By Sondra Washington
Judges usually clarify murky legal issues when two parties cannot agree on an issue or punish criminals who are breaking the law. But when it comes to gambling cases in Alabama, some circuit judges have seemed to help gamblers stall law enforcement actions and continue to operate illegal Las Vegas-style casinos without fear of raids.
When the city of Bessemer and its police department began making a stand against illegal gambling establishments, several judges assigned to the area began responding more to the needs of casino owners than to law enforcement.
In August 2009, Bessemer police raided American Legion Hall Post 22, which was operating slot machine-style gambling devices even though the city’s ordinance allows only paper games.
Yet The Birmingham News reported that District Judge Eric Fancher “issued a cease and desist order (to the police) after being contacted by attorneys for the hall’s operators.”
Later when officers returned to the facility, the machines had been removed.
Later when Bessemer police attempted to shut down The Anchor Club, another gambling operation within the city owned by Robert White, Circuit Judge Dan King issued a temporary restraining order barring the city from raiding the facility.
In June 2010, the News reported that the Judicial Inquiry Commission suspended King from the bench after he reportedly set aside the rape conviction of a man he represented while in private practice.
This was not King’s first personal brush with the law.
In 2007, the News reported he was charged with “56 counts of tax, ethics and election law violations.” Within the year, the charges were dismissed reportedly because the “courtroom where the grand jury was meeting was not open to the public.”
Soon Circuit Judge Eugene Verin began handling gambling lawsuits in the Bessemer Cut-off Division of Jefferson County, but he also dragged his feet instead of allowing law enforcement to shut down establishments they believed were illegal.
Verin said he would issue a ruling when stating if the slot machine-style gambling being conducted in the Cut-off is legal. He has yet to make that ruling.
In April, Verin also banned any task force actions against gambling facilities in Fairfield while awaiting the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling on whether Gov. Bob Riley or Attorney General Troy King controlled the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.
To this action, Judge King reportedly said Verin, his “longtime friend and colleague, apparently succumbed to the political pressure ‘bingo’ brings.” At the time, King was in a re-election battle against Verin’s wife, who won the seat.
Although judges in other counties also issued restraining orders against law enforcement attempting to shut down illegal gambling establishments, most stopped their efforts after the Task Force on Illegal Gambling approached the state Supreme Court.
But in Greene County, Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway Jr. had to eventually be removed from the case involving the task force and Greenetrack casino in Eutaw. Despite several Alabama Supreme Court orders overruling Hardaway’s restraining orders against the task force, he continued standing in the way of task force raids at the casino.
In their order, the justices said, “reassignment of this case to a different circuit court judge is also advisable to preserve the appearance of justice.”
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Arthur Green Jr.
District attorney for Bessemer Cut-off Division of Jefferson County. Refused to shut down illegal gambling operations in Bessemer until Task Force Commander shut down gambling operations in Macon and Greene County. Shareholder (25 percent) of Northwest Alabama Treatment Center, a medical facility specializing in methadone maintenance treatment, with Robert White.
Robert White
Owner of The Anchor Club and American Legion Hall Post 22 gambling operations in Bessemer. Tried to influence city council members to legalize slot machine-style gambling called electronic bingo.
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