Jarrod D. Massey, a former casino lobbyist who admitted he bought and sold votes in the Alabama state legislator on pro-gambling legislature, went to prison yesterday. And he doesn’t even know how long he’ll be there.
Massey, who pleaded guilty in December to multiple bribery charges after working out a deal with federal prosecutors, surrendered to U.S. Marshals at the federal courthouse in Montgomery on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
The length of his sentence will be determined by his testimony against two powerful developers who are among the 11 defendants in the the massive corruption investigation which unfolded in October.
Massey, 39, was hired by Ronald Gilley to lobby on behalf of Country Crossing, a resort development near the Alabama-Florida border. Gilley allegedly had Massey solicit support for electronic gambling legislation which would benefit the resort.
As TPM recounted in a previous story, the indictment alleged Massey told an unnamed state legislator that they “might miss an opportunity to really cut yourself a good deal” if that politician didn’t support his cause. Massey said there was money “at play that could be had that, you know, could only be made available to certain candidates.”
The former lobbyist also mentioned a plan to funnel $1 million per year through a public relations firm owned by “Legislator 2” if that politician agreed to vote for the pro-gambling legislation, according to the indictment.
“I would suggest that that look something like — and, again, it is up to you for what you would want to use it for — but basically there is a million dollars of business that is going to come through that PR entity, one way or the another, you know, annually,” Massey said, the indictment alleged.
“I’m telling ya, it’s a good deal… I mean, you in the catbird seat,” Massey allegedly told the legislator.
