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MONTGOMERY – (Associated Press) - The first person to plead guilty in Alabama’s gambling corruption investigation was sentenced to probation Tuesday for helping bring down two bigger players in a bribery scheme designed to keep electronic bingo casinos operating.
U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins gave Jennifer Pouncy three years on probation, 100 hours of community service and $4,100 in fines and fees at a sentencing hearing in Montgomery. The former lobbyist for Country Crossing casino pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2010 and admitted that she helped offer more than $2 million in bribes to state senators to support pro-gambling legislation.
She said she followed orders to deliver bribe offers to keep her $60,000-a-year job.
“I wish I was stronger,” Pouncy told the judge.
The judge said she was a minor player and did not plan the bribe offers. He also said she kept her promise to plead guilty and cooperate with the investigation even though federal prosecutors withdrew an offer to recommend probation if she cooperated. Instead, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence her to two years in prison.
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“Around here, if your word is no good, your signature is no better,” the judge told federal prosecutors.
Prosecutor Emily Rae Woods said the offer was made and withdrawn before she joined the Justice Department. She credited Pouncy with helping get her boss, lobbyist Jarrod Massey, and Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley to plead guilty and for testifying at two federal court trials. But she said Pouncy’s crime undermined public confidence in government and deserved prison time.
“There is not a benefit to society in giving a sentence of incarceration,” the judge said.
Pouncy, Massey and Gilley were trying to pass a constitutional amendment in the 2010 legislative session that would allow Gilley’s electronic bingo casino and others to keep operating despite a crackdown by Gov. Bob Riley’s gambling task force.
The measure passed the Senate, but died in the House after the FBI announced its investigation.
Massey is serving a sentence of five years and five months in prison. Gilley is scheduled to begin a sentence of six years and eight months on Oct. 9, but is seeking a delay. Former Democratic Rep. Terry Spicer of Elba pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Massey and Gilley, but he was not connected to Pouncy. He is serving four years and nine months in prison.
Nine defendants, including four present and former state senators and VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor, were tried and acquitted.
In court, Pouncy, a 36-year-old married woman with a 3-year-old son, shook with emotion as she apologized to her family. “I’m very sorry for what I’ve done,” she said.
Her attorney, Tommy Spina, said she is now working for a veterinarian for about $20,000 less than she made as a lobbyist and is trying to get beyond the public humiliation she suffered in the high-profile case.
Wire-tapped phone calls showed that Massey and Gilley talked about getting her to expose her breasts to one older senator to obtain his vote for the pro-gambling legislation. Testimony showed that never happened. In another instance, Massey talked about getting her to flirt with another older legislator.
“She was just a puppet and an attractive young lady they used,” her attorney said.
