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Breaking News: Newsome Gravely Injured; FBI Probe Demanded
Burt Newsome, one of the leading banking lawyers in Alabama who has successfully challenged and humiliated Balch & Bingham after he allegedly was targeted, falsely arrested, and defamed by a conspiracy allegedly spearheaded by a Balch & Bingham partner, was gravely injured in a mysterious auto accident Thursday afternoon. The incident comes hours after Legal Schnauzer published an article linking Balch to a Wallace-era highway scandal that involved the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, Robert Shelton. The late Schuyler A. Baker, Sr. was at one time a top attorney at Balch & Bingham, and also a staunch segregationist…
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Why Did Mike Tracy Become Disloyal to a Friend and a Colleague?
[This post was originally published on July 22, 2019. Now that civil court proceedings in the Drummond case are moving forward tomorrow morning, questions remain to be answered. Drummond, like other former Balch clients, needs to demonstrate sensible independence from Balch. Tracy abruptly “retired” a year ago, but his alleged actions are still stunning.] Drummond Company President Mike Tracy vowed unequivocally to back his friend, his co-worker David Roberson a year ago, releasing the following statement: We are disappointed by the jury’s decision to convict our employee, David Roberson. While we respect the judicial process, we consider David to be…
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Balch Partner Deflated Before Federal Judge David Proctor
In January before the pandemic exploded and stay-at-home orders were issued, the talk of Birmingham legal circles was how a Balch & Bingham attorney was deflated before the Honorable R. David Proctor, a federal judge in the Northern District of Alabama. Balch & Bingham partner Sean W. Shirley (pictured above, left) was attempting to have another attorney Glenda Cochran (pictured above, right), a colorful and respected member of the bar, disqualified. According to transcripts of the hearing, Balch’s partner had the audacity to call Cochran’s conduct of speaking to a witness for over 10 hours on the phone and the…
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Town’s Downfall Part 2: Ending the Expanded North Birmingham Investigation
When U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town announced after their convictions that ex-Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert and ex-Drummond executive David Roberson were the lone wolves of the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal, observers including law enforcement were stunned. Most insiders (and the public in general) think the “lone wolves” theory is bull. With the convictions, law enforcement officials wanted to expand the probe to look at more individuals and entities, but Town shut it down. As we told the U.S. Department of Justice in our formal complaint: According to a report [in April of 2019] in The Washington Post, “Balch &…
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Oliver Robinson: From Prisoner to Key Witness
Disgraced ex-Alabama State Representative Oliver Robinson was released from federal prison one week ago today due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to al.com. Robinson was given over $360,000 in bribes in a criminal scheme born in the offices of Balch & Bingham to suppress African-Americans in North Birmingham from having their toxic property tested by the EPA. Robinson had been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison. Ex-Drummond Executive David Roberson and ex-Balch & Bingham partner Joel I. Gilbert have also been sentenced to federal prison although their cases are currently on appeal. Returning to home confinement, Robinson…
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Justice and Inherent Goodness Shall Prevail
With the despicable hunting and murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, the spotlight on racism, corruption, favoritism, dirty cops, inert prosecutors, and Southern transgressions is erupting. Just like the idiots who attempt to justify the murder of Maud because he entered a construction site for a few minutes, we have seen idiots in Alabama attempt to justify the alleged targeting of poor blacks in toxic, polluted North Birmingham as a fight against “government overreach.” How about the alleged horrific use of a well-connected cop to arrest Burt Newsome? Balch & Bingham declared in court documents it had the “right to…
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The Next David Roberson? Southern Company Sell-Off Begins
David Roberson, the “fall guy” for the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal, was well-respected and beloved in Alabama’s highest circles until he was allegedly betrayed by his “friends” at Balch & Bingham and co-workers at Drummond Company. Balch & Bingham, who has declared in court filings that they “owed no duty” to Roberson, not even to tell him the truth, has been stung for their arrogance and battered reputation. The corrupt scheme of targeting poor black children and allegedly bribing their parents with $50 gift cards from Burlington Coat Factory was born at the offices of Balch & Bingham. In the…
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Three Hour Hearing and Setback for Balch Stooges
