racing, he said, not card rooms or off-track parlors. The bill, he said, “means you can expand card rooms if you do away with greyhound racing.”

Young called that a “red herring,” saying her bill actually reduces gambling and has no provisions that makes it easier for track owners to get card room licenses. "There is not one new card room permit that will be issued as a result of this bill," she said. Van Zant and committee chairman Stephen Precourt voted against the bill.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

http://saintpetersblog.com/2011/04/the-end-of-greyhound-racing-moves-closer-to-finish-line/

The end of greyhound racing moves closer to finish line

By Peter Schorsch, SaintPetersBlog - April 12, 2011

Animal lovers who want to see an end to dog racing in Florida are a step closer to the goal with passage Tuesday in the House Finance and Tax Committee of a bill that would let dog tracks keep poker rooms, but not have to run the dogs reports the News Service of Florida.

Backers of the measure, which includes some track owners, say the tracks make their money from the card rooms anyway, so why have the races? But the law requires the greyhound licenses.

“Look, these have become poker rooms that happen to have some dogs running around in circles – with no one in the grandstands,” said Carey Theil, director of Grey2K USA, which has pushed to end racing.

Passage in Finance and Tax on a 21-2 vote with Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights, and Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, against. Rep. Pat Rooney, R-Palm Beach Gardens, didn’t vote, because he is president of a dog track, the Palm Beach Kennel Club. The measure (HB 1145) by Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, now goes to House Economic Affairs. A Senate version (SB 1954) is scheduled to be heard in Senate Finance and Tax on Wednesday.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2011-04-13/bill-would-no-longer-require-greyhound-tracks-hold

Bill would no longer require that greyhound tracks hold greyhound races

By Matt Dixon - April 13, 2011

A Senate panel Wednesday moved a bill that would no longer require that greyhound tracks hold live races.

Track owners have wanted to shed their books of live races because they are sparsely attended money losers. The bill also provides tracks an estimated $1.4 million annual tax reduction starting in 2012.

Kennel owners argued that the move would put them out of business because there would be a greatly reduced demand for their product.

"I would not be able to pay my bills," said Todd Byers, who owns a Kennel Club in Daytona Beach. He said his company would be worth nothing if the bill passes.

Others argued there is no provision in the bill to deal with the hoards of unemployed greyhounds that would need to be adopted.

Jacksonville Greyhound, which owns the dog track in Orange Park, has not taken a position on the bill, said track spokesman Michael Munz. If the legislation does pass, though, it won't affect operations there.

"Live racing will continue at Orange Park regardless of the passage of this bill," he said.

Sen. Maria Sachs, D - Delray, said that her bill would do nothing to prevent tracks from having live races, and that the market, under her bill, could help dictate which tracks want to have them.

The bill passed 6-2 out of the Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax. It now heads to the Senate floor. A House companion bill has one remaining committee stop.

Could Arizona greyhounds soon be free?

2011-03-30T18:27:00.000-04:00

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/track-termination/Content?oid=2620640

Track Termination?
Live racing at Tucson Greyhound Park could soon be decreased or even eliminated
By Tim Vanderpool, Tucson Weekly - March 23, 2011

A measure trotting through the Arizona State Legislature would end most live dog racing at Tucson Greyhound Park.

Funny thing is, track officials actually asked for the legislation to be introduced. That's according to Rep. Vic Williams, the District 26 Republican sponsor of HB 2536.

His measure has already passed through the House, and is now headed for the Senate Economic Development and Jobs Creation Committee.

At its core, the legislation would allow Tucson Greyhound Park to reduce the number of days it's required to host live racing. Currently, the track needs to have at least nine races a day, four days each week, if it also wants to conduct much more lucrative simulcast or pari-mutuel wagering.

The bill forwarded by Williams would reduce live-racing requirements to only 100 days per year.

Even those live races - seen as a sop to greyhound-kennel owners, who are the real losers here - could eventually go away.

Most are betting are on the bill's passage, particularly since there are few people fighting it. HB 2536 is avidly supported by opponents of greyhound racing, because it would lead to the local demise of a sport they consider archaic and cruel—and because simulcast racing tends to focus on horses.

Live racing also costs taxpayers a bundle. According to a 2007 review by the Arizona Office of the Auditor General, exemptions and tax credits for the racing industry cost the state $44 million in revenues between 2001 and 2006.

Consider that in fiscal 2008 alone, Tucson Greyhound Park pulled in a cool $16.2 million in simulcast wagers, made more than $3.4 million—and paid nothing in pari-mutuel betting taxes. Meanwhile, live-racing attendance has dropped by nearly 70 percent in recent years, but the state is still on the hook to regulate it.

