Professor Estimates Country Crossings Gambling Raid Cost $130,000

Withe every passing day, Alabama residents are counting the days until Governor Robert Riley is out of office. The latest incident to make many Alabamians question Riley occurred on Friday at Country Crossings.

The governor has set up his Task Force on Illegal Gambling last year, and the Task Force has been carrying out raids to what the governor believes are illegal gambling establishments. Governor Riley has been backed up by the Supreme Court in one of the raids.

On Friday, the Task Force sent what some estimate to be 200 police officers to raid Country Crossings. The raid did not take place, because the Task Force had no search warrant, but they did succeed in shutting the establishment down through the weekend.

According to a report by WJHG-TV, a University of Alabama professor has estimated the cost of the Friday morning raid attempt at $130,000. That was not the news that lawmakers wanted to hear as they prepare budget cuts.

The Country Crossings case is headed towards the state Supreme Court. The owner of the establishment claims that the bingo machines are tested by an independent company, and have been found to be in compliance with Alabama law. Governor Riley and his Task Force disagree, claiming the machines are illegal.

Houston County officials will be looking for an injunction on Monday against the Governor's Task Force. Meanwhile, the search warrant request for Country Crossings will be reviewed on Monday as well by a Conecuh County judge.

January 31, 2010
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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