A public forum in Vincent, Alabama (CNN)

The small town of Vincent, Alabama, has made national news by disbanding its police department after an officer's racist text appeared on social media. It's not the first time the Shelby County community of about 2,000 -- a 45-minute drive south of Birmingham -- has taken firm and united action when a racially charged controversy arose in its midst. That's from a post at the banbalch.com blog. 

Publisher K.B. Forbes, CEO of the Consejo De Latinos Unidos (CDLU) public charity and advocacy group, notes that the earlier issue, which became known as the Vincent Land Grab, began about a decade ago and reached a peak in 2020. It involved the Big Law firm of Balch & Bingham, and Forbes draws parallels between the two controversies:

Two years ago today, Balch political stooges who supported the alleged whites-only land grab in Vincent, Alabama, were humiliated and defeated in a landslide election  when white and African-American voters united.

Now, this month, Vincent united again and reaffirmed a solid stand against the alleged racism that Balch appeared to have openly embraced a decade ago.

From an NPR report about the police department: 

An Alabama police department was disbanded last week after a racist text message sent by one of its three officers surfaced on social media.

The police chief and the assistant police chief were suspended, city of Vincent Mayor James Latimer confirmed to NPR. Then, the city council voted to dissolve the entire department— a move the mayor is calling “a reversible decision.” The remaining officer subsequently resigned, Latimer said.

The city will be relying on the greater Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to respond to emergency calls during the span of a year, according to the mayor.

 Vincent is about a 45-minute drive from Birmingham. Less than 2,000 residents live there, 85% of whom are white and 12% of whom are Black. Forbes notes that the text in question was about slavery, and that turns his attention to the Vincent Land Grab:

                  As we wrote in 2018:

The CDLU met with residents of Vincent, Alabama who allege adamantly that Balch & Bingham lawyers (and their public relations stooges) spearheaded the strategic purchase of farm land and the fast-as-lightening re-zoning of said land,  and oversaw the lucrative transactions for a client called White Rock Quarries, starting almost a decade ago.

The outrage they allege is that only white land owners were approached for land purchases while African-Americans were not; worse, many of these African-Americans were older, senior citizens, descendants of slaves.

The quarry company allegedly considered moving historic slave graves according to local news reports.

The quarry project wound up being shut down. Now, the police department has learned that residents of Vincent, Alabama, take matters of race seriously.

It might seem strange that one of the most trusted advisors to Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite -- long considered a powerful force in the state -- is criminal defense attorney Mark White. But the most accurate explanation might be a simple one, according to a report from banbalch.com Publisher K.B. Forbes, who doubles as CEO of the Consejo De Latinos Unidos (CDLU) public charity and advocacy group. Writes Forbes:

Mark A. Crosswhite, the former Balch & Bingham partner and current embattled Chairman and CEO of Alabama Power, has a curiosity.

His most trusted advisor appears to be white-collar criminal attorney Mark White of White, Arnold & Dowd. . . . 

What kind of CEO would put his fate in the hands of a white-collar criminal attorney?

A CEO of an electric utility would understandably have a seasoned electrical engineer, environmental resources consultant, or marketing person near his ear. Even a governmental affairs person would be a valuable advisor.

But why a white-collar criminal attorney?

Forbes points to evidence that White seems to have a keen interest when a court case has any possible tie to Alabama Power:

During the North Birmingham Bribery Trial, according to court observers, White was allegedly at the proceedings every day.

Before the [David] Roberson case was sealed, White was allegedly in court listening to every legal argument and motion.

We, the CDLU, even bumped into him outside the Jefferson County Courthouse after attending a heated hearing in Roberson’s $75-million civil lawsuit, before the secret Star Chamber was enacted and before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. White was chattering away on his cell phone, waiting for the street light to change.

Is it possible Crosswhite has danced a little too close to the fire at times, and White is trying to keep his friend from getting burned? That could be the case, Forbes reports:

Is the alleged misconduct surrounding Alabama Power and Mark A. Crosswhite too close to the edge or have they crossed the line?

With the Matrix Meltdown, the alleged unethical, immoral misconduct by Sloppy Joe Perkins and Jittery Jeff Pitts has spilled wide open.

Will the spilled sewage overwhelm Crosswhite?

When the story broke about Crosswhite and Alabama Power having allegedly spied on and conducted surveillance of his boss Tom Fanning and his then-girlfriend, Alabama Power (through a Southern Company spokesperson) denied it.

But then again federal investigators believe there are plenty of liars associated with Alabama Power who twist the truth like taffy.

Not surprisingly, Mark White has been busy lately. Writes Forbes:

Recently, Mark White filed court documents trying to quash Jittery Jeff’s subpoena of Alabama Power and all documents related to Sloppy Joe and Matrix. The panic has just begun.

The curiosity of having a white-collar criminal attorney as a trusted advisor is not so strange as it is telling.

Abdul Kallon (From al.com)

Abdul Kallon officially stepped down yesterday from his lifetime appointment as a U.S. judge in the Northern District of Alabama, according to a post at banbalch.com. Federal judges hardly ever give up a lifetime post that brings prestige, power, perks, and the possibility of higher office. But Kallon did just that, reports Ban Balch Publisher K.B. Forbes, who also serves as CEO of the Consejo De Latinos Unidos (CDLU) public charity and advocacy group. Writes Forbes:

The stench from the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal still stinks and those involved are dropping like flies. The carcasses are piling up.

Presiding Judge Abdul K. Kallon officially resigns today citing the usual stock-in-trade b.s. excuse of “spending more time with family.”

Forbes has been keeping track of those who have taken a hit in the scandal, and his scorecard must be filling up:

Disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town was forced to resign and fled in the middle of the night after inappropriate photos of him drinking libations with the embattled CEO of Alabama Power Mark A. Crosswhite were published. Town, too, left to “spend more time with family.”

Two Assistant U.S. Attorneys allegedly turned in their resignations in April, a day after Kallon announced his resignation.

Mike Tracy, CEO of Drummond Company, abruptly retired a year after the trial. Tracy was facing criticism for firing ex-Drummond executive David Roberson and ending Drummond’s funding of Roberson’s favorite charity, an organization that helps children with autism, six-months after Roberson was found guilty.

William “Bo” Lineberry, the Balch partner who set up the money laundering entity in the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal known as the Alliance for Jobs and the Economy (AJE), committed suicide days after Kallon’s retirement announcement.

The fallout at Balch has come in several forms:

Balch & Bingham, Alabama Power’s sister-wife, appears to have lost millions of dollars in fees as money-making partners exit the firm and clients terminate the embattled firm.

Forbes finishes out the scorecard -- as it exists for now:

Trey Glenn was forced to resign as an EPA Administrator after being exposed as a Balch stooge.

Matrix, which dropped a reprehensible mailer that discouraged poor African-American residents from having their toxic and contaminated property tested by the EPA, appears to have collapsed. Matrix founder Sloppy Joe Perkins is involved in a horrific and ugly legal fight with once-protégé Jittery Jeff Pitts, exposing dark if not criminal secrets.

Alabama Power’s CEO Mark A. Crosswhite allegedly spied on his boss and his boss’ then-girlfriend. With baggage accumulating, Crosswhite is allegedly on his way out and sources claim he is under federal investigation for alleged obstruction of justice.

With ex-Drummond executive David Roberson and Ex-Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert sitting in the federal big house, how many more could join them?

Will Southern Company step in and mop up this mess or is it too late?

The two-state legal battle over Matrix LLC has settled, but fallout from the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal might be far from over.

That's from a report at banbalch.com. Under the headline "They're All Losers! Matrix Meltdown Settles; Criminal Probes Heat Up," Publisher K.B. Forbes writes:

The fat lady hasn’t sung yet.

The Matrix Meltdown is over in civil court according to a court filing yesterday afternoon.

The Matrix Meltdown was an embarrassing fight that spilled raw sewage and, the alleged criminal and unethical behind-the-scenes details of the obscure political consulting firm and their agents.

The explosive deposition with Jittery Jeff won’t happen.

The civil war between Sloppy Joe Perkins and his once-protégé Jittery Jeff Pitts may be over for now and the Three Stooges (Alabama Power, Balch, and Drummond) can breathe a momentary sigh of relief. But the irreparable damage is done.