All of which makes it quite obvious from whence HB 2536 came.

"I was asked by the track owners to bring the bill forward," says Williams. "This bill is in support of the dog track and their economic interest, and their viability to stay open here in Southern Arizona."

Is it also a tacit admission that actual live greyhound racing is on the way out? "I'm not going to get into that," Williams says. "You're going to have to ask the track. But it's my understanding that they're more economically viable the less that they race at this time."

A call to Tom Taylor, the general manager of Tucson Greyhound Park, was not returned.

The possible demise of Tucson dog racing seals the deal for GREY2K USA, a Massachusetts-based group that aims to eliminate all greyhound wagering across the country. In fact, says group president Christine Dorchak, GREY2K is more than a little familiar with Rep. Williams' legislation. "The beauty of this bill is that it's something we filed last year, and we were openly asking for the support of the dog-track owners. But they weren't quite ready to get onboard with it.

"This year, they beat us to the punch," she says. "They apparently not only saw the value of our idea, but they also decided they wanted to make the bill their own."

But there's also a bit of subterfuge animating this measure.

"The owners of Tucson Greyhound Park would like to get authorization for slot machines," says Dorchak. "That's what their goal seems to be, just as it's the goal of other tracks around the country that don't already have expanded gambling. They want to walk away from greyhound racing."

As it happens, earlier this year, state Rep. John Fillmore, an Apache Junction Republican, introduced a bill that would legalize some casino-style gaming at horse and dog tracks. The measure received a cool reception from legislative leaders, however, and hasn't seen much action. The entire concept of expanded gaming has consistently drawn fierce opposition from Native American tribes—which helped kill a similar proposal back in 2002.

But Williams' bill seems destined for a brighter fate. According to Dorchak, that's a blessing for Arizona; her group recently released a "white paper" summarizing all the ways that greyhound racing continues to burden the state and mistreat animals. It notes that, of the five live-racing dog tracks once scattered across Arizona, Tucson Greyhound is the sole survivor—and it continues to enjoy lavish tax breaks.

With passage of the bill, says Dorchak, those tax breaks would disappear.

So would the cruelty of confining dogs to their cages for hours on end, feeding them degraded meat—which Tucson Greyhound Park denies doing—and shooting them with anabolic steroids to keep the females from going into heat. Though the steroids can inflict permanent damage, and were outlawed in 2008 by the voters of South Tucson, track officials readily admit that the practice continues.

Then there are the dog injuries, a gruesome parade of bone breaks and deep gashes and cracked skulls. Each year, GREY2K USA tallies these wounds for posting on their website. Or at least they did until 2009, when the Arizona Department of Racing suddenly stopped releasing the information, and simply ignored the group's repeated public-records requests.

"The department is simply unaccountable," says Dorchak.

You can see why: Between January 2007 and November 2009, there were nearly 300 injuries to the dogs of Tucson Greyhound Park.

When we called Nolan Thompson, head of investigations and operations for the ADOR, he explained that state-track stewards now simply scan the injury reports at Tucson Greyhound Park, but no longer take them into physical custody. Ergo, they are no longer public records.

Thompson was unable to explain when this policy change took place, or whether it was done at the behest of Tucson Greyhound officials.

To get a better explanation, we then called ADOR Director Lonny Powell. In fact, we called him again and again and again. Not once over several weeks did Powell return a call to detail why his department was withholding this critical information from public scrutiny.

Finally, though, he did respond—through an assistant, Kim McCollum ... who suggested that we file a public-records request.

Why Arizona dog racing must end

2011-03-30T18:11:00.000-04:00

http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-032411Email.html

March 24, 2011

Greyhound Friends,

Today, lawmakers statewide will receive our report on greyhound racing in Arizona. This new whitepaper sets out both the humane and economic reasons for passing HB 2536 and for ending dog racing in the state.

Click here to download GREY2K USA's report.

Click here to read the latest story by Tim Vanderpool of Tucson Weekly.

All data was obtained from state records and published news reports and includes commentary from track officials, trainers and vets. Based on this information, the record shows that greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane and should be phased out.

• At Tucson Greyhound Park, hundreds and hundreds of greyhound dogs are kept in warehouse-style kennels inside small, stacked cages which are barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around. They are in these cages for up to 23 hours a day. Cages measure 32” high by 31” wide by 42” deep.

