THE MECK REPORT --- THE MECK PODCAST

Beginning on September 4, 2015, we published a series of articles titled, "Forbidden Love" and "Executive Betrayal". These articles disclosed a flaming love affair between Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his married paramour and senior political adviser. The love affair was underwritten by taxpayers, donors to the governor's campaign organization, and contributors to a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation that Bentley used as a slush fund to sponsor his personal affair with Rebekah.

Infidelity between two married "Christian" lovers is a moral and religious issue. The use of state and federal funds along with donor money to carry on and conceal the affair is a criminal matter.

Bentley's case is dripping with evidence of wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and racketeering violations under federal law, among other charges. At the end of the day, Robert Bentley is nothing more than a marital cheater and "run-of-the-mill" crook who sponsored his illicit love affair with taxpayer dollars and donations to various organizations.

Now that our series of articles have been published, we have begun the tedious task of preparing a prosecution memorandum for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. All of the information and evidence gathered by our Facebook news team during the course of our year-longinvestigation will be chronicled and sent to Washington, along with a request for a thorough criminal investigation by seasoned federal prosecutors. The memorandum will outline (a) the potential criminal charges, (b) the facts supporting each charge, (c) the documents undergirding each charge, and (d) the witnesses with relevant testimony regarding each count.

We will recommend Kastigar letters (offering limited immunity from prosecution) for those individuals who were forced to participate in this criminal conspiracy and who do not lie to law enforcement investigators. We will recommend lenient treatment for original participants who later withdrew from the conspiracy and racketeering activities because of a sense of true remorse for their wrongful conduct. We will also recommend aggressive prosecutorial action against those individuals who continue to aid and abet the governor in operating this ongoingcriminal enterprise.

In the end, we will ask the Justice Department to treat the governor of Alabama in the same fashion it treated Kwame Kilpatrick, the former mayor of Detroit.

Like Bentley, Kilpatrick was caught in a marital infidelityscandal.

Like Bentley, Kilpatrick used taxpayers' dollars, campaign funds, and 501(c)(4) "dark money" to sponsor an illicit love affair with Christine Beatty, his chief of staff.

Like Bentley and Rebekah, text messages between the married Kilpatrick and Beatty captured their torrid love affair. The text messages leave a permanent electronic footprint.

Like Bentley, members of Kilpatrick's security detail had knowledge of his affair and tried to stop it.

Like Bentley, Kilpatrick used exotic trips and "wining and dining" escapades to romance his lover, all on taxpayer and donor money.

Like Bentley, Kilpatrick was highly leveraged and cash strapped. Yet, he romanced his paramour in grand style using other people's money.

Like Bentley, Kilpatrick tried to cover up the affair and his misuse of taxpayer and donor money.

In February 2009, I voluntarily reported my knowledge of widespread public corruption within Detroit City Hall to a federal grand jury. I was not a "subject" or "target" of any criminal investigation. I was not a subpoenaed witness or a person testifying under a grant of immunity. I was simply a lawyer and officer of the court who witnessed this corruption first hand and reported it. I received a standingovation from grand jurors at the conclusion of my testimony.

Since my grand jury testimony, more than 33 city officials and individuals associated with the public corruption scandal in and around Detroit City Hall have been indicted, convicted, and sentenced to prison for mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, misuse of public funds, money laundering, racketeering, and other charges.

Kilpatrick is now serving 28 years in prison. The city's former treasurer was convicted of corruption charges last December and was sentenced to eleven years in prison last month. The former general counsel for the city's two pension funds was convicted on public corruption charges last year but died before his sentencing. The mayor's paramour was sentenced to 120 days in jail for lying about the affair.

Like the Detroit public corruption case, I have an affirmative duty to report Bentley's corruption as well, and I will.

Like Kilpatrick, Bentley is a "counterfeit" public leader who has betrayed the public trust. Those individuals who continue to cover for Bentley will go down with him. If Rebekah Mason lies about her affair with Bentley and the "dark money" transactions, she will go down as well.

In the end, all the public wants is equal justice and respect for the rule of law.

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Job Growth is Driving Demand and Prices Up - Fortune - People Slept Outside Just to Buy a House in McKinney Texas

http://fortune.com/2015/09/30/north-dallas-housing-demand-mckinney/

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Saturday, October 03, 2015

No Blackout for Georgia, but a damp squib - Mark Bradley - AJC

https://www.dawgnation.com/football/opinion/no-blackout-for-georgia-but-a-damp-squib

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Mark Richt? Good coach. Nick Saban? Great coach - Mark Bradley - AJC

https://www.dawgnation.com/football/opinion/mark-richt-good-coach-nick-saban-great-coach

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Alabama annihilates Georgia 38-10: 6 things to know about 'The Washout' - CBSSports

http://mweb.cbssports.com/ncaaf/eye-on-college-football/25326444/alabama-annihilates-georgia-xx-xx-x-things-to-know-about-the-washout

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No. 23 Florida upsets No. 5 Ole Miss 38-10 - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2015/10/03/florida-upsets-ole-miss-38-10/73317386/

