Post from 2016-05-20
FREAKY FRIDAY IN A FREAKY COUNTY May 20 2016
The Ripp Report/Baldwin County Legal Eagle
Driving Under the Influence - A SOURCE OF STEADY INCOME…for Whom?
One thing you can count on in Baldwin County is someone getting busted for a DUI. Our county’s alcohol consumption is greater than any county in Alabama. We entertain tourists with a selection of bars restaurants, hotels, malls, clubs and events that serve alcohol. Municipalities commonly permit social events allowing the sale of alcohol. You can buy wine beer or the hard stuff anywhere in Baldwin County within a 10 minute drive. The amount of income from alcohol sales in Baldwin County and the number of people it employs is staggering. Alcohol is ACCEPTABLE; the negative aspects support yet another industry, the judiciary.
What is the down side? A musical event that generates millions in County income and a few spend too much money on drinking, which is of course sinful in the eyes of some. The argument that the crowd got drunk or rowdy during a musical beach festival, while listening to music in the sun, is laughable. A more serious problem is drunk driving or driving while impaired. We have established legal tests to evaluate your degree of impairment, by blowing into a breathalyzer or by a blood test.
Recently we heard of David J. “Baloney” Mahoney, an attorney who prides himself in not representing DUI offenders. Last week Mahoney was arrested in nearby Escambia County Florida (Pensacola). Reportedly, this was not Mahoney’s first run-in with the law over drinking and driving. We received a tip from an anonymous source who insists Mahoney was busted for DUI in Orange Beach, but he got it thrown out because he knew the City Judge, Julian Brackin. In Escambia, Mahoney refused to take any sobriety test and went to jail.
Last week County commissioner Chris Elliott was busted for DUI in Fairhope after attending a social event that provided alcohol. Thank you Fairhope police for doing your job and not being influenced by a person’s title. Mr. Elliott also refused any testing and went to jail. He now will enter the strange world of having had a DUI in Baldwin County, which is similar to a black hole in space.
Should Mr. Elliott be fired or resign his position because of a DUI? I do not think so; it would be absurd to exact that kind of punishment when we all know the greater percentage of “good Christians” in the county do the same. He should however, experience the entire judicial process that has been established for lay people, and experienced by thousands–with no preferential treatment.
Mr. Elliot, the fact you got a DUI does not make you a bad person. However, you must pay retribution for your mistake. BCLE has spoken to multiple individuals who have received a DUI in Baldwin County, as well as people who work in the court system. We have learned how this system works.
If you are a first offender, most often you are diverted into an education and drug/alcohol testing program that lasts up to six months and you will be on court probation for 12 months, meaning you have to quarterly report back to the court. If you do not comply with the court’s instructions to complete the education and drug testing the judge can sentence you accordingly, which includes jail time.
The mandatory education program is a 24-hour course held in Robertsdale and taught by a Mr. James Ball. The course covers drug and alcohol facts. Movies are played for your benefit and at the end Mr. Ball has a pizza party for everyone. In between lectures he injects his political viewpoints. He reportedly told one group that President Obama had created the Ebola virus so he could unleash it on the U.S. population and force everyone to live in government provided coffins. Mr. Ball also reportedly brought several weapons–including a shotgun, to class, to reinforce his point that “Obama would not take him and his family from his land and his home!”
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Business Entity Details
Baldwin Substance Abuse Services, Inc.
Entity ID Number: 566 - 683 Entity Type: Domestic Non-Profit Corporation Principal Address: BAY MINETTE, AL Principal Mailing Address: Not Provided Status: Exists Place of Formation: Baldwin County Formation Date: 10-4-2007 Registered Agent Name: BALL, JAMES E Registered Office Street Address: 104 HAND AVE STE 100 BAY MINETTE, AL 36507 Registered Office Mailing Address: Not Provided Nature of Business: TRAINING/TREATMENT/GROUP THERAPY TO DEFENDANTS REFERRED BY COURT Capital Authorized: Capital Paid In:
Incorporators
Incorporator Name: REID, JAMES H Incorporator Street Address: Not Provided Incorporator Mailing Address: Not Provided Incorporator Name: HART, MICHELLE M Incorporator Street Address: Not Provided Incorporator Mailing Address: Not Provided Incorporator Name: SHIVER, HARRY Incorporator Street Address: Not Provided Incorporator Mailing Address: Not Provided Incorporator Name: WILSON, DAVID Incorporator Street Address: Not Provided Incorporator Mailing Address: Not Provided Incorporator Name: DUCK, GREG Incorporator Street Address: Not Provided Incorporator Mailing Address: Not Provided Incorporator Name: HOLLON, FRANK T Incorporator Street Address: Not Provided Incorporator Mailing Address: Not Provided Incorporator Name: DASINGER, THOMAS Incorporator Street Address: Not Provided Incorporator Mailing Address: Not Provided
Transactions
Transaction Date: 6-19-2008 Miscellaneous Filing Entry: AMENDMENT FILED
Scanned Documents
Click here to purchase copies. Document Date / Type / Pages: 10-4-2007 Articles of Formation 10 pgs. Document Date / Type / Pages: 6-19-2008 Miscellaneous Entry 9 pgs.
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The education classes total eight in all. All three-hour classes must be attended. There are no exceptions. All classes ($400) and drug tests (6 at $50=$300) are paid for in CASH.
If you can stomach the classes with Mr. Ball and pass all your drug tests, you will be given six more months to stay out of trouble. If you get through that period without any arrests you will have fulfilled the requirements of the Baldwin County DUI program and your DUI will disappear from your record. During this entire ordeal you will be paying attorneys to tell you" it is not the end of the world, you owe me 2500 more". DUI and drug charges are a steady source of income for attorneys, municipalities and non-profits.
As a commissioner you should also know Baldwin Substance Abuse Services, BSAS, is a non-profit formed in 2007, by judges and attorneys. Nowhere in Alabama does this occur except in Baldwin County where the judge can sentence the offender into their own non-profit Abuse Services. Complaints have fallen on deaf ears, the District Attorney is aware of the situation, however she seems to have her plate full or is just waiting for her term to end. Judge Thomason is an incorporator of BSAS, which has collected millions of dollars from victims of BSAS. The program is a joke and has rehabilitated absolutely no one; it is a cash cow for BSAS, and its incorporators.
Ask yourself Mr. Elliott where the money is, and why hasn’t there been any accountability? These incorporators are not supposed to draw any salary, take loans or monetary gifts from the non-profit. They however have never provided any financial statements to the public; certainly a non-profit handling Baldwin County fines and drug tests should be REQUIRED to provide financials to the Commissioners.
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/05/roy_moore_robert_bentley_mike.html
I hope you read this article and fully understand the political situation in Alabama. On a local level, in your District, Fairhope Mayor Kant has rejected the opinions of 95% of participating citizens that oppose an apartment complex behind Publix in favor of 5% who support the developer, the Mayor’s buddy. This project along with the apartments, in Daphne on 98, is going to have a profound, negative effect on traffic. You are the commissioner; do you favor the developer or the quality of life of the citizens?
Good luck with DUI “school.” I know judge Thomason appreciates your business.
Francis Paul Ripp BCLE-Baldwin County Legal Eagle The Ripp Report 501c3