• When the dogs leave their warehouses and are let out of their cages to race, they face the risk of serious injury. From 2007 to 2009, nearly 1,000 injuries were reported. 67 greyhound injuries were fatal. 37% of reported injuries involved broken or sprained legs and other injuries included a cracked skull, broken backs, dislocations, heat stroke, puncture wounds, and paralysis.

• In the last decade, state records show that gambling on live greyhound racing has declined by 75%. As the owners of Tucson Greyhound Park stated in a 2000 news report, buying the track “the worst investment” they’d ever made. Their current lobbyist Michael Racy has admitted that the financial problems at the track “continue to get more challenging.”

• They are fed a diet based on raw, 4-D meat. “4-D” is the USDA classification for the meat of dying, diseased, disabled and dead livestock.

• Phoenix Greyhound Park was the last facility to stop racing dogs, this in 2009, following Yuma, Black Canyon City and Apache Greyhound Parks.

• The state collects no taxes on pari-mutuel wagering, yet must assume the cost of regulating this dying industry. In 2009, the Arizona Dept. of Racing paid salaries for kennel inspectors, judges and veterinarians to tune of $266,000 while the track continued to benefit by a “hardship tax exemption” instituted in 1994.

We believe the facts speak for themselves and that lawmakers will agree that dog racing should end.

HB 2536 has already passed the House of Representatives, and must now pass in the Senate. Please contact your state senator now to ask for a YES Vote on HB 2536. If you need help identifying your state senator, click here.

Go team!

Christine A. Dorchak, Esq.
President, GREY2K USA

Carey M. Theil
Executive Director, GREY2K USA

P.S. If you would like a hard copy of our report mailed to you, please send $10 plus $3.50 shipping and handling to GREY2K USA P.O. Box 442117. Somerville, MA 02144 or make a donation here.

The truth about impending Florida dog track closures

2011-03-23T16:52:00.000-04:00

Racing greyhounds in Florida, and nationwide, may soon get some wonderful news. The Florida legislature is considering two bills – House Bill 1145 and Senate Bill 1594 – that would allow dog tracks in the state to terminate live dog racing and continue operating their poker rooms and/or slot machines. This legislation is known as ‘decoupling’ or ‘de-linkage’.

For years, dog tracks in Florida have been required to meet a minimum number of live racing days in order to operate other more profitable forms of gambling. But public interest in greyhound racing has significantly decreased, and dog racing now represents less than 1% of all wagers made annually. The financial woes and the many recent closures of dog tracks across the U.S. are proof that without the life support of other gambling revenue, greyhound racing is a dying industry.

In the face of these irrefutable facts and the pending decoupling legislation in Florida, greyhound breeders are now resorting to scare tactics regarding what will happen to racing greyhounds when dog tracks close, in a desperate effort to defend this cruel sport.

The reality is that any greyhounds displaced by decoupling legislation would need transitional assistance anyway, in a year or two when their racing careers ended.

Twenty-five dog tracks have closed or ended live racing since 2001, in Oregon, Connecticut, Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. In each of these cases, adoption groups mobilized and found homes for all of the dogs that were displaced.

Greyhound adoption groups have been preparing for a possible influx of dogs from Florida tracks for over a year. They have created a specific plan, called the United Pathfinder Project, to address this issue. This plan has been shared with hundreds of adoption groups across the country, to make them aware that they may need to help Florida greyhounds.

Additionally, mainstream animal protection groups, including GREY2K USA, the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are committed to helping any dogs displaced by the passage of decoupling legislation in Florida.

Finally, not all Florida tracks will take the option and stop holding greyhound races. For the tracks that do, many are seasonal. These seasonal tracks will end their season, just as they do now, but will simply not bring greyhound racing back again.

One thing is certain - as long as dog racing exists, greyhounds will die.

Racing injury records released by GREY2K USA have proven that dogs die while racing. Broken necks, crushed skulls, electrocution and cardiac arrest are some of the fatalities those records have revealed. Those records have also proven that dogs with perfectly fixable injuries, like broken legs, are euthanized.

Racing fatalities, the euthanasia of injured dogs, and the constant displacement caused by grading off and seasonal track closings are inherent to the business. There will never be a day that the lives of racing greyhounds aren’t cut short in the name of money.

So, while the number of dogs entering the adoption system increases in the wake of a track’s final closing, that increase is temporary. The immediate problem is real, but it is one that is expected and can be prepared for in advance. The benefits of a track’s closing, however, are permanent and far-reaching.

