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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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Cruelly Destroyed: Robersons Lose Everything
The Robersons have lost everything, including their Christmas decorations (pictured above) during the three-day Estate Sale this past weekend. The embattled law firm Balch & Bingham has claimed the firm “owed no duty” to Roberson after allegedly providing bad legal advice and not telling the truth to David Roberson and the company he worked for Drummond Company. Drummond Company CEO Mike Tracy leaves the coal company in two weeks after being skewered for cuddling with Balch instead of helping his once-upon-a-time close friend, David Roberson. Because of the alleged bad advice provided by Balch, David and Anna Roberson appear to…
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Balch and Drummond’s Greatest Disgrace: Roberson Estate Sale This Friday
A three-day estate sale of David and Anna Roberson’s personal possessions begins this Friday, October 11th near Mountain Brook, the elite enclave next to downtown Birmingham. The estate sale appears to be the greatest disgrace for Drummond Company and Balch & Bingham, the embattled law firm that has yet to apologize to David Roberson and the North Birmingham African-American community for the criminal conduct of their Balch-made millionaire and now ex-partner Joel I. Gilbert. A year ago, after David Roberson was convicted along side Gilbert in the bribery scheme, Drummond Company vowed to defend the Drummond executive and appeared to…
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Backstabbing Roberson for Balch & Bingham
We present another satirical cartoon. Drummond Company CEO Mike Tracy is depicted backstabbing his former colleague and friend David Roberson six months after the company vowed to support him and calling Roberson “a man of integrity.” Although we, the CDLU, have no bones to pick with Drummond or Mike Tracy, we think their goose-step formation with Balch & Bingham only hurts the company. Drummond will forever be associated with the criminal conduct of former Balch & Bingham partner Joel I. Gilbert unless they make a break, a public break from the embattled law firm. As we reported earlier this year,…
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Scary Canary! Panic as Roberson–the Missing Link– Considers Singing to Feds
Our sources in Washington, D.C. tell us there has been panic since our post a week ago about ex-Drummond executive Dave Roberson who is now considering singing like a canary to federal investigators. Venable, the prestigious law firm out of Baltimore, that tried unsuccessfully to prevent the indictments of Balch & Bingham partners Steven McKinney and Joel I.Gilbert, is now out and about, hot on the trail. Our sources could not tell us who has contracted them (Balch? Drummond?). Our website traffic confirms the sheer depth of the panic: we had record traffic on Monday and Tuesday of last week,…
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Drummond, Newsome Conspiracy Case, North Birmingham Bribery Case, Southern Company, Spotlight on Balch & Bingham
Roberson Preparing to Sing like a Canary
Facing 30 months in federal prison, bankruptcy, the loss of the family home, and the insurmountable emotional toll he and his family have suffered, ex-Drummond Commpany executive Dave Roberson is prepared to talk with federal prosecutors about the intricate details of the North Birmingham Bribery Scheme. Roberson never testified in his criminal trial and has never told anyone outside legal counsel about the meticulous and unsettling details. Just a few months back, Balch & Bingham and Drummond Company were not concerned because Roberson’s criminal lawyers were paid by Drummond and Balch’s grip on Jefferson County including federal probes was solid.…
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Roberson’s Wife Attempted Suicide Twice
In a shocking revelation in open court today, ex-Drummond executive Dave Roberson’s wife Anna, who grew up in Jasper, Alabama attempted suicide twice because of her husband’s troubles allegedly caused by Balch and Bingham’s bad legal advice and Drummond Company’s alleged greed. The bad legal advice was central to the criminal case known as the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal in which ex-Balch & Bingham partner Joel I. Gilbert was sentenced to 5 years to federal prison while Dave Roberson was sentenced to 30 months to prison last year. Both men were found guilty on six federal charges including money laundering…
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UPDATE: Gilbert May or May Not Go to Prison while Awaiting Appeal
[UPDATE: This post originally appeared yesterday. AL.com found that court records were wrong writing, “An entry in the federal court docket…indicates Gilbert had been granted the bond, but that was entered in error, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Gilbert’s attorneys.” Changes to our original post are in purple.] With election night coverage obscuring so much of the news, no one picked up that Balch-made millionaire and ex-partner Joel I. Gilbert was in federal court Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. Gilbert and Drummond Coal Company executive David Roberson have asked to remain free on bond while they await a ruling…
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Future of Southern Company, Recusals and the RICO Suit