What could be on the horizon? Forbes goes down the list:

The criminal probes related to the Matrix Meltdown are only heating up.

Florida investigators allegedly are working with federal authorities on possible civil rights and money laundering violations involving ghost candidates, tax-exempt entities, and intentional voter confusion and suppression efforts.

At the same time, federal investigators are allegedly looking at the secret million dollar contracts given to Sloppy Joe by Alabama Power that do not require an invoice.

The U.S. Department of Justice is allegedly probing the 18 tax-exempt entities that laundered over $50 million that Sloppy Joe outlined in a now deleted post on yellowhammernews.com.

And they’re all losers because of this fight that caught them with their panties down.

Who might be the biggest loser at the moment? Forbes awards that title to Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite:

[Crosswhite] may have forced [Perkins] to settle after embarrassing allegations were published that Crosswhite allegedly spied on his boss and his then-girlfriend.

But the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal isn’t over. The rebirth is alive. And Crosswhite knows it.

As we correctly stated, national media are digging deep into Alabama and North Birmingham with a lengthy exposé published just this morning by Propublica.org.

David Roberson’s $75-million civil lawsuit continues in the dark, in a secret Star Chamber.

And federal investigators are allegedly looking into obstruction of justice allegations involving Alabama Power and Crosswhite during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial, where Alabama Power was “unmentionable. . . .”

Crosswhite’s problems appear to have expanded exponentially because of those closest to him.

Congressional investigators reportedly are in the early stages of an inquiry into matters tied to the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal and what has become known as the Matrix Meltdown. If it turns into a full-blown probe, the primary driver will be a tiny public charity and advocacy group calledConsejo De Latinos Unidos (CDLU). And it will not be the first time CDLU has drawn the attention of Congress. In terms of journalism, you might call CDLU "The Little Engine That Could."

In fact, the group has engaged in such investigative work for about 20 years. At the forefront has been president and CEO K.B. Forbes, who also publishes the banbalch.com blog from his base in Birmingham. The CDLU Web site states: "Forbes authored nine investigative reports, spurred three Congressional hearings, and worked coast to coast to improve health care for all."

In short, Forbes and his work are well-known to Congressional insiders. Perhaps his most high-profile work involved a look at hospitals' price-gouging of the uninsured middle class. That story led to a segment on CBS'60 Minutes, with Dan Rather interviewing Forbes.

Title of the 60 Minutes segment was "Hospitals: Is the Price Right?" From the 2006 piece:

Most Americans know that if you get sick enough to go to a hospital, it's going to be expensive. But you may be surprised to learn that hospitals all over the country charge their highest prices, by far, to those who can afford it least — the 46 million Americans who don't have health insurance.

Hospitals charge uninsured patients two, three, four or more times what an insurance company would pay for the same treatment. And, when the uninsured can't pay, they often find themselves the target of collection agencies or in bankruptcy court.

As for a Congressional probe that would focus on Birmingham, Forbes reports that Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite likely will be at the center of it: 

[Last week], we learned that U.S. Congressional investigators are beginning inquiries. Can this get any worse?

When Mark A. Crosswhite was appointed Chairman and CEO of Alabama Power in 2014, he told media he was pleased to be the final decision maker.

The multiple final decisions he has made appear to be a complete and utter cluster.

Instead of firing and distancing the utility from the alleged racist and embattled law firm Balch & Bingham after the criminal convictions in 2018, he embraced his former employer, subsidizing them with lucrative legal services.

Instead of terminating the Oompa Loompa of Alabama, Sloppy Joe Perkins, and his Matrix agents, after secret million-dollar contracts were exposed in December 2021, Crosswhite allegedly continues to generously fund the obscure political consulting firm, showing unwavering loyalty.

Mark White, Crosswhite’s most trusted advisor and a white-collar criminal attorney, was allegedly in utter panic [recently]. Sources claim his firm is having an anxiety attack over the alleged multiple criminal investigations caused by the Matrix Meltdown.

Now investigators are asking, was White the one who brokered the secret deal with disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town that kept Alabama Power “unmentionable ” during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial?

In a sense, a Birmingham-based probe could intersect with the most high-profile Congressional investigation in recent years. Writes Forbes:

Crosswhite allegedly made another catastrophic decision in 2020. During the 2019-2020 election cycle, the single largest contribution from Alabama Power Employees Federal PAC went to the Rule of Law Defense Fund, the entity that launched robocalls the day before the insurrection mob of January 6th that marched to and desecrated the U.S. Capitol.

Abdul Kallon

A federal judge who resigned his lifetime position in the wake of long-running Alabama scandals, has landed -- in of all places -- Seattle, according to a report at banbalch.com. Under the headline "Sleepless in Seattle: Kallon Demotes Himself and joins Perkins Coie," Publisher K.B. Forbes writes:

Former Federal Judge Abdul K. Kallon has fled Birmingham and gone to one of the farthest places away from the cesspool of Jefferson County, Alabama: Seattle, Washington.

Kallon joins Perkins Coie as a partner, according to a news release.

In April, he announced his abrupt resignation; Kallon cited the usual “family time” excuse. According to media at the time, his wife obtained a job out of state but no one has been able to verify the fact.

As we asked in June:

Did Federal Judge Abdul K. Kallon agree to a secret deal to keep Alabama Power “unmentionable” during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial because of his past financial agreements and possible embarrassing personal behavior? 

On June 23rd, DonaldWatkins.com published an indepth report on Kallon’s alleged financial and personal behavior that was a bombshell, causing shockwaves in the legal community.

Watkins ties Kallon's resignation to the legal travails of Birmingham businessman Jonathan Dunning, who became the target of a federal criminal probe and wound up receiving an 18-year prison sentence. In Watkins' view, Dunning was railroaded, partly because Kallon and his former law firm, Bradley Arant, were deeply involved in Dunning's financial activities but mostly managed to escape scrutiny. 

Forbes picks up on a number of issues raised in the Watkins piece:

Did any or none of The Three Stooges (Alabama Power, Balch, and Drummond Company) have damaging information on Kallon and controlled him by figuratively squeezing his testicles?

Or was Kallon offered a deal in the alleged ongoing federal probe of obstruction of justice involving Alabama Power Chairman and CEO Mark A. Crosswhite?

Resign and cooperate sounds a lot better than refuse and be prosecuted.

Kallon may be sleepless in Seattle, having possibly tossed a future U.S. Supreme Court appointment down the toilet because of his alleged interactions with The Three Stooges.

Now he is far away. Farther away. Farthest away.

“Thanks be to God,” he says, he thinks, he prays.

"Environmentalists" protesting in a video that promotes Big Power.

In the summer of 2013, starting in Arizona, "dark money" from non-profits began flowing into public-relations campaigns to promote the interests of large utility companies. At about the same time, such a campaign popped up in Alabama. 

According to a post yesterday at banbalch.com, the Alabama effort, featuring a video called Behind the Mask, was the work of the Matrix LLC consulting firm. And it appears to tie together some of Alabama's most powerful corporate and legal entities, writes Ban Balch Publisher K.B. Forbes:

The video from 2013 was originally a“smear and fear” piece but now it is irrefutable evidence that the Three Stooges (Alabama Power, Balch, and Drummond Company) appear to have utilized Matrix’s alleged dirty deeds,  actors, and questionable mouthpieces to attack perceived enemies. . . . 

Sources state the video was allegedly produced and created by Matrix, the obscure political consulting firm, on behalf of PACE, Partnership for Affordable Energy, an alleged AstroTurf entity that media called “in effect a subsidiary of Matrix.”

Behind the Mask made ample use of deception, reports Forbes. It's primary purpose apparently was to portray Big Power as being under attack. But what was really going on? While portions of the video seem to praise the work of environmentalists, the real purpose, it seems, was to target environmentalists -- and perhaps anyone  who might seek to hold Big Power accountable -- The video could have important evidentiary value as federal investigators reportedly examine the fallout from the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal and related events. Writes Forbes:

The alleged Matrix video called “Behind the Mask” is a wonderful piece of evidence that has Alabama Power attorneys, alleged Drummond agents, and Balch partners all tied together, arm-in-arm, in a chorus line.

And who were the targets of this high-end “smear and fear” production?