The end of dog racing means that these gentle dogs will no longer be injured and killed on the track. Thousands of dogs will no longer live confined for twenty or more hours per day in cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around.

As of this writing, there are twenty-three operational tracks remaining in just seven states – Arizona, Texas, Iowa, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama and Florida.

Greyhound advocates will continue to work to put this cruel industry out of business, and until greyhound racing is phased out in every state, the work of adoption groups will remain vital.

The end of dog racing will mean that future generations of greyhounds won’t have to bear the suffering of so many in the past.

GREY2K USA Action Alert: Florida House sub-committee approves bill, calls needed!

2011-03-23T16:38:00.000-04:00

http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-032211Email.html

Greyhound Friends,

Great news! This morning, a proposal to decouple greyhound racing from other forms of gambling (House Bill 1145) passed its first committee in the Florida House. The vote was nearly unanimous, with just one member dissenting.

GREY2K USA President and General Counsel Christine Dorchak testified before lawmakers on behalf of the greyhounds, and some of her comments were reported this afternoon by the Miami Herald. We are pictured above after the vote with our legislative agent Marc Reichelderser.

This victory means that greyhound decoupling has real momentum in Florida. Just last week, a nearly identical bill (Senate Bill 1594) passed its first committee in the Florida Senate, meaning that both chambers of the legislature are now seriously considering this humane proposal.

If these bills become law, they will help thousands of greyhounds in the Sunshine State. Greyhound injuries will decrease, and the number of dogs that endure lives of terrible confinement will drop.

While we are pleased to see this progress, the fight is far from over. If you have not contacted your state lawmakers in support of these bills, please do so right away.

Specifically, please e-mail AND call your State Representative and State Senator. Tell them how important these bills are to you, and politely ask them if they have a position yet on greyhound decoupling. Also, be sure to forward any responses to receive from your lawmakers to christine@grey2kusa.org.

To identify the state lawmakers who represent you, click here to find your State Representative and here to find your State Senator.

Please reach out to your lawmakers today on these important bills. Together, we can make sure the greyhounds finally receive the help they deserve.

Christine A. Dorchak, Esq.
President, GREY2K USA

Carey M. Theil
Executive Director, GREY2K USA

GREY2K USA Executive Director's Report: Florida greyhounds need your help!

2011-03-17T16:11:00.002-04:00

http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-031711Email.html

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, a Florida State Senate Committee advanced a bill (Senate Bill 1594) that would decouple greyhound racing from other forms of gambling, removing the legal requirement that dog tracks host live racing in order to offer other forms of gambling. Click here to read yesterday's story in the Palm Beach Post.

This bill, along with its companion in the State House of Representatives (House Bill 1145) is one of the most important bills ever filed for greyhound protection. If approved, these will significantly reduce, and possibly end, greyhound racing in the Sunshine State altogether this year.

Your help is urgently needed to pass this historic legislation!

Please CALL and E-MAIL your State Representative and State Senator today, and ask them to SUPPORT Senate Bill 1594 and House Bill 1145.

To identify the state lawmakers who represent you, click here to find your State Representative and here to find your State Senator.

And if you do not live in Florida, please contact Governor Rick Scott and ask him to support these measures.

Then, forward this e-mail to share this important message with everyone you know in the state.

Please remember to send any responses you receive to GREY2K USA President, Christine Dorchak at christine@grey2kusa.org.

Finally, please make a designated donation to the Florida campaign. All gifts received will support this specific effort.

These gentle friends are counting on all of us to act now. Please respond immediately.

For the dogs,
Carey M. Theil

Florida SB 1594 passes Senate committee 7-5 to end dog tracks' live racing requirement

2011-03-17T15:44:00.000-04:00

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/sachs-bill-would-let-greyhound-tracks-drop-races-1326552.html

Sachs' bill would let greyhound tracks drop races and still offer card games
By Dara Kam, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer - March 16, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — Greyhound racetrack operators, including Palm Beach Kennel Club, could quit offering dog races and still run the more lucrative card rooms under a measure narrowly approved by a Senate committee Wednesday afternoon.

The bill (SB 1594), sponsored by Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, would do away with the 15-year-old live-racing requirement in an effort to keep the tracks afloat as their revenues and attendance declines.

"Greyhound racing is a dying industry in this state," Sachs said before the 7-5 vote.

Representatives of Palm Beach Kennel Club said it would continue to run live races but they support Sachs' proposal because they believe it would clean up the industry and sweeten the track's fortunes with increased profits from simulcast racing.

