Alabama Republican Governor Robert Bentley is in a heap of trouble, especially for a guy who claims he’s a Sunday School teacher.
He was an active member of First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa where he served as a deacon and a Sunday School teacher. At FBC Tuscaloosa, he has been the chairman of the board of deacons four times and a member of the Youth for Christ advisory board as well as the Family Counseling advisory board. Bentley was the 2009 recipient of the Christian Coalition of Alabama’s Statesmanship Award.
From there, we go directly to … oh, you know what’s coming already.
The 73 year old governor was having an affair with his top political advisor, Rebekah Mason. He set up a non-profit with his campaign funds and was paying Mason through the non-profit. Mason, who like Bentley is married, resigned last year over the revelation that they were doing … well, the wild thing.
This morning, the Alabama Ethics Commission, and yes, they do have one of those, announced that it has found probable cause that Bentley had violated campaign ethics rules and yes, they have those, too.
The commission said it “found probable cause to believe” Bentley violated the Alabama Ethics Act and Fair Campaign Practices Act — which is the state’s campaign finance law — after a yearlong investigation. The commission referred the matter to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
Intentional violations of the two acts are Class B felonies, which is punishable by a prison sentence of between two and 20 years for each violation. A fine of up to $20,000 could also be levied for each violation.
His wife of 50 years left him. His young, pretty girlfriend went back to her husband. He might be going to prison. His dog died and he can’t pay his bar tab. Okay, so I made up the last part, but when your life is a country western song …