Never did Drummond Coal Company imagine that their executive, David Roberson, would be indicted, tried, convicted, and thrown in prison for two and a half years after receiving the best legal advice from Balch & Bingham. With the Vogtle Nuclear Plant billion-dollar cost overruns and Kemper Natural Gas Plant debacle in Mississippi, Southern Company surely does not need to be in the middle of a civil RICO case. And Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Company, and Mark Crosswhite CEO of its subsidiary Alabama Power, are smart enough to get ahead of this debacle caused by Balch & Bingham’s foolishness. In…
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Ex-Balch Partner Gilbert Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison
The overwhelming interest was evident. Lines of people formed on the fourth floor before the courtroom opened for the hearing. Once inside, the courtroom was so extremely packed this morning, we, the CDLU, sat in the jury box. After the tedious back and forth over motions and sentencing guidelines, silence dominated as Balch-made millionaire Joel I. Gilbert was sentence to 5 years (60 months) in federal prison, fined $25,000 and ordered to do 100 hours of community service a year for two years upon supervised release. Gilbert’s best college friend, Gilbert’s brother, an ex-wife of a Gilbert childhood friend, and…
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Federal Prosecutors Seek 8-Year Prison Sentence for Balch’s Ex-Partner
[Update: Gilbert was sentenced to 60 months. Read more by clicking here.] Joel I. Gilbert, the once-esteemed Balch & Bingham partner and Balch-made millionaire, faces a requested 8-year prison sentence from federal prosecutors according to Stephen Quinn of ABC3340. Early last week, we, the CDLU, spoke to and then sent a formal letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin about the insidious and foolish digital ad campaign that is attempting to justify the actions by Gilbert and Balch & Bingham. The campaign by unknown individuals and entities has backfired and become a mockery. We told Martin in our letter: You,…
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More Day 16: Defendants Own Words and Actions Prove their Guilt
Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin gave the final rebuttal this morning and it was powerful. Even U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town was in the courtroom for the final discourse. Kyle Whitimire of AL.com tweeted: AUSA George Martin now up to give the second half of the government’s closing. He says he has 47 minutes and he’ll take half of that. (Jurors smile.) Martin showing again Government’s Exhibit 1: A draft letter Gilbert had written and edited for Oliver Robinson to send to the AEMC, in which Gilbert added the words “as a state legislator.” Martin: “This was bribery whether that…
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Drummond, Newsome Conspiracy Case, North Birmingham Bribery Case, RICO, Southern Company, Spotlight on Balch & Bingham
Email Exposé: Southern Company Lobbyist Critical Element in North Birmingham; DOJ Compromised
The trifecta was complete. With U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Principal Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood, and U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Southern Company compromised the U.S. Department of Justice with three of their most ardent lackeys in power at the same time. We, the CDLU, provided documentation in December of 2017 to Jim Kerr, the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief of Staff of Southern Company showing indisputably that Jeffrey H. Wood, a lobbyist for embattled law firm Balch & Bingham, had lobbied on behalf of Alabama Power in the second and third quarters…
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Alleged Attempted Coup D’Etat at Drummond Company Affirms Lost Path of Management Team
The aftershocks of the North Birmingham Bribery Trial proved that Drummond’s top management brass appears to be foolish enough to abandon corporate and family loyalty. After Drummond executive David Roberson was convicted in July of 2018, Drummond immediately vowed to fight for justice on his behalf, noting his conviction was unfair and unjust and that Balch had misled Roberson. Six months later, in February of 2019, then-Drummond CEO Mike Tracy appeared to do a 180 and abruptly fired Roberson. Then 12 days after firing Roberson, Tracy dispatched a cold-hearted letter yanking support to Roberson’s charity of choice: a school that…
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Drummond, Newsome Conspiracy Case, North Birmingham Bribery Case, RICO, Southern Company, Spotlight on Balch & Bingham
More Federal Criminal Indictments Needed Against Three Stooges
With the Alabama Supreme Court saying Balch must stand trial for fraud in ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s $75 million civil lawsuit, more criminal indictments are needed. The Three Stooges of this horrific saga known as the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal need to be held accountable. The rebirth of the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal may go on for another three or four years in secret, in a sealed and closed Star Chamber. However, federal investigators can and must dig deep into the shenanigans. Larry, Curly and Moe have been replaced by “Lying” Balch, “Confused” Drummond, and “Unmentionable” Alabama Power. 1. More…