Between 2002 and 2010, gambling on the live races dropped by more than half and the purses paid on the races declined by 69 percent, causing the taxes and fees paid to the state by its 13 greyhound tracks to plummet 96 percent, according to Department of Business and Professional Regulation data.

Track operators currently are forced to run a certain number of dog races each year, depending on when they received their card-room licenses, to keep the card rooms open. Smaller tracks losing money on the dog races may be forced to run the dogs too hard and too often, Sachs said, to keep their profitable card games going.

More affluent greyhound operators would be happy if their seedier competitors stop racing, said Palm Beach Kennel Club lobbyist Brian Ballard.

"We think there could be a better product to the people who come to PBKC by giving folks who don't want to be in this business a way out. It's better for us," he said.

Cutting back on the number of races statewide would improve the quality of the existing races, increase the pay-outs and enhance the value of the live races simulcast in other racetracks, Ballard said.

"It makes the product better. Those people who want to use it will pay better purses for the dogs and frankly take better care of their animals. We support the notion that you shouldn't be forced to do this," he said.

But Jack Cory, a lobbyist for the Florida Greyhound Association, said Sachs' bill would "eliminate 3,000 jobs in Florida, $50 million in economic impact and $5 million in revenue to the state."

Kennel operator Norm Rader, of West Palm Beach, attended the meeting in Tallahassee and said Sach's proposal is problematic for him because it will be harder for him to place dogs that aren't competitive enough to run at better venues -- about half the dogs he starts out with.

That's fine with Sachs.

"I want the pool to shrink," she said. "I want them to breed fewer dogs and that will lead to higher quality racing."

Nationally, dog racing has declined by half over the past five years and only exists in seven states.

Greyhound racing has a long history in Florida, with the first track in Florida being built in what later became Hialeah in 1922.

Opponents of greyhound racing have tried for years to "decouple" the card rooms from the racing requirements but have been thwarted until now by track operators.

Last year, 33 greyhounds were found dead at a small track in Ebro. The owner of the dogs, who operated a kennel at the facility, was charged with animal cruelty.

But interest in the sport has nearly disappeared, and reports about mistreatment of the dogs have changed the public's view of racing, said Grey2K USA executive director Carey Theil.

"The world has changed," said Theil. "The gambling world is moving away from live racing toward other forms and there's a huge cultural shift in how we view animal issues generally."

Sachs' bill would also establish a single 3.45 percent tax rate for all the tracks, which now varies from .05 to 5.5 percent. But she said her measure would be revenue-neutral because the $6.9 million currently given in tax credits for the tracks would go down.

The House has not yet scheduled its companion bill for a hearing, and Senate President Mike Haridopolos said it is not one of his priorities but that the bill makes sense.

"I've seen first-hand. No one watches the dog races any more. So they're making them run races that no one's watching or I guess even betting on," Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said.

Sorry, Phil Ruffin - greyhounds just aren't gonna be in Kansas any more

2011-03-12T15:17:00.001-05:00

http://www2.wsls.com/entertainment/2011/mar/08/kan-house-ducks-debate-over-gambling-ar-891120/

Kansas House Ducks Debate Over Gambling
Associated Press - March 08, 2011

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has refused to debate a proposal for luring a state-owned casino to the state's southeast corner and bringing slot machines to dog- and horse-racing tracks.

The proposal Tuesday from Rep. Doug Gatewood, a Columbus Democrat, would amend a Kansas law allowing a casino in southeast Kansas and slots at three now-closed tracks, including one in southeast Kansas.

Some legislators believe the law is so strict that it doesn't make either a southeast Kansas casino or slots at the tracks profitable. His plan would have decreased the investment required for a casino and the state's revenues from the slots.

He offered his plan as an amendment to a bill dealing with sexually oriented businesses. On a 84-34 vote, the House concluded Gatewood's amendment was out of order.

Ronnie Williams receives $170,000 fine for torture deaths of 37 Ebro greyhounds - and Florida license suspension is finalized

2011-03-12T15:03:00.000-05:00

http://www.newsherald.com/news/state-91713-williams-greyhound.html

Williams' state penalties finalized
Panama City News Herald - March 10, 2011

Ronnie Williams, a greyhound trainer charged with 42 counts of felony animal cruelty in connection with the deaths of 37 dogs at Ebro Greyhound Park in October, has been served with the final papers suspending his training license in Florida and assessing the largest pari-mutuel fine in the state’s history.