Nelson Brooke, the Black Warrior Riverkeeper who co-founded the tiny environmental group known as GASP, and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Ironically, last month Brooke and the Southern Environmental Law Center SELC) won amajor federal consent decree against Drummond Company.

What does the consent decree mean? Forbes quotes from an SELC press release that tells the tale:

In a major victory for the health of the lower Locust Fork and the Black Warrior River, a federal judge in Birmingham has granted the request by Black Warrior Riverkeeper to approve a consent decree requiring Drummond Company to clean up its abandoned Maxine Mine site.The approval was finalized after a May filing. The mine, which was the largest underground mine in the state, produced tons of coal per year after opening in the 1930s but has sat abandoned since operations stopped in the 1980s.

 How does deception play a role in Behind the Mask? Forbes cites several examples:

Alabama Power Chairman and CEO Mark A. Crosswhite’s most-trusted advisor, white-collar criminal defense attorney Mark White, is in the video talking about utility rates and the controversy surrounding the “return on equity” perspective.

Really? A criminal attorney spinning yarn about utility rates?

 Here is another oddity:

Catrena Norris Carter comes out as an alleged “outraged” board member of the League of Women Voters in Alabama, calling for more transparency regarding utility rates and billing. She has the foolish audacity to say on the video that it is “unfortunate that once again the poor and underprivileged get  preyed upon.”

 Perhaps the strangest oddity of all involves, of all things, face masks:

There is the group of fake environmental protestors, the actors and smear campaigns that we wrote about in 2018. These actors are all wearing face masks,  years before COVID-19 became a global pandemic, to obscure their identities.

The video scoffs at the fake environmentalists, with the narrator saying, “And then you have these people…”

These people were staged actors that were falsely but intentionally portrayed as environmental activists.

Where is all of this headed? It's likely too soon to say. But if investigations are about connecting the dots, this latest news seems to provide plenty of dots for examination.

(Note: You can view the Behind the Mask video by clicking on this link and scrolling to the end of the Ban Balch piece.The video is the last item and can be viewed by clicking on the arrow.)

Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre has been seen as the central character in a welfare scandal that has rocked Mississippi politics. But Favre is not the only sports figure engulfed in the scandal, and it extends east toward Alabama to include Birmingham-based law firm Balch & Bingham, according to a report at banbalch.com.

Writes Publisher K.B. Forbes, who also serves as CEO of the Consejo De Latinos Unidos (CDLU) public charity and advocacy group:

Walter H. Boone, a Balch & Bingham partner in Mississippi, obviously outraged, tweeted about the latest corruption scandal involving football great Brett Favre, the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and millions diverted from feeding hungry children to fund Favre’s pet project: a state-of-the-art volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre’s daughter studies and plays…volleyball. (Breleigh Favre recently transferred to LSU.)

The “scheme to defraud the government” has rocked Mississippi and angered decent and  professional people like Boone. 

Mississippi Todaybroke the story about texts between then-Governor Phil Bryant and Favre in the scheme that diverted and allegedly laundered millions for welfare nutritional program resources to a not-for-profit entity called the Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC). MCEC then funneled the money illegally to pet projects, like Favre’s Volleyball Stadium.

What about other sportsmen who join Favre in the muck? That includes a big name in wrestling -- Ted DiBiase Sr., known as "The Million Dollar Man" in his grappling days. From news reports last May:

Ted DiBiase and his sons Ted Jr. and Brett DiBiase have been sued by the state of Mississippi as the state seeks to reclaim $24 million dollars of misused federal funds meant for welfare. . . . The funds were meant to “address the multiple needs of inner-city youth” despite DiBiase Jr. possessing no qualifications to provide those services in relation to the federal grant called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF.

 Meanwhile Boone's outrage seems to be misguided. Writes Forbes:

Although Balch’s Boone appears to be outraged, the reality appears to be the House of Balch is divided. Working down the hall from Boone is Balch partner Lucien Smith, who was Governor Bryant’s former Chief of Staff and served as the Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party until he was ousted by current Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. Bryant was seen as a Balch stooge at the time he served as Governor. Speaking of welfare, Balch & Bingham appears to live off of corporate welfare and contractual cronyism in Mississippi. According to the State of Mississippi, Balch has obtained over $27.8 million in 72 contracts. How much of Balch’s $27.8 million was obtained through cronyism and favoritism? Should there be a criminal forensic audit of Balch?

As for Boone, how might he alter his public statements? Forbes offers several suggestions:

Balch partner Boone has a right to be outraged at Favre for allegedly taking advantage of resources for poor, hungry children.

But Boone should also be outraged at his own firm, which targeted poor African American children in the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal. He should be outraged that his firm refuses to apologize for former partner Joel I. Gilbert’s criminal misconduct. He should be outraged that Balch lost tens of millions in fees to win a $242,000 judgment in the Newsome Conspiracy Case. He should be outraged at the alleged criminal and unethical misconduct surrounding Balch and its sister-wife Alabama Power.

In the meantime, Favre should repay the State of Mississippi and make a heartfelt apology to the residents of the Magnolia State.

Chase T. Espy

A former attorney at Birmingham's Balch & Bingham law firm has pleaded guilty to charges related to a child-solicitation investigation. Chase T. Espy will not be sentenced until January, but it appears he is headed to federal prison. Possession of Child Pornography carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. According to a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will seek imprisonment of Espy consistent with the high end of the advisory United States Sentencing Guideline range as calculated by the Court at the time of sentencing.

The guilty plea was announced late yesterday afternoon. From a report at banbalch.com:

According to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama . . ., Chase T. Espy, 36, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. . . . 

The plea agreement filed states the investigation was initiated when Espy engaged in online chats with undercover law enforcement whom Espy believed was a 15-year-old girl. Upon being arrested, Espy’s cell phone was seized, and a search warrant was obtained. From this search, approximately 69 videos and four images of child sexual abuse material were found.

Recent years have not been kind to Balch & Bingham attorneys -- and it might get worse. Reports Ban Balch Publisher K.B. Forbes:

Espy will join ex-Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert in the federal prison system.

Gilbert was found guilty of six federal crimes including money laundering and bribery during the North Birmingham Bribery Trial.

Now insiders are telling us more Balch partners could possibly join the federal prison system.

Balch attorneys and stooges are allegedly being investigated and could be held accountable by the U.S. Attorney in the alleged Elderly Exploitation Scandal of 2020 that targeted Joann Bashinsky (Mrs. B), the grandmother who was worth $218 million and allegedly lied to by a Balch partner and allegedly abused by a probate judge who resigned abruptly in May of 2020.

Even a former Balch partner might not be out of the woods, Forbes writes:

The alleged federal investigation of ex-Balch partner and current CEO of Alabama Power Mark A. Crosswhite has been amplified by the foolish conduct of Matrix founder Sloppy Joe Perkins who outlined an alleged criminal enterprise involving the money laundering of over $50 million through 18 tax-exempt entities. Perkins is paid millions every year by the utility.

Other developments related to the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal continue to percolate:

Meanwhile, in a hidden, secretive Star Chamber, ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s $75 million civil lawsuit is gaining strong interest of law enforcement officials since nothing is publicly available and potential criminal misconduct may have been intentionally obscured with these protective orders filed in early 2020.

The quiet before the storm. And the RICO lawsuits are still waiting quietly in the wings.

Chase Espy

A former Balch & Bingham attorney made a series of disturbing admissions in reaching a plea agreement on child-solicitation charges, according to a report at banbalch.com. Perhaps most disturbing is language in the document that indicates Chase T. Espy might have been a child predator for some time before being caught during an investigation by the Homewood Police Department in 2021-22.

K.B. Forbes, publisher of Ban Balch and CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group, struggled to hide his revulsion upon reading the plea agreement. Writes Forbes:

We wanted to throw up.

The admissions in the plea deal that alleged sexual predator and ex-Balch attorney Chase T. Espy signed are shocking, revolting, and unbelievable.

The admissions and revelations are graphic and repulsive; but much, much worse, the evidence presented appears to show that thiswas not Espy’s first time at the rodeo.

Espy appears to be an experienced pedophile. According to the plea deal, Espy appeared to be advertising himself on a social media application.

No one will believe Balch & Bingham, which terminated Espy months before he solicited a child for sex, that they did not know he was trouble.