Yesterday afternoon, Balch & Bingham stooges Trey Glenn and Scott Phillips had a three hour court hearing in their criminal trial for ethics violations related to the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal. And you won’t believe who was seated in the court gallery: Alabama Power’s criminal attorney. After all the acrobatic and sensational circus antics had cleared, Judge Stephen C. Wallace signed an order calling on prosecutors to give more specific details on each of the criminal charges. Prosecutors will not have a problem complying with the order, insiders tell us, and the work product from the order will strongly demonstrate…
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Unindicted Masterminds? Alabama Power Briefed Regularly
The tiny environmental group GASP, the alleged intended target of the “brilliant” North Birmingham bribery scheme, is digging into the federal criminal trial evidence from 2018 meticulously. And what have they found? More evidence that appears to show that Alabama Power was being regularly briefed about the scheme. Unindicted co-conspirators or unindicted masterminds? In an email from July 2015, Balch-made millionaire Joel I. Gilbert tells his Balch colleague Steven McKinney to forward the “dues invoice” to Alabama Power’s point person, Matt Bowden, writing “we need to probably update him soon on new developments.” Is it no wonder that now, today…
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No Rx Coverage: Drummond’s Horrific Betrayal
After David Roberson, the Vice President of Government Affairs at Drummond Company, was convicted allegedly because of Balch & Bingham’s untruthful legal advice, Drummond issued a public statement calling him a “man of integrity” and vowed to support him. Behind closed doors, Drummond allegedly promised to provide Roberson with legal representation, full-salary compensation, and health benefits until his appeal process was completed. Instead, David Roberson was fired last February. We learned that his healthcare benefits were terminated and now his family has to pay thousands of dollars for prescription drugs. After selling the family home, organizing an estate sale, liquidating…
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Crippling Blow: Vogtle and Three Seasoned Partners Leave Balch & Bingham
A crippling blow: Jesse S. Vogtle, Jr., the long-time Balch & Bingham partner, and three of his fellow partners have left the embattled firm, according to a report this late afternoon in the Birmingham Business Journal. Vogtle symbolized the longtime relationship between Alabama Power and Balch & Bingham. Vogtle was at Balch for over 31 years and has now joined Nashville-based Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP along with his colleagues Randolph H. Lanier, Eric T. Ray, and Paul H. Greenwood. Vogtle’s grandfather, Alvin W. Vogtle, had been the Chairman and President of Southern Company, Alabama Power’s parent company, before…
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Happy New Year! Balch & Bingham Dumped
What a terrible way to start 2020. Balch & Bingham, which tried to rehabilitate their Washington D.C. lobbying practice last November, saw two lobbying clients dump the firm in recent days. According to a January 9th report in Politico.com, Northern Star Generation, one of two major clients left in D.C., terminated the firm. The writing was on the wall. We reported in September that “Northern Star Generation has paid Balch only $30,000 [in 2019], compared to $160,000 [in 2018].” We, the CDLU, had reached out to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), a joint owner of Northern Star Generation, calling…
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Roberson’s Immunity Deal Tied to Ghost-Written Letters
Balch & Bingham’s behavior at times appears to be low-class. Now Drummond Company appears to have engaged in alleged low-class, if not classless, conduct. One of the most startling facts we learned this year was how convicted ex-Drummond executive David Roberson declined a full immunity deal before the criminal trial. In July, we wrote about this tsunami: In the North Birmingham Bribery Case, Dave Roberson was offered an immunity deal if he had testified against Balch & Bingham, according to insiders. Why didn’t he testify? Why didn’t he take the deal? We now recently learned that the U.S. Attorney’s Office…
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Drummond’s Turkey: Feds Interested in New Allegations
Did Drummond Company really think no one would find out? The bombshell allegations that Drummond allegedly hid money laundering and the hiring of two Balch & Bingham stooges from their former Vice-President of Government Affairs David Roberson has spread like wildfire and now federal authorities out of Washington, D.C. are interested. And we aren’t simply talking about Main Justice. We are talking about law enforcement authorities in regulatory agencies, including mining and the environment. Walking in goose-step with the clowns at Balch & Bingham, former Drummomd CEO Mike Tracy betrayed his close friend Roberson. If the allegations are true, was…
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Drummond Bombshell: More Corruption Tied to North Birmingham Bribery Scandal
Shockingly, Drummond Company allegedly hid the money laundering and hid the secret greasing of Balch stooges from their then-Vice President of Government Affairs, David Roberson. What a bombshell! A new third amended complaint from ex-Drummond Company executive David Roberson sheds new light on internal matters that could provoke more corruption probes of Drummond Company. First up: the targeting of poor Black children with a “coat drive” looks like it was a way to launder more money to convicted felon and bought-and-paid-for politician Oliver Robinson. From the pleading: As part of its public relations campaign to defeat the EPA in North…
