Utterly shocking!

Southern Company Chairman and CEO Tom Fanning (and others) were allegedly under clandestine surveillance by Matrix operatives on behalf of Alabama Power executives, according to new court filing from “Jittery Jeff” Pitts in the ongoing Matrix Meltdown, a two-state, mudslinging legal battle.

Pitts’ stunning court pleading (as a defendant against Matrix founder “Sloppy Joe” Perkins) states:

This afternoon Pulitzer-winning journalist John Archibald reported:

Records obtained by AL.com reveal that in May 2017 Matrix hired a Florida private investigator to gather information on associates of Tom Fanning, the CEO of The Southern Company, the nation’s second-largest utility, which owns Alabama Power. That investigator also surveilled Fanning near his home in Atlanta.

Last October we reported about the entangled succession allegations, writing:

Rumors are flying that Southern Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Fanning is retiring next year.

And Alabama Power CEO and Chairman Mark A. Crosswhite is allegedly telling bourgeois insiders that he has the lock and key to the C-Suite at Southern Company, Alabama Power’s parent company.

Crosswhite is unfit to serve.

He worked as a top partner for alleged racist and embattled law firm Balch & Bingham before taking the revolving door to Alabama Power.

Instead of distancing himself from Balch, Crosswhite appears to be embracing his former employer, even allegedly subsidizing the firm with lucrative business as Balch is hemorrhaging from alleged unsavory and criminal scandals engulfing the 99 year-old firm.

Now unsubstantiated rumors say Alabama Power and unknown related entities have indemnified Balch and others for their alleged criminal, racist, and egregious misconduct.

Hiding behind non-disclosure agreements and now allegedly million-dollar indemnity deals, the Crosswhite scandal smells like raw sewage.

Two months after our post, secret, multi-million dollar contracts with “Sloppy Joe” were exposed on the investigative news site DonaldWatkins.com.

Sources since late 2021 have consistently told us that there is an alleged federal investigation of obstruction of justice involving Crosswhite. We believe the obstruction may have occurred when Alabama Power was “unmentionable” during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial.

The probe was provoked allegedly due to the inappropriate photos of disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town drinking cocktails with Crosswhite.

In April, federal judge Abdul K. Kallon (who presided over the North Birmingham case) abruptly announced his resignation, two Assistant U.S. Attorneys allegedly resigned the following day, and the following week, a top Balch partner (limitedly involved with the North Birmingham scheme) brutally committed suicide by hanging himself.

We have consistently stated, even with our harshest criticism, that we believe Tom Fanning is a man of inherent goodness. He may be a showman at times, but Fanning appears to give a damn more than others. He even called us, the CDLU, directly in November of 2017

Getting back to Pitts, we believe strongly now that he resigned after decades of service to “Sloppy Joe” Perkins because he saw alleged criminal misconduct. His mentor was letting him take over, but instead Pitts left, because, as his court pleading states, he saw “inappropriate and unethical business practices.”

Now Pitts could be planning to sing about “high crimes and misdemeanors” at his deposition with Perkins’ lawyers.

Are the Three Stooges (Alabama Power, Drummond, and Balch) vulnerable?

Now, before federal investigators come knocking, Fanning needs to make some tough executive decisions and

1. Fire Crosswhite.
2. Disengage Matrix and “Sloppy Joe” Perkins.
3. Terminate Balch and Bingham.

For now, all of this still smells like raw sewage, shaken or stirred.

U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor dispatched a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland yesterday demanding a probe of Alabama Power’s alleged go-to political fixer, Matrix, the obscure political consulting firm engaged in alleged influence peddling and alleged criminal acts.

WINK News reports:

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday that recent press reports in Florida had “exposed apparent corruption, influence peddling and breaches of the public trust by Florida’s largest electric utility Florida Power & Light and its officers.”

“Numerous public corruption scandals involving electric utilities across the country have resulted in federal public corruption criminal and civil probes, and it appears that such oversight is needed in Florida now,” the letter said.