 How might Balch and Espy's activities have become intertwined? Forbes considers the possibilities:

Balch’s servers and internet services could have been used to set up an app’s advertising campaign, download kiddie porn, and/or solicit a child for sex.

Balch’s Managing Partner Stan Blanton has the moral obligation to turn over the evidence to law enforcement.

Balch, sadly, has remained silent except to say it terminated Espy in September of 2020. The crime of soliciting a child for sex occurred in March of 2021.

How did the child solicitation come to light? The plea agreement spells it out:

The plea describes the solicitation. (We have obscured the vulgarities):

On March 25, 2021, while acting in an online undercover capacity, a Homewood Police Department Detective (referred to as “UC”) responded to an online advertisement posted on a certain social media app (“App-1 “)3 by user “You_Top” which stated, “I wish my wife liked performing oral as much as I do.” The UC and “You_Top” (later identified as Chase Tristian Espy) began a conversation through App-1.

During the communications, Espy stated to the UC that he enjoyed going down on his wife and then asked the age and sex of the UC. The UC informed Espy that he was a 15-year-old female. Espy then asked the UC, “ Are you still a virgin? If you don’t mind me asking … ” and later stated, “you have no idea how much I’d love going down on a tight little p**** like yours.” Espy continued the conversation and stated, “you just need to experience it with someone who very much knows what’s he’s doing” and then asked how the UC felt about, “Sucking d***”.

Balch has a habit of staying silent when bad news hits -- and this news is about as bad as it can get for a major law firm:

Espy worked at Balch & Bingham for eight long years and even wrote briefs before the United States Supreme Court. Balch found something, somewhere to justify Espy’s termination.

But just like when Balch terminated ex-Balch partner Clark A. Cooper in 2017, and later convicted felon Joel I. Gilbert,Balch remains silent as if nothing ever happened. Balch leaders appear to see no evil or hear no evil.

Balch is blinded by arrogance and hubris. But this is not about smearing a competitor or protecting a known polluter. This is about children who were victims of a pedophile.

The investigation turned up evidence of child pornography, and the plea agreement provides details on that:

The plea deal then describes (in general) the kiddie porn found:

A state search warrant was obtained and executed on Espy’s cell phone. The chats with the UC was located on Espy’s cell phone. There were approximately 69 videos and four images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) located on Espy’s cellphone. Within the CSAM videos and images, there were two involving toddlers, 20 depicting penetration, three depicting humiliation, and 29 involving masturbation. The total number of child sexual abuse material images for sentencing purposes is 5,178.

5,178 images! 69 videos! Toddlers!

We believe there are probably other young girls who may be victims of Espy’s sick desires.

The Espy story even managed to sully Alabama state government. Writes Forbes:

Balch appears to have covered up Espy’s misconduct and let him obtain a job in April of 2021 with Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. Espy was arrested in August of 2021 and immediately fired by the governor.

Balch failed the Governor. Balch failed the community. Balch failed their partners and staff.

And now Balch & Bingham’s silence and inaction on this child exploitation scandal escalates, Balch’s clients need to dump the embattled firm, loudly and unequivocally.

There are more revolting and disgusting details in the plea agreement (read below) that appears to show that Espy was an experienced sexual predator.

We just hope there are no other young victims because of Balch’s silence and alleged cover-up.

The full plea agreement can be read at the following link.

Mark Crosswhite

A grim mood has settled over Birmingham's Balch & Bingham law firm, engulfed in scandal for more than nine years -- and the sour mood shows little sign of lifting soon, according to a report at banbalch.com.

How bad have things gotten? Consider these revelations from the Ban Balch report, published by K.B. Forbes, CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group:

* Mark A. Crosswhite, the ex-Balch partner and current CEO of Alabama Power, sources claim, is furious to the point he allegedly is not speaking to Balch’s top brass. 

* Crosswhite, sources say, is out of the running for CEO and Chairman of Southern Company and Crosswhite allegedly blames Balch and the Matrix Meltdown for that apparent downturn in his career.

* Other sources state that an ongoing federal investigation related to the alleged obstruction of justice in the North Birmingham Bribery Case is weighing heavily on Crosswhite.

Forbes then reveals a scoop that is not likely to lighten the mood at Balch:

In addition, we, the CDLU, learned from our DOJ sources that the pedophilia/kiddie porn investigation related to ex-Balch attorney and alleged pedophile Chase T. Espy is still ongoing.

In addition, a broader and deeper probe of the app used by Espy to solicit a child for sex is part of a national investigation into child trafficking and exploitation.

With this revolting baggage and alleged cover-up of Espy’s misconduct, we are not surprised that Crosswhite is not on speaking terms. With children possibly being harmed, will Alabama Power finally cut the ropes with Balch?

Jay Town and Mark Crosswhite

Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite, once known as "the most powerful man" in the state, is set to retire after a years-long trail of press reports about the ties of his company and its closely aligned law firm, Balch & Bingham, to a series of scandals -- most notably the North Birmingham Bribery case. Daniel Tait, of The Energy and Policy Institute, broke the retirement news in a Tweet this morning, citing a corporate filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The retirement is set to take effect on Dec. 31, 2022.

The most important journalism on the story almost certainly came from a Birmingham-based blog called banbalch.com. The dogged reporting of K.B. Forbes, publisher of Ban Balch and CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group, likely led to Crosswhite's fall from grace. Under the headline "The 'Most Powerful Man in Alabama' Resigns in Disgrace! Crosswhite Scalped by Scandal," Forbes writes:

The resignation is tied to an avalanche of scandal including an alleged federal investigation of criminal obstruction of justice in the North Birmingham Bribery Trial, the surveillance of Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning and his then-girlfriend allegedly under the direct orders of Crosswhite, and the alleged criminal acts and misconduct surrounding the Matrix Meltdown and Alabama Power’s multi-million-dollar secret contracts to Matrix founder “Sloppy Joe” Perkins.

Two years ago tomorrow, we prophetically wrote that Crosswhite would have to retire or resign. It was in the wake of photos we published of disgraced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town chugging cocktails with Crosswhite allegedly at the height of the North Birmingham Bribery Trial.

         We wrote at the time:     

    Did Crosswhite or [Alabama Power’s outside criminal attorney Mark] White strike the secret deal with Town to keep Alabama Power “unmentionable” during the criminal trial? Did Crosswhite mislead parent company Southern Company about Alabama Power’s involvement in the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal or the Newsome Conspiracy Case? What truly was Alabama Power’s role with the money laundering entity Alliance for Jobs and the Economy (AJE)? Was Alabama Power in anyway involved in the idiotic orchestrated campaign this past summer in which an innocent family was terrorized by paid buffoons?

The following also turned out to be prophetic:

Unlike other Southern Company wholly-owned subsidiaries, Alabama Power appears to operate completely differently, looking more like a vengeful gang of arrogant fraternity members instead of level-headed corporate executives.

When we first met with federal investigators in 2017 about Balch & Bingham, they were more concerned about Alabama Power rather than Balch.

The accounts of dubious activities might not be over, writes Forbes:

Since 2020, new stunning revelations tied to Alabama Power have come out (some yet to be reported).

The unsavory misconduct scalped what Crosswhite’s once adoring fans called “the most powerful man in Alabama.”

Now Crosswhite joins ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and appears as yet another disgraced power-hungry fool.

Alabama Power

The story of Mark Crosswhite's exit as CEO of Alabama Power apparently is far from over. In fact, it might just be heating up.

K.B. Forbes, publisher of the blog banbalch.com and CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group, has been leading the way on journalism about unsavory activities surrounding Alabama Power, its closely aligned law firm Balch & Bingham, Drummond Company, and the like.

Forbes reports in a post today that he plans more "bombshell" reports next week, and he notes that they might have criminal implications. That could induce a few gulps in Birmingham's halls of power. It is unclear what alleged crimes might be involved and who might be implicated. But it likely will not be good news for Balch & Bingham.

The law firm apparently staked its future on the prospect that Crosswhite might become CEO of Southern Company, parent firm of Alabama Power. Forbes writes. Now, it looks like that bet will not turn out so well. Suddenly, it seems, Crosswhite has realized he needs to "spend more time with his family." Here is the full quote, from an article at Yellowhammer News:

It has been an honor working for a company that for more than a century has been dedicated to serving communities across Alabama,” said Crosswhite in a release. “As I approach my 60th birthday, though, I have come to realize it is time for me to spend more time with my family.”