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Nationals' ace Max Scherzer throws no-hitter vs. Mets - 2nd No Hitter this season - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/10/03/max-scherzer-no-hitter-perfect-game-washington-nationals-new-york-mets-nl-east-nlds-home-field-los-angeles-dodgers/73311878/

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From Blackout to Washout, Georgia's not man enough for Alabama | AL.com - Scarbinsky

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/10/from_blackout_to_washout_georg.html#incart_big-photo

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How Alabama crushed Georgia, delivered a message quarter by quarter | AL.com

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/10/how_alabama_crushed_georgia_de.html#incart_2box_sports_index.ssf

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No. 13 Alabama wipes out No. 6 Georgia 38-10 - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2015/10/03/alabama-georgia-college-football/73301066/

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Former Mets star Rusty Staub had heart attack on plane, recovering - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/10/03/former-mets-star-staub-had-heart-attack-on-plane-recovering/73282690/

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Heavy rain pounds South, floods historic Charleston, S.C. - USATODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/10/03/hurricane-joaquin-flooding-east-coast/73276216/

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Friday, October 02, 2015

The Meck Report: 2015 college football TV schedule - USATODAY

http://themeck.blogspot.com/2015/10/2015-college-football-tv-schedule.html?m=1

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What they're saying, who they're picking nationally before Alabama-Georgia | AL.com

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/10/what_theyre_saying_who_theyre.html#incart_2box_sports_index.ssf

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Alabama's rainy trip to Georgia looking like 'old-school, grown-man football' | AL.com

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2015/10/alabamas_trip_to_georgia_looki.html#incart_2box_sports_index.ssf

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Gov. Bentley's Chief of Staff Resigns - Donald V Watkins via Facebook

Bentley's Chief of Staff Resigns

By Donald V Watkins

https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins/posts/10207735186839822

Seth Hammett, Governor Robert Bentley's chief of staff, has resigned his post. The governor announced Hammett's departure today with the praise and fanfare needed to mascara this surprising defection.

Hammett exited the scene at the governor's office because he was not confortable with the growing scandal that has ensnared the governor and senior political advisor, Rebekah Caldwell Mason.

Hammett was one the staffers Bentley dispatched to get troopers on the security detail to sign confidentiality statements as word of the love affair spread. Lieutenant Wendell Ray Lewis refused to sign one.

Hammett knows that the entire Bentley-Mason scheme to defraud state and federal taxpayers, as well as the misuse of donor money by Bentley's campaign committee and non-profit organization, will be presented to the Justice Department in Washington. He also knows that Bentley and Mason have lawyered up in anticipation of a criminal investigation into wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and racketeering charges. Hammett is leaving this dangerous playing field before he gets swept up in the governor's cover-up of misuse of campaign money and public funds.

Last month, we reported that Mike Echols, the governor's long-time personal CPA and heavy hitting moneyman for the Robert Bentley Campaign Committee, had split from Bentley. Echols, who handled the financial books and records for both the Bentleys and the Campaign Committee, resigned his post over a disagreement with Bentley about Rebekah, who is also the governor's mistress and married paramour.

The precise nature of this dispute, which occurred several weeks ago, is not known at this time. What is known, however, is that Bentley wanted Echols to do something questionable with the financial records relating to Rebekah. The governor's request did not sit well with Echols, a respected Tuscaloosa accountant and well-known PAC organizer. During a heated exchange between the two men, Echols refused the governor's request and turned over the various checkbooks and financial records in his custody to Bentley. With this handover, the professional relationship between Echols and Bentley ended.

Echols had been Bentley's personal accountant for many years. He was also the Campaign Committee's treasurer in 2010 and 2014.

Hammett's departure from the governor's inner circle adds to a growing list of top staffers and supporters who have split with Bentley over his illicit love affair with Rebekahand his cover-up of the misuse of state resources and misspending of campaign funds. This list includes prominent officials in Bentley's Tuscaloosa church who have urged him, albeit without success, to break off the affair. The list also includes a staffer who reported Rebekah's misuse of state resources and misspending of campaign funds directly to the governor, and was chastisedfor doing so.

Others on the list of departures include former head of executive security Wendell Ray Lewis, chief legal advisor and consigliere David Byrne (who is hanging around until his successor is hired), a former executive employee at the state capitol who quit because of the Bentley-Mason affair, two of the three board members of the Alabama Council for Excellent Government (whose resignations are forthcoming), and several security officers (who are waiting to bolt from the mess created by this scandal).

More to come.