Her letter comes on the heels of our direct contact with federal investigators about Matrix’s alleged criminal misconduct involving 18 tax-exempt entities and over $50 million in money laundering.

Although Florida Power & Light has terminated their contracts with entities and individuals tied to the Matrix Meltdown, Alabama Power  allegedly is STILL paying Matrix and Matrix founder “Sloppy Joe” Perkins  over $2 million a year without the need for invoicing.

Although news reporting has been focused primarily on Florida, reliable sources tell us there are numerous investigative efforts now looking at Alabama and the Three Stooges (Alabama Power, Drummond, and Balch).

With ex-Matrix CEO “Jittery Jeff” Pitts’ deposition ready to open the filthy treasure chest of alleged dirty deeds wide open, the Congresswoman’s letter has caught the perfect wave.

Hang ten!

Alabama Power has secretly paid millions to the embattled political consulting firm Matrix, LLC and its founder “Sloppy Joe” Perkins who sloppily outlined alleged criminal misconduct spanning over a decade in a since-deleted post on Yellowhammernews.com on June 30th.

We, the CDLU, have briefed federal investigators on the alleged money laundering of over $50 million using 18 tax-exempt 501 (c) 4 entities. These tax-exempt entities are designed to be “social welfare organizations” and must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community.

We are sure that funneling money to “ghost candidates” in Florida and other alleged dirty deeds do not further the common good.

“Sloppy Joe” Perkins, who appears to suffer from bruised feelings and little-man syndrome, apparently let his ego get the best of him. Perkins, the Oompa Loompa of Alabama politics, is in the middle of a brutal and ugly two-state legal battle with his once-protégé “Jittery Jeff” Pitts.

A much-needed federal probe of this matter could enhance the alleged ongoing obstruction of justice probe of Alabama Power CEO and Chairman (and former Balch partner) Mark A. Crosswhite.

The North Birmingham Bribery Scandal involved less than $400,000 in money laundering. What will the feds find in the over $50 million in transactions since 2010?

Balch & Bingham and sister-wife Alabama Power appear to have relied on the “strategic” services of Matrix and Joe Perkins for decades.

Will the latest developments engulf the Three Stooges (Alabama Power, Balch, and Drummond Company) and bring to light the alleged “don’t ask, just cut the check” bribery ring?

Who will be the first to sing? Billy Canary? Trey Glenn? Lance Brown?

“If you are not greedy, you will go far. You will live in happiness, too.”

Oompa Loompa song, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

“Sloppy Joe” Perkins, the founder of Matrix, the obscure political consulting firm that is in the center of an ugly two-state divorce between Perkins and his once-protégé “Jittery Jeff” Pitts, threw a tantrum last week dispatching a rambling, disconnected statement to yellowhammernews.com falsely accusing us, the CDLU, of conspiring with DonaldWatkins.com and one Lisa Swoboda, a cavalier dog rescuer, of defaming him.

Maybe “Sloppy Joe” didn’t like the photo of the two mud wrestlers from our last post. The bottom line is we, the CDLU, are reporting the news (and mudslinging) covered by DonaldWatkins.com, the Energy and Policy Institute, The Guardian, the Orlando Sentinel, and the Florida Times-Union.

“Sloppy Joe” appears to have lost control of his two-state divorce and is now foolishly threatening to file a SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) against us, a public advocacy group. Even the knuckleheads at Balch & Bingham were smarter than Perkins and studied the issue before strongly deciding against it.

Matrix clients like Alabama Power and Balch & Bingham and related allies like Drummond Company are probably in disbelief that Perkins appears to have become unhinged.

Will Perkins’ lawyers “Andy2K” Campbell and Cason M. Kirby be able to calm their client down?

