REMORSEFUL: Trio asks judge for mercy prior to sentencing

For three men and their families, July 16 was a date they both dreaded and anticipated, as it would put an end to a three yearlong legal battle with the federal government.

The battle, which started with big money, bribery, expanded egos and an insatiable desire to get on top, ended with children and wives embracing their fathers and husbands after U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson recited their sentences.

Witnesses, friends and family packed the federal courtroom in Montgomery to hear the fate of former Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley, former state Rep. Terry Spicer and then lobbyist Jarrod Massey.

At the end of the day, each learned they would be spending several years in a federal prison.

Gilley was sentenced to 80 months in prison, while Massey was sentenced to 65 months and Spicer for 57 months for their involvement in a vote-buying scheme geared to pass pro-gambling legislation.

Each sentence was less than the recommended sentence from federal prosecutors and more than requested by attorneys representing Gilley, Massey and Spicer.

It was Gilley and Massey's cooperation with federal investigators during their investigation into the Alabama Legislature and their undeniable remorsefulness displayed on the stand that helped to reduce the sentences.

Thompson indicated each received a significant reduction from the lower end of the federal sentencing guidelines, while Spicer's sentence was set at the lowest of the set guidelines.

Gilley pleaded guilty in April 2011 to 11 public corruption charges including six counts of bribery, four counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy.

Massey pleaded guilty in December 2010 to five counts of federal programs bribery and one count of conspiracy. Spicer pleaded guilty in November 2011 to one count of federal programs bribery.

Thompson listened as witnesses for each defendant took the stand to implore the judge to be merciful while considering their sentence.

Gilley: 'I am on my knees now asking the court for mercy'

Several witnesses spoke on behalf of Gilley including Tevin McNair, a 20 year-old college student. He and his brother lived with Gilley for about a year while they were growing up.

McNair said Gilley took him and his younger brother into his home and cared for them during a difficult time in his life.

He said Gilley provided clothes and school supplies and provided him with a job that instilled in him a sense of responsibility and respect.

A tearful McNair said he continues to look to Ronnie as a mentor and father figure in his life.

Courtroom spectators were filled with emotion during the testimony of Gilley's wife, Deidra.

Deidra described what their family life has been like for the past three years.

She said she has been concerned for her and her family's safety, sharing instances when she had been followed by unrecognizable vehicles, receiving threatening phone calls and hearing or seeing people on their property at night.

"It got to the point that we wouldn't let the children answer the phone," she said.

She recounted one incident in which Gilley, herself and their children walked from their home and found a "decapitated rabbit" in front of their vehicle.

"I have no doubt that it all relates to what has happened here," Deidra said.

Gilley's wife also described his active role in the community and in his children's lives.

When the tornado devastated Enterprise in 2007, Deidra said Gilley provided equipment and men to help remove debris and provided residents left homeless with a place to stay.

It was when Gilley got involved in a "bad crowd" that things progressed out of control.

"I know that he is a changed person," Deidra said. "He was in a dark place, and he's learned the hard way what's truly important and it's not material things. It is salvation."

Deidra told the judge she has been diagnosed with a rare lung disease that requires the help of her husband and transportation to hospital appointments.

"I need him daily like every wife needs their husband and every child needs their father," she said.

A tearful Deidra clutched a tissue and apologized to the courtroom saying, "this has affected me a little more than some of the other people testifying today."

I'm pleading for a lenient sentence. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt he is sorry. We have suffered enough."

On the stand, Gilley said the trial and the events leading up to it have cost him everything, but through it all he gained his salvation.

Gilley made no excuses for his actions when he addressed Thompson.

"Ignorance of the law is not an excuse," Gilley said. "There is no question whether or not we've committed a crime. We have. The biggest problem I have had is me. I allowed my ego to rage out of control."

Gilley expressed his shame in the choices he made not only in legal matters, but also in his personal actions.

Gilley said he got involved in what he despised the most, saying corruption in politics is a hard reality and special interests control the country.

"I'm sorry for the crimes I've committed against the state of Alabama," Gilley said. "I am on my knees asking the court for mercy."

Gilley's attorney David Harrison requested a 70 to 80 percent reduction on the minimum federal guideline of 210 months.

"There is no way you can punish this man anymore than he has already been punished," Harrison said. "The Wiregrass area needs this man."

Thompson replied by asking how he could give a sentence of non-incarceration when other people committing these crimes are in jail.

"Can I excuse his crimes based on someone in the community needs him?" Thompson said. "Doesn't everybody leave a family and job behind?"

In the end, Gilley received a 60 percent reduction of the guideline.

Prosecutors said Gilley made himself regularly available to the government during its investigation, making significant contributions by leading investigators to substantial evidence.

Gilley is also cooperating with ongoing investigations before the grand jury.

Prosecutors also noted the fact other defendants who pleaded "not guilty" were acquitted should hold no bearing on sentencing.