By Donald V Watkins

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Mark Richt shares heartfelt testimony on Finebaum, talks Alabama game - SaturdayDownSouth

http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/georgia-football/mark-richt-shares-heartfelt-testimony-finebaum-talks-alabama-game/

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Alex Rodriguez celebrates Yankees’ postseason berth like he’s a rookie again | For The Win

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/10/alex-rodriguez-celebrates-yankees-postseason-berth-like-hes-a-rookie-again

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Cubs fans are raising money to send Steve Bartman to the Wild Card game | For The Win

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/10/chicago-cubs-steve-bartman-wild-card-game-pittsburgh-mlb

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Executive Betrayal - Robert Bentley's Fleecing of Taxpayers and Donors – The Finale - By Donald V Watkins -- Getting the Alabama Media to Look the Other Way - By Donald V Watkins

Executive Betrayal - Robert Bentley's Fleecing of Taxpayers and Donors – The Finale

By Donald V. Watkins

https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins/posts/10207731217860600

Getting the Alabama Media to Look the Other Way

The Birmingham News (the "News") is a media entity inthe Alabama Media Group. The Mobile and Huntsville newspapers are also in this media group.

The News was a willing participant in the FBI's COINTELPRO program that was aimed at secretly spying on, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations. The News worked closely with the Alabama Sovereignty Commission and state and localofficials who opposed racial integration in Alabama. In doing so, the News targeted individuals like Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Arrington, Jr., and other civil rights leaders from the 1950s to the 1970s for an unrelentingcampaign of negative news reporting in an attempt to undermine their credibility. COINTELPRO came to an official end after it was publicly exposed in the 1976 Congressional "Church Committee" hearings. Unofficialactivities continued.

Today, the News plays a significant role in advancing and protecting the interests of unfit state officials. The latest case in point involves disgraced Governor Robert Bentleyand his marital infidelity scandal. Bentley, who was recently divorced by his wife Dianne, used the News and other Alabama media organizations to spin this scandal in the light most favorable to him. Charles J. Dean, who covers the capitol for the News, wrote and publishedseveral favorable stories on the governor's marital troubles. Leada Gore, who wrote soft stories about the scandal and Bentley's paramour Rebekah Caldwell Mason, joined Dean in this thinly veiled PR campaign.

What the News never disclosed to the public was the fact that Dean's name, email and home addresses, and amount of money paid were all listed on the leaked Ashley Madison database last August. Dean says the listing occurred because his credit card had been compromised, and he reported the $1,661 in "unauthorized" Ashley Madison "purchases" to the News. Ashley Madison is a business that facilitates marital infidelity. Interestingly, Gore wrote a story on August 24th discouraging the public from downloading the Ashley Madison leaked database.She did not mention that Dean's name was on the list. Gore now claims she did not know Dean's name was on the list. Dean followed with a September 23rd story about the Bentley scandal that said, "Don't believe everything you read".

Instead of breaking the Bentley cheating scandal wide open, the News opted to challenge the accuracy of three peripheral facts in our exclusive "Forbidden Love" and "Executive Betrayal" series of articles, using stories authored by the Dean/Gore team for this purpose. Without disclosing that Rebekah is a close friend of Dean, theywrote stories claiming: (a) Bentley's lawyer and consigliere, David Byrne, had not resigned, even though another lawyer had been offered the job and turned it down;(b) Bentley had not moved from the Governor's mansion to the Winton Blount Estate, even though the Blount home was only identified in our articles as a "love nest" for Bentley/Mason trysts; and (c) Mason was not working for the John Kasich presidential campaign, even though she delivered Bentley's endorsement of Kasich in exchange for future work with the Ohio governor.

The Montgomery Advertiser, another COINTELPRO newspaper owned by a different media group, never engaged in any reporting of the infidelity scandal beyond one rambling story chastising the News for mentioning our Facebook-published articles.

The Divorce Settlement

The governor's divorce settlement is telling. The lawsuit caught the governor off guard. Bentley raced to have the records sealed. He was scheduled to give testimony under oath in November. Instead, the governor filed an answer denying that his 50-year marriage was "irretrievably"broken and quickly settled the case before any evidence of his marital infidelity with Rebekah surfaced in court.

The settlement also showed that the governor is highly leveraged and cash-strapped. Yet, he was romancing Rebekah in grand style. How was this possible?

Romancing on Taxpayers and Donor Money

Taxpayers and donors have sponsored every aspect of the governor's love affair with Rebekah. Bentley's campaign organizations paid her in 2010 and again from July 2013 through November 2014. She was on the governor's payroll from January 2011 to June 2013. In early 2015, Bentley pressured donors to contribute "dark money" to hisAlabama Council for Excellent Government "slush" fund. The money was then funneled to Rebekah in structured transactions. The governor has also directed other income streams to Rebekah from businesses benefitting from the $20 million in Serve Alabama money that has been doled out by her husband Jonathan, who is the agency's well-paid director.

Bentley routinely "wined and dined" Rebekah on taxpayers and donor money. Taxpayers and donors covered the airplane flights, trooper escorts, and international travel needed for Rebekah to properly service the governor's desires.

The $28 million "love nest" at the secluded Winton Blount estate was closed to the public under the guise of ongoing "renovation" work so that the lovers could use it for their personal pleasure and private enjoyment, courtesy of taxpayers.

Finally, both the governor and Rebekah have hired top criminal lawyers who specialize in public corruption cases. Donor money is paying this tab as well.

There is no end in sight to Bentley's fleecing of taxpayers and donors, and it's all in the name of love.

By Donald V Watkins

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