BLAKELY TRIAL: New details on ACCA trip, inmate labor deal

Jul. 23—Former elected officials shared details of their trip to the coast, a local real estate agent talked of his goal to sell weapons to a foreign country and a man from Taiwan shared how he was swindled out of thousands in the most recent days of Limestone Sheriff Mike Blakely's trial.

Steve Turner, former Limestone County Commission District 2 representative, and Mark Yarbrough, former commission chairman, on Thursday gave their sides of the 2016 trip in which they, District 3 Commissioner Jason Black and Limestone Sheriff Mike Blakely traveled to Orange Beach and Biloxi, Mississippi.

Turner testified that they rode down to the Alabama coast on Aug. 14, 2016, ahead of a weeklong Association of County Commissions of Alabama conference. The commissioners had an "extremely important" vote to attend during the conference, according to Yarbrough. ACCA Executive Director Sonny Brasfield testified Friday that all sheriffs in the state had been invited for special events focused on law enforcement matters.

However, despite receiving funds for the condo they stayed in and per-diem money for four days spent at the conference, evidence presented thus far in the trial shows Blakely did not register for any part of the conference except a golf tournament held Aug. 15, 2016.

Turner testified that he registered and paid for himself, Yarbrough, Blakely and Black to play in the tournament.

The next day, Blakely suggested they leave the conference and head to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. Where the conference focused mainly on county business, such as networking with vendors and other county commissioners or legislative matters, the trip to Mississippi "was us going to play golf," Turner said.

He said he'd read about the Beau Rivage course, and getting to play on it was the only reason he agreed to go. He called it "probably the best golf course I'd ever played."

'Kid in a candy store'

Evidence shows the group didn't tee off until around 9 a.m. Aug. 17, 2016, though they checked into the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino around 3:30 p.m. Aug. 16, 2016.

A Beau Rivage representative testified this week that Blakely's casino account was used to purchase chips and begin gambling less than half an hour after check-in.

Blakely's "like a kid in a candy store at the casino," Turner told jurors Thursday, earning laughter throughout the courtroom. "He has a good time."

Yarbrough and Turner said they also gambled a bit, though Turner said he mostly hung with Black, who he stressed did not like gambling. Evidence shows Blakely spent around $20,000 buying chips in the casino during the trip and won about $13,000 at rated table games, though the Beau Rivage employee said it was possible not all winnings were documented.

Yarbrough said Blakely "hit a pretty good lick" while playing Mississippi Stud, a card game. Turner testified to the same, saying Blakely called all of the commission members and offered a $500 chip if they found him in the next few minutes.

"Regardless to say, we all found him," Turner told the court.

While Yarbrough was on the stand, prosecutors asked about the $500 offer. It was during this trip that Blakely allegedly solicited a thing of value from a subordinate — in his case, a $1,000 wire transfer from a Limestone County Sheriff's Office employee who testified it was because he'd lost so much money at the Beau Rivage.

Yarbrough explained to the court Thursday that the Limestone County Commission oversees the LCSO budget and the commission chairman is considered the highest elected official in Limestone County. Assistant Attorney General Clark Morris noted this would make the chairman a supervisor of sorts for commissioners, who in turn would be supervisors for the sheriff's office.

She asked if Yarbrough thought anything wrong of accepting a $500 chip from Blakely, who in this chain of command would be considered a subordinate of the county commission. Yarbrough said no.

Leaving Biloxi

After golfing at the Beau Rivage, Turner said, Yarbrough decided to leave and head back to Orange Beach.

"His wife was not happy with him," Turner told the court.

Yarbrough admitted he had brought his wife with him to Orange Beach. She had stayed behind in Orange Beach while he went to the Mississippi casino and resort, he said.

Turner testified that he, Blakely and Black decided to stay one more night at the resort, so Yarbrough used Black's truck to drive back.

According to Yarbrough and Turner, it was agreed that Blakely would drive Black and Turner to Mobile the next morning so Yarbrough could pick them up and have them back at the conference in time for the commissioners' vote.

Turner said he didn't know why Blakely opted not to return to the conference and was unaware that Blakely stopped at another casino on his way back to Limestone County. Evidence shows Blakely received $1,718 from the law enforcement fund for the trip — $1,418 to pay for the condo in Orange Beach and $300 per diem to cover food.

For this, he faces one count of fourth-degree theft and one count of use of official position or office for personal gain.

Prosecutors say he effectively stole from the law enforcement fund when he decided to leave the conference early but filed an expense report seeking funding for a full stay; defense says no actual cost was incurred by the county during his trip, as the Beau Rivage compensated Blakely for the rooms at the resort and two other LCSO employees were at the conference while Blakely was absent.

When asked, Yarbrough said he's never known the sheriff to be dishonest, adding, "Sheriff don't even cheat in golf, and he needs to." Turner said he'd "classify the sheriff as a good man."

"I just hope the truth comes out, whatever that is," Turner said.

