Alabama governor testifies in trial of House speaker
Source: Associated Press
Alabama governor testifies in trial of House speaker
Kim Chandler, Associated Press
Updated 3:35 pm, Wednesday, June 1, 2016
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley testified under oath Wednesday that House Speaker Mike Hubbard met with him to discuss economic development projects that prosecutors say could have benefited one of Hubbard's clients.
That client — a municipal gas utility — was paying Hubbard $12,000 a month at the time. Alabama ethics law forbids lawmakers from taking money to lobby the governor and other members of the executive branch of government.
Bentley's testimony provided a dramatic moment as Alabama's two most powerful politicians faced each other in criminal court. Meanwhile, their fellow Republican, Chief Justice Roy Moore, has been suspended pending a judicial ethics probe into his order barring same-sex marriage licenses, leaving the leaders of all three branches of Alabama's government enmeshed in scandal.
Hubbard is charged with 23 felony ethics violations, accusing him of abusing his positions as speaker and state GOP chairman as he sought $2.3 million in consulting contracts and investments.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Alabama-governor-to-testify-in-trial-of-House-7956178.php
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Southeast Alabama Gas District, the Hubbard "client," is a nasty piece of utility business.
I had a pretty low-wage job and a wife and two small children. I wanted to get some kind of Christmas holiday in and thought I would rob Peter to pay Paul by holding our gas bill over until after Christmas.
Without notification, a few days before Christmas - in the dead of winter, mind you - they turned off our gas! I was just shocked at the indecency of the whole act, and drove the couple blocks to their office, and asked them, "WTF?"
They said doesn't matter how you always paid your bill on time, this time you didn't - and they turn off the gas.
I made it clear how Dickensian this felt, if I had had notice I would have paid the bill - and Christmas would have been more meager but toasty warm.
They said fine, pay the bill and an additional charge for turning the gas back on.
I went home, got my checkbook, and wrote them their check for the gas bill - no hookup, though!
Bought electric space heaters and never paid SEAGD one freakin' penny ever again for their disservice! It cost them thousands of dollars for all the years we lived in their region!
Never trusted a public utility to do the decent thing ever again, either!
Sounds to me like Bentley just casually nailed Hubbard. Before Hubbard impeached Bentley! 
