Another Conservative Group Gets Entangled in an Indian Casino Money-Laundering Scandal

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/joshua-holland/57513/another-conservative-group-gets-entangled-in-an-indian-casino-money-laundering-scandal

Another Conservative Group Gets Entangled in an Indian Casino Money-Laundering Scandal
Conservatives and the Right
by Joshua Holland | August 9, 2014 - 9:48am
— from Moyers & Company

Politico came up with a big scoop this week when it uncovered internal documents from the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) showing that the Alabama Republican Party had “essentially launder(ed) ‘toxic’ money from the gaming industry by routing it out of state and then back into Alabama” via the prominent conservative group.

The September 2011 report was prepared for then-RSLC head Gillespie, the former Bush adviser who later chaired the Republican National Committee and is now running for a Senate seat in Virginia. It “detailed an investigation into alleged misconduct by multiple RSLC officials during the crucial 2010 election cycle.” The authors of the report warned that if the scheme became public, it could trigger “possible criminal penalties” and “ultimately threaten the organization’s continued existence.” They added, “the resulting media frenzy” would be “a political disaster for Alabama Republicans, a disaster with which RSLC will forever be associated.”

The RSLC took campaign funds from the Poarch Creek Band of Indians, which operates several tribal casinos in Alabama. It then directed that money to a handful of conservative state PACs, most of which were controlled by Mike Hubbard, who is currently the speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives. Some of the money was sent to an anti-lottery group with ties to Jack Abramoff, the former “super-lobbyist” who was convicted on multiple felony counts for a similar scheme to launder Native American casino dollars to conservative lawmakers. That scandal would eventually spread to include a Who’s Who of influential Republican lobbyists and lawmakers.

The RSLC was formed in 2002 and according to ProPublica, for most of the group’s existence, “it was primarily a vehicle for donors like health care and tobacco companies to influence state legislatures.” But when Gillespie took the reins in 2010, he shifted the group’s focus to redistricting, and the organization started pouring money into state legislative races. It soon became the top conservative funder for state-level politics. According to OpenSecrets.org, the RSLC spent $40 million during the 2012 cycle, and has raised around $20 million so far in 2014.

[littlemissmartypants]

1. One of the UNITED BANKS of ALEC.

Busted.

[packman]

2. Hey, I gamble at Windcreek casino -

one of several the Poarch Creek Indians own. It kills me that some of the money I lost on the slots ended up in Republican hands. Who can you trust anymore? I hope they burn them for this, but not before I hit a Jackpot or two.

[yallerdawg]

3. Republican hypocrisy.

They hold up a hand -- "No gambling in Alabama"-- and proceed to raid and close every non-Indian casino in Alabama...while they hold out a hand for donations, as they well know they won't close Indian casinos on Federally-protected reservation land.

How does this effect Alabamians? Well, the last hand payout I got was at Victoryland before they raided it the first time (2010?). I have never won any money at any of the 3 Indian casinos since then.

Competition matters, and if you're the only game in town...