In his rambling statement, “Sloppy Joe” talks about another conspiracy not involving the dog rescuer. He alleges:

Since as early as 2010, Jeff Pitts has [allegedly] operated off-the-books rogue operations using Matrix resources that [allegedly] embezzled money from the company and presented clear and provable harm to Matrix clients. While CEO of Matrix, Pitts, along with other employees who were part of his conspiracy, [allegedly] set up corporate entities to which they [allegedly] channeled funds from Matrix clients in Florida. During this time, Pitts and his co-conspirators [allegedly] set up as many as eighteen 501(c)4 organizations through which they [allegedly] laundered in excess of $50 million. All of this was done without my knowledge or the knowledge of any of the leadership of Matrix.

We were able to recover the data from the server and archived comprehensive computer backups of computers used by Pitts and others with files dating back at least 10 years. We recovered nearly one million files. We immediately turned this data over to our lawyers who helped us conduct an internal investigation of the material.

Eighteen entities laundering over $50 million!

We, the CDLU, will make sure the Office of Tax-Exempt Entities at the IRS and the U.S. Department of Justice learn about this and encourage them to reach out to Perkins’ lawyers (Andy2K and Cason M. Kirby) to obtain copies of these “nearly one million files.”

Now let us pause and reflect for a moment.

Sloppy Joe says it took him a decade to learn that “Jittery Jeff” was allegedly embezzling from Matrix, a decade to learn that up to 18 entities were allegedly set up to launder money, and a decade to learn that allegedly $50 million was laundered.

Were there no audits or internal controls set up in over a decade?

If so, this sloppiness is as bad as or worse than not having encrypted files in place when hand-written notes and secret, million-dollar contracts with Alabama Power were delivered to DonaldWatkins.com.

Even blaming a cavalier dog rescuer for his misfortunes, Sloppy Joe appears to have lost control and appears to be suffering strongly from little-man syndrome.

Sadly, the diminutive political consultant appears to have gone from one of the “biggest political power players” in Alabama to a joke of himself, an Oompa Loompa.

Did Federal Judge Abdul K. Kallon agree to a secret deal to keep Alabama Power “unmentionable” during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial because of his past financial agreements and possible embarrassing personal behavior?

After dropping a bomb by exposing the multi-million-dollar secret contracts between Alabama Power and “Sloppy Joe” Perkins, the investigative news site DonaldWatkins.com has landed another punch:

Abdul Kallon was an attorney with the prestigious Birmingham-based law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP (Bradley Arant) from 1994 until President Barack Obama nominated him to the federal bench on July 31, 2009. Kallon and his law firm provided legal services to a Birmingham-based non-profit healthcare organization headed by Birmingham businessman Jonathan W. Dunning that became the focus of a federal criminal investigation in 2013.

Judge Kallon and Jonathan Dunning were also very close personal friends. Kallon was a bachelor when he and Dunning met and developed a professional and personal relationship. Dunning was married with children, but he also had a longtime relationship (and two children) with a woman outside of his marriage.

Kallon and Dunning engaged in social activities, some of which could have been extremely embarrassing and compromising for a sitting federal judge if they had been disclosed publicly or discovered by local political operatives who trafficked in exploiting the “dirty secrets” of public officials.

Was DonaldWatkins.com referring to the obscure political consulting firm Matrix or not?

Matrix has a legendary if not mythical reputation of being the hired guns that allegedly dig up dirt, orchestrate AstroTurf campaigns, and tar and feather perceived opponents on behalf of Alabama Power.

Besides the personal dirt, did Kallon have financial agreements that could raise eyebrows?

Yes, according to DonaldWatkins.com.

In 2013, Judge Kallon became entangled in a federal criminal investigation of Jonathan Dunning and his companies. Dunning was the former CEO of Birmingham Health Care (BHC) and Central Alabama Comprehensive Health (CACH), both of which are non-profit organizations. Dunning also owned and operated several “for-profit” companies, including Synergy Real Estate Holdings (SREH), Synergy Medical Solutions, Legacy Consulting Group, Drake Hogan Pharmacy, and Dunning Partners. 

In 2014, a federal grand jury in Birmingham indicted Dunning on 112 counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Federal prosecutors claimed that Dunning diverted $14 million in federal grant money from BHC and CACH over a period of seven years and used this money to support his private businesses and personal lifestyle.