Criminal charges against Williams are being prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office, but the administrative case investigated by the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering has resulted in the permanent suspension of Williams’ license and the imposition of $170,000 in fines, according a news release.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation is developing new rules regarding animal welfare due to changes in Section 550.2415, which became effective last July with the passage of Senate Bill 622.

GREY2K USA Action Alert: Save Irish greyhounds from export to foreign lands

2011-03-12T14:46:00.002-05:00

http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-030911Email.html

Dear Greyhound Friends,

GREY2K USA joins with the leading animal welfare advocates to decry a proposal to send greyhounds racing in Ireland to foreign lands such as China.

According to published reports, the Irish Greyhound Board is considering allying with Chinese officials to bring dog racing to the People’s Republic of China. Clearly, this expansion of a cruel industry would cause greyhounds to suffer even more, both in transport and then while racing. These gentle dogs would subsequently face uncertain futures in countries where animal welfare laws may not even exist.

Please join with the animal welfare organizations like ARAN and Greyt Exploitations to send a strongly-worded letter to the officials below. Let them know that the cruelty of dog racing should end, not be expanded.

Mr. Simon Coveney, Minister of Agriculture
Mr. Barry Coleman, Welfare and Racing Operations Manager, Irish Greyhound Board

Feel free to refer to our sample letter, sent today.

Christine A. Dorchak, Esq.
President, GREY2K USA

Carey M. Theil
Executive Director, GREY2K USA

Video of fatal injuries to Arizona racing greyhounds released by GREY2K USA

2011-03-03T01:19:00.000-05:00

GREY2K USA has released footage of fatal injuries suffered at Arizona’s last remaining greyhound track, Tucson Greyhound Park.

Please watch our video to see injuries suffered by dogs like Pa's Mismakamess and Oxbow Savage, who cracked his skull and died during his final race.

You can also see KVOA-TV’s coverage, which includes reaction from track management.

State records show that nearly 1,000 greyhound injuries were reported from 2007-2009 at Pheonix and Tucson Greyhound Parks.

37% were broken or sprained legs and other injuries included broken backs, dislocations, heat stroke, puncture wounds and paralysis.

On average, Tucson Greyhound Park, the state's last remaining track, reported two greyhound injuries per week.

As long as greyhound racing continues, dogs will continue to suffer and die.

We will continue to work to stop this!

Arizona HB 2536 - which will reduce live racing at Tucson Greyhound Park - passes State House, 42-15

2011-03-03T01:09:00.001-05:00

http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-030111Email.html

House Bill 2536, filed by Republican Vic Williams, is now working its way through the House of Representatives and will soon move to the state Senate!

Here’s what the bill does:

• Immediately drops the live racing requirement down to 100 days, from its current 50 weeks

• Allows Tucson Greyhound Park to phase out dog racing completely, following negotiations with kennel operators

This is the moment Arizona greyhounds have been waiting for!
Arizona once had five tracks, but now we are very close to ending dog racing there entirely.

Earlier this month, GREY2K USA President Christine Dorchak met with both lawmakers, grassroots advocates and adoption volunteers to promote the passage of HB 2536 in the house. Additional funds are needed now to keep us on the ground and working to pass this important bill in the Senate. Please help if you can!

Finally, if you live in Arizona, please contact your state senator and ask him or her to support HB 2536. And if you need help identifying your state senator, click here.

We are closer than ever to ending the cruelty of dog racing in the Grand Canyon State!

Alabama slot machines heading for the hills

2011-02-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

http://www2.dothaneagle.com/news/2011/feb/23/some-bingo-machines-removed-country-crossing-ar-1499126/

Some bingo machines removed from Country Crossing
By Lance Griffin, Dothan Eagle - February 23, 2011

Three semi trucks pulled to the rear of the Country Crossing development late Wednesday afternoon, apparently beginning to fulfill an agreement between gaming companies and Attorney General Luther Strange to remove their electronic bingo machines from Alabama.

A statement issued to the media from a Country Crossing spokesperson confirmed one of the electronic bingo vendors removed its equipment from the facility Wednesday. The spokesperson did not name the vendor.

“This is a necessary step towards our successful reopening,” the statement said.

Three electronic bingo machine manufacturers – International Gaming Technology, Multimedia Games and Bally Technologies – all reached agreements with the attorney general last week to remove the machines.

Dothan attorney Sam Cherry said last week that the removal of the machines from Country Crossing was necessary to pave the way for the “next generation” of electronic bingo machines at the facility. Cherry said it remained Country Crossing’s goal to reopen and use electronic bingo machines that complied with Alabama Supreme Court decisions defining bingo.