The trial and testimony led to an amendment to the state constitution of Alabama.

Along with Gilley's 80-month sentence, he will also have to forfeit $200,000.

Spicer: 'I'm not a bad guy, I just did some bad things'

Three witnesses, including Spicer himself, testified in an effort to shed light on why he should not be sent to prison.

Spicer was accused of accepting thousands in monthly payments from Massey, as well as expensive gifts including a boat and ski trip to Colorado.

Spicer's wife, Ceina, pleaded with the judge to allow her husband to remain home.

She explained she has been ill for 18 years with rheumatoid arthritis, a crippling disease, and her husband is her and their two sons' primary caretaker.

"I beg for your leniency," she said. "I can't imagine myself lying in bed with no one to care for the kids, take them to school and make their them hot meals."

Lifelong friend and editor and publisher of the Andalusia Star News, Michele Gerlach, recounted Spicer's involvement in the community and his work as legislator.

Gerlach said Spicer played a key role in securing funds for highway expansion, flood relief and school construction.

"He's done so much for the community," Gerlach said. "There is good and bad in all of us."

In his testimony, Spicer, the only elected official to plead guilty, said he has accepted responsibility for his offenses.

"This has torn our lives apart," Spicer said. "This thing has destroyed my life."

He claimed Massey has been a family friend for years, calling him the brother he never had, and Massey was merely helping his family in a time of financial need.

"The reason I got into politics was to help people," Spicer said, adding he worked tirelessly for the people in his district. "I'm sorry that what I did contaminated that."

Spicer said when he entered a guilty plea he could not afford a proper defense to challenge his charge.

"You're not saying you're not guilty, are you?" Thompson interjected.

Spicer, caught off guard, replied "no."

"I am guilty and accept that," Spicer said, adding he has lost everything as a result of his guilty plea including his legislative seat and job as superintendent of Elba City Schools.

Regarding the free tickets he received from Gilley for the BamaJam music festival, Spicer said he gained no profit from the tickets, but as an elected official, he should not have accepted them.

During his testimony, Spicer called his actions a "victimless crime" and said no one was hurt.

"I'm not a bad guy, I've just done some bad things," Spicer told the judge.

The federal guideline for Spicer's charge was set between 57 and 71 months. Prosecutors expressed their desire for his sentence to be set at the middle of the guideline, noting Massey had Spicer "on retainer" as Spicer received monthly payments from Massey since 2006.

"He has nothing but excuses for the court," said lead prosecutor Kendall Day. "He took $9,000, not because he was taking care of his sick wife, but instead, to put a down payment down on a boat."

Day also chastised Spicer saying there were no victims, saying the damage he did to the legislature and his constituents are definitive victims in the case.

Along with the 57 months handed down by Thompson, Spicer will also have to forfeit $40,000.

Massey: 'The toughest thing is knowing the road I created for my family'

The courtroom and Thompson heard testimony from several witnesses for Massey that included religious figures and close friends.

Massey and his two sons, who are 13 and 15 years old, also provided tearful pleas to Thompson for a lenient sentence.

"The toughest thing is knowing the road I created for my family," Massey said.

The federal guideline for Massey's sentencing was set between 135 and 168 months.

In addition to the 65 months, Thompson ruled Massey to pay a $20,000 fine.

Thompson's ruling

Upon the judge's reading of the sentences, tears swept through the courtroom from the family and friends of the defendants.

Thompson told each they would need to report to the federal prison on Aug. 27 to begin their sentence. Gilley and Massey received credit for time served. The trio has about six more weeks of freedom.

Thompson took into consideration Gilley and Massey's cooperation with the investigation and said they were changed people and had taken responsibility for their actions.

Sentence reductions were also granted because none of the defendants had prior records.

Massey said he would comment at a later time, but for now he just wants to spend time with his family.

Spicer, clutching his wife's hand, had no comment as he swept past the line of reporters waiting outside the courthouse.

Last to leave the federal building was Gilley and his wife Deidra.

"We've got a lot of work to do and a short time to do it," Gilley said. "There is a greater vision for the state of Alabama. Hopefully this will shed some light on the corruption that does exist. I apologize again to the citizens of this state. I apologize to my family and to my loved ones and to the people that have believed in me for so long."

An emotional Gilley said he didn't regret entering his guilty plea.

"I'm not the person I was a year ago and I'm thankful for that," he said. "As hard as it is to say, this is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me."

His concern now, he said, lies with the people involved in his BamaJam Farms development.

Holding back tears, Gilley said they were going to survive and continue to work on building the development to make Alabama a tourist destination.

"We will be the premiere entertainment capital of the world, and that was our desire from day one, and hopefully something good will come out of this," Gilley said. "We will succeed.

I think everybody's been through enough and I think it's time to move past this issue and let's get this state back on the right track again."

Gilley said hopefully this sentencing would serve as a beginning of an end to the corruption within the state.