LINE IN THE SAND
The Mabel Amos Charitable Trust was set up to help kids, who may have had the smarts, but not the money, to go to college, in Alabama. What started as a small well intended trust turned out to be a flush vehicle of greed and political corruption.
“If I had to bake an “Alabama Corruption Cake” the recipe would probably go something like this: 2 parts shiftless opportunists, 2 parts complicit appointed boards and agencies, 1 part disinterested Attorney General’s Office, 1 part ineffective Ethics Commission and 2 pinches of one-party rule. Blend thoroughly, bake for 200 years and ice generously with inept and partisan press coverage. Serves 5 million.”
Mabel Amos Charitable Trust is the perfect recipe for corruption. A bank, lawyers, judges, trustees, and a state with no accountability or transparency. Put that in a bowl and stir in ego driven journalist, employed by struggling newspapers. These Journalists, feel they must have “scooped” the story in order to follow up or have any investigative reporting. They are failing their readers and citizens of Alabama.
The Attorney General has ignored, what should be front page news as well as obvious criminal conduct. The Bar Association and the Ethics Commission have buried their heads in the sand, which makes them complicit.
https://www.lagniappemobile.com/news/local/ethical-dilemmas-state-ethics-commission-facing-issues-on-several-fronts/article_5017fe6c-bfca-529c-9569-d88797661f8b.html“Further complicating matters for the Ethics Commission is a lawsuit filed two weeks ago by the relatives of one-time Alabama Secretary of State Mabel Amos regarding the handling of a charitable trust established by her will. The will was created by the family law firm of current Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Albritton.
The suit, filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, alleges a scheme between Regions Bank and its representative on the Mabel Amos Charitable Trust, John Bell, and Albritton and his former law partner Rick Clifton. Albritton and Clifton have served as two of the three board members for the trust since its inception after Amos’ death in 1999.”
It took a civil lawsuit, not Ethics complaints, Bar Complaints or letters to the Attorney General, to seek any level of justice. The allegations involved show how these “respected men” stole from children for their own personal benefit. They did this by “self dealing” the trust.
It is going to be very enlightening when the case reaches the discovery point. Who did the “Trust” give scholarships too? We already know that lawyers in charge of the trust had a feeding frenzy awarding themselves, and connected friends, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Scholarships to Albritton’s daughter were listed by name one year and afterward, delineated by a notation that said, “Scholarship for Board Member Daughter.” Overall, Albritton’s son and daughter received at least $120,000 in scholarship money from the trust. While the lawsuit alleges other board members received scholarship money for their children, Lagniappe has not been able to verify that.
Albritton has denied wrongdoing, claiming he was not involved in “self-dealing” because he abstained from voting for the scholarships for his children. Still, the question of why Regions was allowed to massively increase its fees — $1.2 million taken between 2002 and 2020 — is one raised in the lawsuit.”
I would suggest that you consider any other bank, than REGIONS
“Lagniappe was also able to verify that one of Albritton’s former law partners, current Covington County Circuit Court Judge Ben Bowden, has a child who was awarded scholarships to Southern Methodist University (SMU) totaling $45,000 between 2014 and 2017.”
The executive director of the Ethics Commission, Tom Albritton, should be fired immediately from the so called Ethics Commission. He has paid 120,000 to the University of TEXAS, not Alabama, for his two children’s education.
In any other state this would be front page news for weeks. Instead we see those involved using the very agencies intended on preventing such a scheme, to their advantage.
This is a line in the sand. If those responsible are allowed to keep their ill begotten gains, and jobs, then it will be proof positive that Alabama is the most corrupt state in the United States.
At this time we have allegations, some of which Mr Albritton has confirmed, and a civil lawsuit. The Ripp Report will be sending this information to anyone who will listen, in state and out of state This is a civil matter now, however it should be number one on the Attorney General’s list of white collar crime, political corruption and criminal activity.
If you are interested in this story of greed and corruption, please follow it through Lagniappe or The Ripp Report. The so called newspapers have yet to wake up and report the facts to their readers. Maybe that is why newspapers are failing.