Crosswhite and his PR team could not come up with something more creative than that? Apparently not -- and that seems to draw guffaws from Forbes:

Over a year ago, we reported that Crosswhite was “allegedly telling bourgeois insiders that he has the lock and key to the C-Suite at Southern Company, Alabama Power’s parent firm.”

The current CEO of Southern Company, Tom Fanning, made more than $21 million last year.

Crosswhite did not give up that opportunity to spend more time with his family and you, our dear reader, know his excuse is a crock.

As we wrote just last week, Crosswhite’s abrupt demise was caused by his unwavering loyalty to alleged racist law firm Balch & Bingham and absolute confidence in “Sloppy Joe ” Perkins, the founder of obscure political consulting firm Matrix. 

So furious at the collapse of his career, sources claim, Crosswhite allegedly refuses to even talk to his ex-law partners at Balch.

Rocked by Crosswhite’s ouster, Balch, sources claim, is allegedly in utter turmoil, near collapse as Balch’s lifeline may come to an end this year.

Just like Balch arrogantly thought it could make millions when their stooge, ex-U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, was made U.S. Attorney General in 2017, Balch appears to have bet the farm on Crosswhite’s eventual coronation as CEO of Southern Company.

Balch & Bingham has been betting the farm on Jeff Sessions and Mark Crosswhite? Our advice is that you avoid following the Balch gang to Las Vegas.

As for Yellowhammer News, its article seems to point to Crosswhite's fury with his old law firm. Writes Forbes:

A fluff piece on Crosswhite’s ouster in Yellowhammer News affirms Crosswhite’s alleged anger at Balch & Bingham, by omitting Balch’s name, writing, “Crosswhite represented the company in private practice for 17 years before serving Southern Company in an official capacity.”

17 years at Balch as a partner forgotten down an Orwellian memory hole!

No wonder Balch celebrated its centennial anniversary in secret, hidden on a hilltop, last month.

Our advice to readers. Keep an eye next week on banbalch.com. Forbes notes that Tom Fanning has a smelly mess on his hands at Southern Company -- and the smell might be about to get stronger:

Current Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning will have more horse stalls to clean up next week as we reveal more bombshells that could lead to possible criminal indictments.

The stench of horse manure is intense and overwhelming.

The Newsome twins

Alabama Power and its parent firm, Southern Company, were involved in a scheme to terrorize the family of a Birmingham-area attorney, newly revealed documents show.

Burt Newsome proprietor of Newsome Law LLC, apparently was seen as a threat and that caused his wife and four children (including a set of twins) to be targeted, according to a report at banbalch.com. K.B. Forbes, publisher of Ban Balch and CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group, calls the scheme "disgusting" and "revolting," noting that it might launch criminal investigations and lawsuits that could rock the business and legal environments in Alabama -- and perhaps beyond.

A Southern Company compliance executive denied roughly five years ago that Alabama Power was involved in what has become known as the Newsome Conspiracy Case. But Forbes now has records that tell a different story -- and he writes:

Now, today, this very moment, we, the CDLU, have received and are in possession ofhard copies, hard evidencethat Alabama Power/Southern Company was indeed involved in the Newsome Conspiracy Case and other alleged high crimes and misdemeanors.

The documents we have received anonymously are just the tip of the iceberg. In the coming weeks, as we report more details, the depth of this alleged criminal enterprise led by Southern Company/Alabama Powerwill absolutely and unequivocally need to be probed by the U.S. Department of Justice. We also anticipate massive civil lawsuits against Southern Company, Alabama Power, Matrix and others as these bombshell revelations are being investigated.

Efforts to obscure the facts behind the Newsome case began to crumble with reports that Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite allegedly was a central figure in a plan to help him rise to head of Southern Company. Writes Forbes:

All the blind-eye protection came crashing down when it was revealed this summer that ex-Balch partner and Alabama Power Chairman and CEO Mark A. Crosswhite allegedly directed a surveillance effort in 2017 against his boss and parent company CEO, Tom Fanning, and Fanning’s then-girlfriend. Crosswhite was allegedly seeking photographic evidence to find out if Fanning was bisexual and if Fanning had a boy toy.

The ultimate goal, we were told, was to allegedly blackmail Fanning out of office and have Crosswhite jump in.

Ironically, years later after the spying, Crosswhite was ousted abruptly last week, on the eve of Thanksgiving.

But now, more heads need to roll, according to the documents we have.

Jeff Peoples, Executive Vice President of Customer and Employee Services at Alabama Power, signed off on paying the obscure political consulting firm Matrix an additional mid-five figures on top of the secret multi-million-dollar annual contracts the firm and its founder, “Sloppy Joe” Perkins, received.

And what was the mid-five figures allegedly for?

Forbes reports it was designed to help terrorize the Newsome family. How ugly was the scheme? It involved, in part, sending five sets of luggage -- one for each child, plus Newsome's wife -- along with various clothing outfits to the family home. The message? Forbes considers several possibilities:

The message was crystal clear: get ready to pack and leave town.

Were they threatening the family? The father, Burt Newsome? Was he going to be injured, killed or murdered?  Or were the wife and children going to “disappear” on a permanent vacation?

All done through an online retailer, the purchase can be tracked using IP addresses and metadata. Even a hacker’s digital trail can be traced.

All of this comes with considerable irony. Burt Newsome mostly represents banks and financial institutions, so it's hard to see how he could be a threat to Alabama Power. But this much seems clear: Local law enforcement did not take the actions against the Newsome family seriously. That did not surprise Forbes:

Local law enforcement dismissed the threat and alleged that the young twins must have selected and purchased the travel bags, the ten outfits (two for each child and mom), and processed the order when the twins couldn’t even read!

But we are not stunned that local law enforcement appears to be in Alabama Power’s pockets.

Newsome was pulled over and falsely arrested in 2013 by a Columbiana, Alabama police officer.

The Columbiana police officer who pulled Burt Newsome over in May of 2013 in an alleged “staged arrest” was none other than Jeffrey Bowers, the son of Willard L. Bowers, the retired, long-time executive at Alabama Power, who last served as Vice President of Environmental Affairs for the utility.

Hours after Burt Newsome’s “staged arrest,” and possibly under Alabama Power’s orders, a Balch & Bingham partner allegedly emailed and distributed copies of Newsome’s mug shot on a Saturday afternoon to banking and financial services executives, allegedly smearing Newsome.

While we, the CDLU, respect the men and women in blue, Jeffrey Bowers appears to have dishonored the code of ethical conduct. Bowers also posted a social media post on Facebook that blatantly attacks Muslims as goat fornicators and appears to be a revolting display of sheer stupidity,  disgusting vulgarity, and alleged discrimination that we believe is conduct unbecoming of a law enforcement official.

In 2021, Bowers was given a reward for his years of service (to Alabama Power?) and named Chief of Police.

While massive civil lawsuits and a federal probe are launched and litigated, Southern Company needs to seriously look at the expenditures made to target the Newsome twins, their family, and their father.

Burt Newsome has no business whatsoever with Alabama Power, except paying his electric bill month-to-month.

Where is all of this headed? It's probably too early to say, but Forbes expects much more information to be revealed in the coming weeks:

The alleged criminal enterprise at Southern Company/Alabama Power appears to have been used to target, threaten, and intimidate people when friends of friends of Alabama Power executives called for retaliation or revenge, even though it was ofno interest or benefit to Southern Company/Alabama Power.

Jeff Peoples appears to have authorized a mid-five-figure contract that allegedly was used to target children, young children, and a family that has no business with Alabama Power whatsoever.

Targeting and terrorizing young children is disgusting and revolting; and appears to be a cornerstone of the alleged Southern Company/Alabama Power criminal enterprise.

While the bombshell documents also expose the enormous amount of money spent to harass the innocent, the young, and perceived opponents of Alabama Power, they also show who was on the take and disclose pay-through entities.

More to come. And more. And more.

K.B. Forbes

Regular Legal Schnauzer readers long have known that practicing journalism in Alabama can be a dangerous pursuit. In October 2013, I was beaten inside my own home, essentially the victim of a state-sanctioned kidnapping, and thrown in the Shelby County Jail for five months, becoming the only journalist in the Western Hemisphere (the Americas) to be incarcerated that year. That put Alabama in the company of countries such as Iraq, Iran, Russia, and Uganda.

