Why couldn’t Mark A. Crosswhite, the “most powerful man in Alabama,” bring closure to the matter at hand?

A few months ago Alabama Power CEO Mark A. Crosswhite and ex-Drummond executive David Roberson bumped into each other at La Paz Restaurant in Crestline.

Allegedly Crosswhite told Roberson if there was anything he could do, Crosswhite would be happy to help.

Roberson took Crosswhite for his word and a few days later dispatched an email to the “most powerful man in Alabama,” allegedly asking Crosswhite to get Balch & Bingham and Drummond to settle the $50 million lawsuit.

Roberson never received a reply but allegedly it appears word got out in elite Mountain Brook circles that Roberson had reached out to Crosswhite.

Why would Crosswhite appear flabbergasted by an email from Roberson?

Why couldn’t Mark A. Crosswhite, the “most powerful man in Alabama,” bring closure to the matter at hand?

And why would Crosswhite or his staff appear to leak the exchange instead of replying to it?

These questions are more important than the chile con queso sauce at La Paz, and they raise even more questions.

Could it be that the Alliance for Jobs and the Economy (AJE), the corrupt entity behind the $360,000 in bribes to disgraced ex-State Representative Oliver Robinson, that was funded in part by Alabama Power, has become an unpleasant memory to Crosswhite?

Could it be that Alabama Power allegedly had a secret deal not to testify in the criminal trial of David Roberson and Balch-made millionaire Joel I. Gilbert and don’t want it shaken apart?

We understand that Alabama Power has a starring role in a new documentary on Balch & Bingham’s difficulties.

What will Crosswhite’s humble legacy be?

He fought for inherent goodness and sound business practices? Or that he made millions while poor African-Americans suffered? He liked to make definitive decisions except the really tough ones like suspending Balch & Bingham? Or that Crosswhite successfully ousted Billy Canary?

Billy who?