Bad business

Friday's testimonies focused primarily on the charges stemming from interest-free loans that Blakely allegedly obtained due to his role as sheriff.

Brad Pullum testified Friday morning, describing himself as a former LCSO deputy and investigator who at one point ran against Blakely for the sheriff position and now works as a real estate agent, real estate appraiser, music publisher, singer, songwriter and inventor of the Hat Buddy, a device to rest one's cowboy hat on in a vehicle without it losing shape.

He also listed himself as co-owner of Higo LLC, which he said he started with the intent of obtaining government contracts, including deals to sell weapons and submarines from the U.S. Department of Defense to the Taiwan government and to manufacture silencers for the U.S. government. He said he listed his daughter as one of the other co-owners because having a woman co-owner would make his company more appealing to potential clients.

The other co-owner, Tong Shen Chiou, testified Friday afternoon that he was listed as co-owner for a similar reason — he's from Taiwan, and having a "minority" on the list would make Pullum's company look better.

Chiou said he thought of himself as a generous man who often loaned people money, but he also often turned down Pullum's investment suggestions, such as the $3-million request for land to turn into a live musical entertainment venue. However, he did at one point let Pullum handle some commercial real estate for him and agreed to be the "money man" for Higo LLC.

In 2015, Pullum went to Chiou and said he needed to borrow $50,000 but could pay it back within a few weeks. Chiou said he agreed, and it wasn't until they were at the bank requesting the line of credit that he learned it was for a man named Mike Blakely.

Chiou testified he had no idea who Blakely was at the time, and a few days later, he met Blakely for the first time at LCSO to get a pistol permit and honorary deputy card. Six days after they met, the official check for $50,000 was printed by the bank with Blakely as the recipient, at Pullum's instruction, Chiou said.

Real estate sale

Pullum testified Friday that Blakely needed several thousand dollars because his "ass was in a sling" and he owed money to someone, but Pullum said it wasn't until later on that he learned it was because Blakely owed thousands to Paul "Tall Paul" Anderson, another local businessman.

Pullum said Blakely received the $50,000 loan from Chiou and more than $22,000 from Pullum. Blakely then sold his parents' house to pay back the loans, according to Pullum.

However, that wasn't the end of their business dealings. According to Pullum, he needed to hang lead in the walls of the Higo office to soundproof it for his meetings with government officials.

An invoice presented Friday showed more than $8,700 was paid for the materials, but for labor, Pullum said he turned to Blakely and the county jail.

Pullum said Blakely provided three inmates, who were paid $10 per hour and given lunch for eight hours of work per day. According to the memo lines on some of the checks, the work started less than a week after the loans and real estate sale. Pullum said he didn't know how long the inmates worked in total. When asked if renovations were ever finished on the office, Pullum said "a lot got done" but admitted it had yet to be completely renovated. He said Higo still exists, but the building is currently being used for property storage.

Chiou offered a more critical assessment.

"You can go there, look," he told the court. "It bad. ... No bathrooms. Front door wide open."

For his role in the ordeal, Blakely faces a single count of use of official position or office for personal gain, for obtaining $72,189.68 in interest-free loans from Pullum and Chiou.

Defense attorneys emphasized in their cross-examination of Chiou that he did not know Blakely, much less that he was a sheriff, when Pullum approached Chiou to request a $50,000 loan.

No hard feelings?

While Pullum testified Higo LLC was still active, Chiou emphatically distanced himself from the company and the co-owner. He said he had no idea if Pullum ever purchased a submarine or successfully dealt with any country's government, but he did know he had been swindled out of more than $750,000 during the course of their relationship.

He told the court Pullum once invited him on a trip to Washington, D.C., telling Chiou he knew the Secretary of Defense and would arrange a meeting. Chiou said he thought this was his opportunity to help his native country, but he spent $3,000 on hotel rooms and airfare to see things he could have seen at home instead.

"I was so mad," Chiou told the court, his storytelling sparking laughter from some in the courtroom.

When a defense attorney asked if Chiou still dealt with Pullum, he said, "No, no, no. I'm not stupid," triggering more laughter.

As for Pullum and Blakely, Pullum said the two had traveled to Tunica several times, eaten together often and even traveled to New York City together over the years.

He said he hoped they could still be considered friends, and when asked by the defense if he thought Blakely was vindictive, Pullum paused for a long moment before saying he felt the sheriff was no more vindictive than anyone else.

Court to resume Monday

A receipt that might prove Blakely returned a portion of law enforcement funds given to him for a Las Vegas trip referenced in the indictment has led to a hearing Tuesday.

Prosecutors say the receipt was not included in the records provided when LCSO responded to their subpoena, and they were not made aware of its existence until after the trial had begun, which could now lead to the dismissal of one of the charges.

Judge Pamela Baschab agreed to adjourn court until 1 p.m. Monday while the matter is handled, and a hearing has been set for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The News Courier will have additional coverage of the trial throughout next week.