Why did a deputy illegally enter our home and engage in police brutality when there wasn't even a whiff of a criminal allegation against me? Well, I was writing this blog, which had become displeasing to certain members of Alabama's political power structure. Montgomery, AL, attorney Tommy Gallion addressed the subject of attacks on journalists, and analyzed the terrifying nature of my experience, in his book Shadow Government, Southern Style. One valuable lesson from my glorified kidnapping: I learned in jail that inmates often ask each other, "What are you in here for?" My answer was, "I was arrested for blogging." That always drew a big laugh -- but it wasn't a joke.

Now, we learn of another Alabama journalist who came under siege for writing a blog -- and that is no joke either. We're talking about K.B. Forbes, publisher of banbalch.com and CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group. Forbes' reporting has focused on a number of powerful entities -- Alabama Power, Southern Company, Balch & Bingham, and Drummond Company -- who were tied to the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal.

Forbes reports in a post yesterday that he and his family, who are Hispanic, were subjected to an intimidation campaign that became severe enough that they fled their Birmingham home and temporarily stayed in Mexico for safety reasons. [Forbes is the son of a Hispanic immigrant from Chile and his wife was born and raised in Mexico.]

This comes on the heels of a report about attorney Burt Newsome, who was targeted (along with his family), apparently because certain corporate types came to view him as a threat. That suggests practicing law in Alabama might not be safe either. But today, our focus is on journalism, as practiced by K.B. Forbes. He reports that anonymous sources have provided financial documents that help piece together the story behind the targeting of his family. Writes Forbes:

Now financial documents in our possession give a graphic snapshot of that bottomless pit and demonstrate the stunning depth the alleged criminal enterprise led by Alabama Power/Southern Company went to, to instill fear, terrorize, and intimidate an innocent Hispanic family, including two young girls. The Hispanic family was forced to flee Alabama because of threats to their safety.

After the murder of George Floyd, the summer of 2020 was a summer of racial reckoning and stunning setbacks for the alleged criminal enterprise.

The alleged racist law firm (and sister-wife of Alabama Power) Balch & Bingham lost their 18th of 18 major lobbying clients in Washington, D.C. Crosswhite’s drinking buddy U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town resigned in disgrace, while Southern Company was hit hard for foolishly calling the suppression of African Americans in North Birmingham a “hypothesis.” On top of that an elderly exploitation scandal erupted, creating headlines and headaches.

According to the financial records, Zeke Smith, Alabama Power Executive Vice President of External Affairs , authorized hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures through Matrix, the obscure political consulting firm founded by “Sloppy Joe” Perkins, the Oompa Loompa of Alabama politics.

In the summer of 2020, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Alabama Power/Southern Comapny allegedly and foolishly decided to target, harass, intimidate, and terrorize the Hispanic family, spending big bucks to do so, and gathering intelligence and detailed personal information about the (Hispanic) family.

How extreme and unnerving did all of this get? Forbes writes:

The terror and harassment included phone calls to the Hispanic mother demanding to know her location, asking if she was at home, and offering to “drop off a package.”

Here, now, is a stunning example of the incredible reach that the alleged Alabama Power/Southern Company criminal enterprise engaged in that will give you, our dear reader, goosebumps.

According to the documents that we received anonymously, Zeke Smith approved an expenditure on June 11, 2020for software called Import Genius that tracks exports, imports, and the bill of lading associated with those transactions.

Alabama Power/Southern Company appear to have been digging into an export made by the Hispanic family to Mexico. It was the first and only export they had ever made.

And what were they exporting? 

A Pottery Barn princess castle bed for their three-year-old daughter to a family home in Mexico.

The Hispanic family had received a Bill of Lading on June 11, 2020 and the alleged criminal enterprise appears to have known and learned about it that same day.

Were they illegally capturing private emails?

The Forbes family wound up being terrorized at their own home. Forbes tells the story:

As readers may recall, that summer an orchestrated campaign against Forbes was launched. With the anonymously received financial documents, we now know that Alabama Power/Southern Company funded the campaign.

This included the buffoons who sent fake protesters and paid actors to the wrong address, adjacent to and across the street from the home of the Forbes Family.

The buffoons terrorized the neighbor, who was washing dishes, and her teenage daughter. So petrified and traumatized, the neighbors moved from the community after living there for 14 years. She made a deposit on a new home six-days after the incident.

The buffoons also terrorized and traumatized Forbes’ then-eight-year old daughter who saw the protesters outside the window.

Thinking someone was dying like George Floyd, she ran and hid, crying.

All of this, Forbes writes, could have major legal repercussions:

With massive civil lawsuits and potential RICO actions, the foolish acts against innocent children paid for by Alabama Power/Southern Company, and allegedly authorized by Crosswhite and his posse, should cause more heads to roll.

Eventually, during the summer of 2020, K.B. Forbes joined his family in Mexico. That helped him find a dose of humor in a situation that was anything but amusing:

[Forbes] received an email from the FBI stating that they were “glad to hear” that he was safe with his family in Mexico.

Forbes looked over at his wife and quipped, “Well the FBI is saying that the Mexican cartel is safer than the clowns in Birmingham.”

Burt Newsome

Alabama Power and Southern Company funded an effort to falsely accuse a Birmingham-area attorney of rape, newly revealed documents show.

Burt Newsome, proprietor  of Newsome Law LLC, was the target of the smear campaign, according to  a post at banbalch.com. Publisher K.B. Forbes, who also is CEO of the CDLU public charity, says it is unclear why Newsome was chosen as the target for such an underhanded attack. Newsome has a successful practice in Shelby County, but he appears to engage in the standard practice of lawyering, serving mostly banks, other financial institutions, and small businesses -- nothing you would expect to be controversial.

Forbes writes that it reminds him of a scene from The Godfather, with Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite in the role of Don Corleone (originally played by Marlon Brando), a mob patriarch who launches vengeful campaigns on behalf of those who are willing to kiss his hand. Writes Forbes:

Who kissed Crosswhite’s hand so that Alabama Power would allegedly use all its resources at his command to target an innocent man, Burt Newsome, his young twins, and his entire family?

The expenditures against Newsome make no sense and have no fiduciary purposefor the wholly owned subsidiary of a publicly traded company, Southern Company. We believe the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission and federal investigators will agree.

Newsome’s legal career has been one of actively supporting the business community in Alabama and west Georgia, representing banks and small businesses. Besides paying his monthly electric bill, Newsome has had no interaction whatsoever with Alabama Power.

Newsome is not an environmentalist or tree-hugging green activist. He’s a traditional Southerner.

Forbes knows what it's like to be in Newsome's shoes. Forbes and his family were the targets of an intimidation campaign, apparently because of his reporting on sensitive subjects related to the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal. 

Documents now have surfaced that help trace how such campaigns came to light. The implications are profound, as Forbes notes: The evidence, he says, "show an alleged criminal enterprise that was entrenched and well-funded by Alabama Power/Southern Company, confirming the tentacles that have seeped throughout the highest levels of government, the legal system, and corporate world of Alabama.

[Further, the records show] "Alabama Power/Southern Company not only targeted the Newsome and Forbes Families, the company also allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to smear Newsome and Forbes."

What about specifics? Forbes provides them:

Alabama Power Executive Vice President of External Affiars Zeke Smith allegedly approved expenditures from the obscure political consulting firm Matrix to Go Daddy and A2 Solutions to reserve domain names and create two websites, one that went live, and the other that never did and remains under construction. The dates in the documents match ICANN data, the global registry of domain names. The websites have been confirmed by ICANN to be hosted by A2 Solutions.

Unbelievably, the website that went live was way over the topfilled with slander, falsehoods, and defamation.

The website falsely called and defamed Newsome as “a rapist” and falsely claimed that K.B. Forbes, our Chief Executive Officer, was defending a rapist.

Does Newsome have a sketchy background? Doesn't look like it, Forbes writes:

Newsome grew up in Columbus, Georgia where his father was Chairman of the Board and Lay Leader of St. Luke United Methodist Church – one of the largest Methodist churches in the State of Georgia. Newsome’s Sunday School Teacher was former President Pro-Tem of the Georgia Senate and founding Chairman of Troutman Pepper Strategies, the late Pete Robinson.

