Day five: Penland gets pummeled

Not much time to post this morning. Out until midnight delivering yard signs to precincts and have an appointment at 7 a.m. to start my campaign day (before heading in to the courtroom at 10 a.m. — the start has been delayed to give jurors time to vote.)

So, only some high points here.

Medford attorney Victoria Jane continued her cross-x of Henderson secretary Anna Deaton. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office had received a check according to Deaton. (This non-factoid was picked up later in the day by raunch radio, establishing once again that right wing broadcasters are more interested in ratings than accuracy). Before the lunch break, Asst. U.S. Attorney Richard Edwards used his questioning of Henderson salesman Jerry Pennington to establish that the payment to the Macon department was unrelated to gambling, illegal gambling, or any illicit activity whatsoever. Edwards took special care during the lunch break to report the real reporters in the court room and direct our attention once again to the testimony we had all just heard. He said, “I’m not adding anything to the testimony. But you heard it. I don’t want the Macon sheriff to have a heart attack.”

The other hugely significant testimony from both Deaton and Pennington involved payments to the Haywood County Sheriff. He was not mentioned by name, but Henderson records introduced as evidence and corroborated by both witnesses indicate monthly payments to Haywood of $100 per poker machine, or $3,300 per month, over several years, in return for being permitted to operate machines in the county.

Whether or not the Haywood department knew that machines were being operated illegally, the payments themselves, if accurate, are a felony violation of the law.

Overall, Guy Penland was the biggest loser in Monday’s session, being tied by Deaton and Pennington to payoffs, to running of license plates for Pennington, for soliciting store owners to participate in illegal gambling, for issuance and reissuance of false law enforcement credentials to Pennington, etc.

However, former Chief Deputy George Stewart was named as recipient of payoffs for the first time, and the money map around Medford grew denser as well. Off to the polls. More detail, probably tomorrow. Go vote!