Dunning’s Synergy Medical Solutions provided a wide range of professional services and products to BHC and CACH (e.g., patient billing, healthcare management services, medical supplies, etc.), all with the knowledge and approval of the board of directors of BHC and CACH, Kallon, and Bradley Arant.

In 2006, BHC purchased the Medical Plaza building in Birmingham for $2.6 million and used it for BHC’s headquarters. In 2007, Dunning formed SREH, which purchased the building from BHC on February 28, 2008 for $2.8 million. Upon the closing of the purchase, BHC leased-back space in the building as a tenant.

In support of their fraud charges, prosecutors claimed that Dunning secured an internal appraisal that was prepared for SREH at this time that valued the building at $6 million.

On February 25, 2008, Kallon and Bradley Arant presented SREH’s initial proposal to purchase the building for $2.5 million in a meeting of BHC’s board of directors. BHC rejected the $2.5 million offer and counter-offered to sell the building for $3.2 million, which was the value reflected in BHC’s internal appraisal of the property.

On February 28, 2008, board members voted unanimously to accept Dunning’s final offer of $2.8 million. Prior to the vote, BHC board treasurer Terry Burney noted that Dunning’s offer was “90% of the appraised [$3.2 million] value for the building and represented a fair and reasonable offer.”

Throughout it all, Kallon and Bradley Arant advised BHC that Dunning’s purchase of the building and lease-back arrangement were legal.

On August 1, 2008, Kallon invested $56,000 in SREH for a 2% equity interest in Dunning’s office building. The purchase price reflected the $2.8 million valuation for the building.

After Kallon became an equity partner in SREH, he and Bradley Arant continued to represent BHC in its dealings with Dunning’s private companies….Kallon did list the money he received from SREH on his annual judicial disclosure forms. 

Judge Kallon shared in the $25,000 per month rental payments Dunning collected from BHC, as evidenced by IRS Form 1099s and K-1s that SREH issued to him from 2008 to 2011.

On October 18, 2012, in response to a media inquiry regarding Dunning’s purchase of BHC’s office building, Kallon affirmed that Dunning’s acquisition of the property was perfectly legal. By this time, Kallon was a sitting federal judge and Dunning’s business partner in the building.

Even though Abdul Kallon and Bradley Arant represented BHC’s legal interests in the purchase transaction and other business relationships involving Dunning, neither Kallon, nor Bradley Arant, were charged as co-conspirators in Dunning’s case.

After Judge Kallon and Bradley Arant became aware of the “secret” grand jury probe of the BHC-Synergy business deals in 2013, Kallon sold his interest in the office building back to Dunning at a “significant loss.”

Following a trial in May and June 2016, Dunning was found guilty on 98 of these 112 counts. In October 2016, Judge Rothstein sentenced Dunning to 18 years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution of $13.5 million.

With this financial investment and alleged personal misbehavior, did any, all, or none of the Three Stooges (Alabama Power, Balch & Bingham, and Drummond Company) squeeze Kallon by his testicles to agree to the “unmentionable” accord?

Were any, all, or none of the Three Stooges assisted in the squeeze by disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town who met with Mark A. Crosswhite, CEO and Chairman of Alabama Power, for cocktails at the Moon Shine Lounge?

Was Kallon used, abused, and exploited because of his past?

Since October we have been told that there is an alleged federal investigation of obstruction of justice involving Crosswhite and his goons.

Many observers are in disbelief that fear and intimidation can be exercised in the halls of power, against a sitting federal judge.

Is Kallon cooperating with federal investigators? And more importantly, did he wear a wire?

Tuesday night the anointed candidate for U.S. Senate of the Alabama establishment failed miserably and could not garner 50 percent of the vote to win the nomination outright. She now faces a stiff runoff election.

The Three Stooges (Balch & Bingham, Alabama Power, and Drummond Company) are backing the anointed one: Katie Britt for U.S. Senate in Alabama.