Newsome, in his legal profession, may have sued an entity or individual who was a friend of a friend or acquaintance that went running to kiss “Don Crosswhite’s” hand . . . and asked for a vengeful favor. . . . 

Newsome had never, ever been arrested until the cop-son of an Alabama Power executive arrested Newsome in a “staged arrest” on a false misdemeanor menacing charge that was eventually dropped and expunged.

Incredibly foolish and putting enormous liability on the company, Alabama Power/Southern Company used the mugshot from the “staged arrest” of the Newsome Conspiracy Case to act as if Newsome had been arrested for rape: 100 percent false, a lie.

On August 27, 2020, Alabama Power/Southern Company paid to have hundreds of signs posted throughout downtown Birmingham promoting the defamatory website, and the documents confirm the expenditure.

The sheer audacity for Alabama Power/Southern Company to allegedly approve this enormous expenditure to defame Newsome, Forbes, and the CDLU, through Matrix and its founder “Sloppy Joe” Perkins, is stunning and jaw-dropping.

Forbes is quick to point out that his organization has a history of standing up for victims of sexual predators:

On top of that, we, the CDLU, have defended rape victims from sexual predators. The alleged defamation by Alabama Power/Southern Company is monumental.

We championed the victims of sexual assault at an adult day care center in California known as Healthy Start.

These developmentally disabled adult children were raped and sodomized by Juan Fernando Flores while inept government agencies did nothing. Because of CDLU’s loud voice, the facility was permanently shut down. The civil case, independent of us, was settled out of court.

But Alabama Power/Southern Company didn’t care. They wanted to defame Newsome, probably for a friend of a friend. They wanted to slander us, the CDLU, probably on behalf of their sister-wife Balch & Bingham. They wanted to smear Forbes maybe because of our reporting.

Without a doubt, massive civil lawsuits and RICO actions (plus federal probes) against Alabama Power/Southern Company and “Sloppy Joe” Perkins will be Crosswhite’s legacy.

Alabama Power paid more than $100,000 to an online news site to publish attack pieces against a blog that has been the leading journalistic entity reporting on the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal -- and its aftermath.

Banbalch.com and its publisher, K.B. Forbes -- who also serves as CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group -- were the targets of the attack pieces, which were published in the Alabama Political Reporter (APR), a site based near Montgomery. Forbes provides background on the APR articles in a post published yesterday. 

The bombshell financial records we, the CDLU, received anonymously, show that Alabama Power/Southern Company allegedly paid Alabama Political Reporter (APR) $120,000 and allegedly spent thousands of dollars boostingFacebook posts by the discredited publication.

The payments, made in 2020, all appear to have been approved by Zeke Smith, Alabama Power Executive Vice President of External Affairs, and allegedly paid through the obscure political consulting firm Matrix.

Forbes is not the only Alabama journalist to write about Alabama Power's deceptive use of the media. Writes Forbes:

Rob Holbert of Lagniappe Mobile  was the first to report about the alleged unethical relationship between Alabama Power and media outlets, writing in August (2022):

Similar involvement by utilities in some Alabama-based news websites has also been questioned over the past few years, particularly as it relates to the publication of news articles created by Alabama Power that subsequently wind up being run on APR’s site and that of Yellowhammer News. Both news sites have run stories that first appeared on Alabama Power’s Alabama News Center website, sometimes listing them as staff reports or otherwise obscuring Alabama Power’s involvement in the creation of the story.

 Forbes addresses the APR articles about him, his blog, and his organization:

In July of 2020, APR wrote three smear attacks against us, the CDLU, this blog, BanBalch.com, and our Chief Executive Officer, K.B. Forbes.

The orchestrated attacks were a dramatic shift allegedly caused by the $120,000 infusion of funds. Alabama Power allegedly funneled the resources through Matrix possibly as “monthly advertising.”

In 2017, APR Editor-in-Chief Bill Britt wrote a straight piece on BanBalch.com writing at the time, “Material meticulously crafted into a damning narrative chronicles some of the firms most questioned activities, including the Oliver Robinson bribery scandal and alleged subcontract problems in Mississippi.”

Britt even contacted K.B. Forbes at the time to confirm the CDLU was involved in the blog.

Three years and $120,000 later, Britt wrote a 1,500 word defense of Alabama Power’s sister-wife Balch & Bingham while engaging in a blatant attack on the CDLU on July 8, 2020. He never bothered to contact us.

According to the anonymous financial documents, Alabama Power allegedly spent $1,000 on July 9, 2020 to have APR’s post on Britt’s smear piece boosted on Facebook. Forbes says the move backfired:

As we wrote at the time:

We never, ever thought it was this bad for Balch.

The orchestrated public relations strategy of defending embattled law firm Balch & Bingham has backfired miserably and the public is ripping the idiotic defense of Balch. But reaction by the public on social media has been unanimously against Balch.

That’s bad; real bad.

Britt's articles were not the only salvo from APR, Forbes writes:

On July 16, 2020, a second APR hit piece was written by Josh Moon. 

When Moon sent us five questions before his column appeared, we replied with details. Moon sent us a final email, and he wrote:

Here’s the problem I have: I don’t believe you. Now, I don’t much care about Balch, because I think they’re more crooked than even you have alleged….

 That was not the last APR article related to Forbes:

Again, according to the anonymous financial records, Alabama Power allegedly spent another $1,000 on July 16, 2020 to boost APR’s Facebook post on Moon’s column.

A third and final APR hit piece for 2020, appeared on July 23, 2020. 

Britt, who feebly wrote about a public tax filing from nearly 20 years ago, and tried to smear our association with Civil Rights champion J. Patrick Rooney, who has been dead for 14 years.

How did the APR articles come to life? Forbes provides background:

According to the anonymous financial documents, Alabama Power allegedly approved three payments totaling $16,400 on or near the three publication dates to True Targeted Digital Solutions. In 2020, the entity did not have a live website, according to the Internet archive.

We, the CDLU, do not know if this was to boost posts, provide digital advertising, create a geo-fencing digital campaign, or funnel a pay-through to the hacks.

Being paid lavishly in “advertising” budgets is diplomatic corruption of the media.

As Rob Holbert reported in August:

Lagniappe has received dozens of pages of documents purported to be leaked from inside Matrix. One of those listed as being created by Matrix employee Kim Hines is titled “Special Work Budget Dated April 2013 Properties,” that includes APR on a list of organizations receiving money from Matrix, C4 and JK.

On the spreadsheet next to “Al Political Reporter,” the row marked “Costs” lists $8,000. The next column under “Notes” says, “This is a per month cost. John will handle once he has approval from Zeke.” The “Funding Source” is listed as “Special Work Order/MTX” and“Total Costs” are listed as $96,000.

Sent the documents alleging payment from Matrix to APR, Britt stuck by his original statement. “I have no idea what those documents are or their origin,” he wrote. “As I said before, we only received advertising from Matrix.”

How did Forbes react to Britt's explanation? He was underwhelmed and wrote:

Matrix, like Balch & Bingham, is practically a wholly owned subsidiary of Alabama Power. Matrix was founded by “Sloppy Joe” Perkins, the Oompa Loompa of Alabama politics.

For almost a decade, APR appears to have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Alabama Power via Matrix.

As we wrote in 2020, in Mexico, they have a saying that translates,“Where there is money, there are whores.”

How many more media entities will sell themselves to Balch or Alabama Power or one of their related entities for a few thousand dollars, a campaign contribution, or a generous digital advertising campaign?

How many more?

Josh Moon (Alabama Political Reporter)

A journalist for the Alabama Political Reporter (APR) conducted what might be called a surveillance campaign against a Birmingham-based public charity, apparently because of its unflinching blog reporting on Alabama Power and associated entities.

That's from a report yesterday at banbalch.com, which operates under the banner of the CDLU charity/advocacy group. An investigation shows that Moon, for a time in 2020, had a tendency to appear in places where one might expect to find K.B. Forbes, CEO of the CDLU and publisher of Ban Balch. Writes Forbes:

Josh Moon, who we, in 2020, originally thought had amputated his brain for Balch & Bingham, appears to have foolishly made the ultimate sacrifice for Alabama Power, possibly through their paid stooges at the obscure political consulting firm Matrix.

