Steve Marshall
Three Greene County charities claim Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has conflicts of interest that should force him and his office to recuse themselves from a gambling-related lawsuit.
In a motion filed by Montgomery attorney Tommy Gallion, the charities allege the Poarch Creek Indians (PCI) have given Marshall more than $735,000 in "dark money" campaign contributions to help further PCI's bid to establish a gaming monopoly in Alabama. Because of the conflict, Marshall and his office should step aside as counsel for State Sen. Bobby Singleton, a defendant in the case. Writes Gallion in the motion:
Most of this money is referred to as "dark money" because of how it is hidden from the public. This dark money was funneled from PCI to the Republican Attorney General's Association (RAGA). During this period, Marshall allegedly was the head of RAGA.
In May 2018, PCI Tribal Counsel leader Robert McGhee allegedly laundered PCI's dark money through the Business Council of Alabama, then headed by Republican operative Billy Canary.
Gallion goes on to state that Marshall "has a blatant conflict of interest in this matter and may be joined as a defendant if discovery reveals he was and/or is directly involved with the monopoly and restraint of trade as alleged in the complaint, with exhibits."
The motion claims defendants Singleton and Greenetrack, with assistance from Marshall, joined forces in the 2021 legislative session in an effort to forge a monopoly for PCI. The plaintiff charities say such an arrangement would put them out of business. From the Gallion motion (The full motion is embedded at the end of this post.):
In addition to Marshall's open support on behalf of PCI, he is assisting his uncle, Arthur Mothershed. Mothershed is the chief financial officer of Creek Indian Enterprises, a business owned and controlled by PCI. As CFO of PCI, Mothershed is responsible for the overall fiscal health and stability of PCI tribal enterprises. This responsibility includes contributions to various political candidates, which include his nephew, Marshall.
Marshall has openly used the Attorney General's Office to assist Uncle Mothershed, who has used his nephew to illegally protect PCI and put the plaintiffs out of business. This illegal quid pro quo is unconstitutional and a blatant conflict of interest. All of Marshall's actions have caused the plintiffs financial harm, and if he and his office are not stopped from representing defendant Singleton at tax at taxpayer expense, the other defendants and PCI will continue their attempts to destroy plaintiffs.
As chief law enforcement officer of the state of Alabama, Marshall has a sworn duty to not only enforce the law, but certainly not to violate the law. . . . Based on information and belief, Marshall's client, defendant Singleton, and perhaps himself will need to be investigated and brought before a Montgomery County grand jury.
