Sparks Rips Gambling Task Force After Alabama Shootings

Attorney general Troy King weighed in on the gambling debate taking place in Alabama on Wednesday when he warned the Task Force on Illegal Gambling to stop being reckless in their raids. It was another politician, however, that made the biggest indictment of the Task Force.

State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks blasted Governor Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling just days after a shootings on the University of Alabama campus took the lives of three people and injured three others.

"This is a misuse of funds and of state troopers," said Sparks, referring to the amount of troopers that have been accompanying the Task Force on recent raids of gambling establishments in the state. In particular, Sparks used the shootings on Friday as an example of how Alabama residents' tax money was being put to use poorly.

Sparks cited the recent attempted raid at Country Crossings in which nearly 200 officers showed up to help in the raid. He then compared the gambling misdemeanors being committed to the shootings that occurred in Huntsville.

The Agriculture Commissioner is a Democratic candidate for governor in Alabama. Sparks was miffed that 200 officers were used in the gambling raids, but not nearly as many were brought to the scene to help solve the violent shootings crime on Friday.

King, meanwhile, went light on the Task Force in comparison to what many Alabama residents were hoping he would do Wednesday. Instead of taking control of the Task Force, which is within his right as AG, King simply warned the Task Force to stop the, "ill-advised and reckless approach," with which it has been operating.

"Failing to do so will leave me, once again, with no choice but to re-evaluate this office's response," said King. Only one non-tribal casino is left operating in Alabama. Greenetrack has the backing of the local law enforcement, who have threatened to secure the doors of the casino if the Task Force showed up to raid the establishment.

February 18, 2010
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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