Moon, who was dumped as a regular columnist at the Montgomery Advertiser in 2016, has worked at the discreditedAlabama Political Reporter (APR) ever since.

The anonymous financial documents we received show that APR allegedly received $120,000 plus other pay-throughs from Alabama Power in 2020 to allegedly publish smear pieces on us, the CDLU.

But Moon went one step deeper in the rancid manure: he allegedly stalked and harassed the CDLU.

Would Moon's actions constitute any legal definition of stalking and harassment? That would be for someone else to determine. But Forbes indicates it was unnerving to be on the receiving end. He writes:

Now photographic and video evidence from August 2020, shows Moon showing up to our then-corporate headquarters, demanding from the receptionist at the office copies of CDLU’s 990 tax filings.

Problem was it was the receptionist for the business next door. CDLU had shut down our offices in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Possibly ashamed of taking extreme measures on behalf of Alabama Power, Moon waited about 15 minutes in the parking lot before building enough courage to enter the building.

Moon left a fake name (Bill) and a phone number that was one digit off from his real cellular phone number when the receptionist offered to get his request to us.

Moon has not always taken the side of Big Power on controversies of the day. Writes Forbes:

In 2014, while at the Montgomery Advertiser, Moon wrote about the controversies surrounding reducing coal-burning emissions, stating at the time:

I am almost convinced that our state leaders could hear a business proposal for dumpingtoxicwaste directly on the Gulf beaches and their first question would be: “Uh, yeah, what’s the earning potential on that?”

Moon also ironically discusses the paid, partisan websites bought by power companies similar to how APR was allegedly “bought” with a generous six-figure “advertising” budget:

That’s why every time this issue is discussed on the partisan websites, which also are bought by power companies, there’s always an image of the black-faced coal miners pausing momentarily from the day’s work. 

But by the fall of 2020, Moon appeared to have bent down on his knees for Alabama Power. Discussing the enormous controversies concerning toxic coal ash ponds, Moon states:

However, when you look at the actual, real-life options for this stuff — and I can’t believe I’m going to say this — but the plan from Alabama Power seems to be a fairly good one. 

The change in tone cannot be missed, Forbes notes:

Dumpingtoxic waste 750 yards from the Mobile River is part of Alabama Power’s plan, and Moon can’t even believe his own words of support.

So what caused the 180° change? Money? Financial stress? Economic needs?

Journalism in general has seen massive layoffs, liquidations, consolidations, and buyouts. Many former journalists have gone to the private sector and left journalism behind.

In 2019,  Moon attempted to become a real estate agent. 

When he began following us, the CDLU, we found that he had no listings at Next Move Realtors and by September of 2020 Moon had let his real estate license lapse, according to state records.

On at least one occasion, Moon's tailing activities appear to have gotten rather personal. Forbes states that security cameras appear to have caught Moon driving in front of the Forbes family home:

Although blurred by movement, the vehicle, a black crew-cab pickup, looks like Moon’s pickup truck. Because of threats, Forbes and his family were at a secure location in Mexico at the time.

Ironically, Forbes writes, a tailing campaign likely was not necessary to gather information about CDLU:

All of CDLU’s 990 tax returns are available at guidestar.org or the Nonprofit Explorer at Propublica.org. And the public can request a copy, and the CDLU is required by law to provide a copy within 30 days.

Moon must have known this.

Even just a few days ago, we got our third request in three years from a woman, originally from Alabama, who now lives in California, requesting a copy of our 990. She has been the only one to do so in the past decade. No one else has.

Moon appears to be too arrogant to ask for the 990 himself.

So why in heaven’s name did Moon appear at our offices in 2020?

To provoke fear? To intimidate? To harass? To stroke his ego?

Or was he acting on instructions from Alabama Power?

The crash involving attorney Burt Newsome.

What do the anonymously revealed records show? For one, Mark Crosswhite has retired as Alabama Power CEO, but a major clean-up chore remains for Southern Company chief Tom Fanning. Writes Forbes:

Now that Crosswhite has been ousted, Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning needs to clean house starting with “Sloppy Joe” Perkins and his obscure political consulting firm, Matrix.

Perkins’ signature is on documents in which Jeff Peoples of Alabama Power paid him mid-five figures to allegedly terrorize Burt Newsome, his young twins, his entire family.

Why would Peoples, Alabama Power Executive Vice President of Customer and Employee Services, be involved in such alleged acts? Why would a utility company entangle itself in an enterprise that appears to include terrorizing innocent children and families?

The mid five-figures given to Sloppy Joe is on top of the more than $2 million paid to Perkins and his entities yearly, allegedly without the need for an invoice.

The documents involving Perkins are curious in other ways, Forbes writes:

Although described as involving “transportation,” the obscure and vague contract appears to confirm the alleged dirty deeds tied to Matrix.

Transportation services and trade secrets seem to be synonymous with dirty deeds and acts of terror.

That brings us to the Burt Newsome vehicle crash, which certainly could come under the heading of "transportation." And it came on the heels of other attacks on Newsome. Writes Forbes:

With Alabama Power allegedly spending hundreds of thousands through Matrix to allegedly smear Newsome falsely on a website as a rapistin July and August of 2020,  there is not much left to stretch when looking at the alleged crime of attempted murder against Burt Newsome that occurred on September 11, 2020.

Newsome was injured in a head-on crash two weeks after the smear website went live.

He was gravely injured and nearly killed. Some even claimed the crash was an alleged intentional act to silence Newsome, who is the lead attorney in ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s $75-million civil lawsuit against Alabama Power’s sister-wife Balch  & Bingham, and Drummond Company.

The other driver reportedly works for Norfolk Southern, a long-time business partner of Alabama Power and Drummond.

A photo taken at the scene appears to show, oddly, that the other driver in the green Ford Explorer, who made a left turn in front of Newsome,  turned right when Newsome attempted to swerve around him.

Currently, the Roberson case is under seal in a secret Star Chamber. The sealed proceedings could be hiding, obscuring, and concealinga variety of misconduct.

That brings us to the peculiar judicial machinery that long has operated in the Birmingham area:

Ironically, one of the highest campaign contributors to the judge presiding over the Roberson case is the illustrious Andrew “Andy2K” Campbell, who incredibly represents Sloppy Joe, Matrix and Balch.  (Campbell donated $3,000. Maybe he should now be called Andy3K.)

Before the case was sealed,  Alabama Power and Crosswhite were in sheer panicand vigorously fought to have protective orders approved.

The rebirth of the North Birmingham Bribery Trial appears to be a grave threat to Alabama Power.

Before the case was sealed in 2021, was Alabama Power trying to intimidate Newsome?

Everything we, the CDLU, have received is being turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including “Sloppy Joe’s "trade secrets."

Fanning must terminate the Oompa Loompa of Alabama politics, Sloppy Joe, and clean house.

The Crosswhite era is over, and the posse loyal to him needs to be removed like a spreading cancer.

Chase Espy

Grim news keeps pouring forth from Birmingham's Balch & Bingham law firm. The latest? A former partner has been disbarred, and a former associate is now a registered sex offender.

K.B. Forbes, CEO of the CDLU public charity and advocacy group and publisher of its banbalch.com blog, has details:

The collapse of embattled law firm Balch & Bingham, the sister-wife of Alabama Power, continues.

The Alabama Supreme Court has disbarred ex-Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert based on his federal conviction in the North Birmingham Bribery Trial on six criminal charges including money laundering and bribery.

Last week, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) requested a certified copy of the indictment, petition/complaint, and disposition of the state case against ex-Balch partner Chase T. Espy for their Sex Offender Registry.

Espy pled guilty to federal charges of possession of child pornography in October. The state case involved the online solicitation of a child for sex.

 On top of that, Balch's efforts to rebuild its image have fallen mostly flat, writes Forbes:

Balch, which has a dubious record on matters of race, has tried to rehabilitate its image by hiring people of color. Unfortunately, some of them have left the embattled firm only months after being hired.

According to a recent review of Balch’s website, people of color account for less than 7 percent of their professionals and only 2 percent of their partners.

Meanwhile, Managing Partner Stan Blanton is patting himself on the back with make-believe awards for “diversity and inclusion. “

The only diversity and inclusion the firm appears to have are prisoners, pimps, prostitutes, and pedophiles.