Stan Blanton, Managing Partner at Balch; Mark A. Crosswhite. CEO and Chairman of Alabama Power; and Richard Mullen, President of Drummond Company, each gave the maximum allowed federal contribution to Britt.

Katie Britt is a government-made millionaire, having made over $600,000 as a congressional staffer according to LegiStorm.com. Because she served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, Britt was catapulted over to the Business Council of Birmingham when Billy Canary was ousted. She earned over $369,000 for part of the year in 2019, according to ProPublica.org. Based on previous filings, records indicate that in 2020 she may have earned near or in excess of $600,000.

With an alleged obstruction of justice probe against Alabama Power and growing multi-state probes of the Matrix Meltdown, will Katie Britt “shield and protect’ the Three Stooges like former U.S. Senator Luther Strange?

The rebirth of the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal put the Three Stooges in a panic in late 2020. Ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s $75 million civil lawsuit caused the Three Stooges to move the trial to a secret Star Chamber, hidden from public scrutiny or discussion.

Now the feds are looking at alleged misconduct involving the usual cast of undesirable suspects.

Two key witnesses from the North Birmingham Criminal Trial in 2018 were two ethics and government affairs attorneys from Balch & Bingham, Greg Butrus and Chad Pilcher. Pilcher dropped a bomb when he testified that he had warned ex-Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert that they may have broken the law.

According to David Roberson in an article in The Washington Post, at least 21 Balch & Bingham attorneys were involved in the North Birmingham matter. And according to media reports, Pilcher, Gilbert and Balch partner Greg Butrus were exchanging emails in 2014 about the ethics of the matter.

And guess what now?

Britt has received political contributions from both Butrus and Pilcher.

Ethical. So damn ethical.

Don’t you say Katie? Our dear millionairess?

Federal Judge Abdul K. Kallon resigned a week ago. Last Thursday, two Assistant U.S. Attorneys allegedly resigned, now yesterday sources told us and we confirmed this morning that Balch & Bingham partner William Dice Lineberry, known to many as “Bo,” committed suicide and died early yesterday.

Lineberry was the Balch lawyer who helped set up the money laundering entity Alliance for Jobs and the Economy (AJE) in the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal.

Former Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert and ex-Drummond executive David Roberson were convicted in the scandal and are currently in federal prison.

Hours after his death by suicide, Balch updated Bo Lineberry’s profile with an “in memoriam” and simply mentioned Lineberry had “passed away.”

We, the CDLU, set aside our differences, and extend our deepest sympathies to the Lineberry family and Bo Lineberry’s colleagues at Balch & Bingham during this very difficult and sad time.

In June of 2019, investigators in Washington, D.C. told us that Balch was not the problem but that Alabama Power was, due to the bottomless resources at their command. Now, this last fall, sources told us Mark A. Crosswhite, the Chairman and CEO of Alabama Power and former Balch partner, was the alleged target of this obstruction of justice probe.

Tom Fanning, the Chairman and CEO of Alabama Power’s parent company Southern Company, appears to have let their most profitable subsidiary do what they want with impunity.

Will Fanning lead by example and force Crosswhite to resign or retire?

The Three Stooges (Balch, Drummond, and Alabama Power) appear to have manipulated federal prosecutors during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial.

And CDLU’s three letters with documentation to the Office of Professional Responsibility at the U.S. Department of Justice in late 2019 and early 2020 apparently spurred a much-needed federal investigation.

The rebirth of the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal appears to be sweeping and strong, with three federal resignations and, sadly, a suicide.

Who and how many of the Three Stooges’ lackeys and alleged co-conspirators will be held accountable?

The JeffCo Medical Examiner confirmed moments ago that they have Lineberry’s body and a detailed report will be issued in four to six weeks.

For years we have used the word “carcasses” figuratively to describe all the individuals who have been fired, arrested, or soiled by their relationship with Balch and/or their sister-wife Alabama Power.

And now someone has killed himself. A father. A husband. A respected lawyer.

Heartbreaking. Tragically heartbreaking.