Criminal Misuse of Government Resources by Republicans for Personal Gain

Illegally put pressure on a government official to reassess their decision on a property appraisal she had an interest in

Rushed to give his close friend and former business associate $170k in taxpayer dollars for contract work by skipping the public bidding process that is required by state law and was penalized by his peers with a lifetime ban from the state senate floor

Illegally operated his private business out of the mayor's office where he utilized public resources and personnel to improperly obtain government permits that enriched him personally and then encouraged at least one witness to lie to investigators if they were questioned

Illegally paid $92,800 in taxpayer funds to his legislative aide's relatives to pay for rent at two cottages located well outside his district by falsely declaring that one cottage was his district office which entitled him to a taxpayer funded stipend

Used his stature as the second highest-ranking member of the state senate to push through legislation that he knew would have a direct positive impact on his wife's finances she otherwise would not have been able to pursue if the law weren't changed

Funneled roughly $2.3 million to his private businesses by leveraging his status as state Speaker of the House and chair of the Alabama Republican Party to solicit favors from some of Alabama's most influential politicians (including former Gov. Bob Riley) and businesspeople

Spent tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds on private jets, automobiles, tickets to the Super Bowl, massages and cigars and many other things over a five-year period

Charged local taxpayers to reimburse him $1,331 on expenses he spent entertaining a subordinate he was having an extramarital affair with and on rental cars he used to visit the woman and his wife on different weekends