Phenix City: Slots were a small part

By By Bob Martin, The Alabama Scene
If anybody in the world has the right to speak out about the corruption in Phenix City during the early 1950s it is my friend, former Gov. John Patterson. His father, Albert Patterson, the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 1954 who was unopposed in the general election and had pledged to clean up the city, was killed by the mob and the corrupt politicians before the general election.
A few weeks back the former governor, a respected voice on most any issue, did speak out in a letter to newspapers throughout the state. He supported Bob Riley’s effort to shut down the operation of electronic bingo in Alabama. His letter compared bingo in the state today with the gambling that was a part of the corruption on the western bank of the Chattahoochee in the 1940’s and 50’s.
However, the slot machines, which had actually been legalized by local officials, were just a part of the problem in Phenix City. The more significant parts of the circle of corruption included the out-of-state mobsters, prostitution rings, illegal drugs, murders and booze and crooked politicians.
During the late 1920’s Phenix City was forced into bankruptcy and by 1933 was operating under a federal receiver. As the criminal element began to infiltrate the city, local politicans established a system of fines and licensing for gambling and for the use and sale of liquor to raise money for the city’s treasury. By 1945, the city was collecting nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars a year in fines.
In the 1940s, Phenix City increasingly came under the control of organized crime bosses who ran gambling, narcotics, and prostitution operations, rigged local and state elections and held important leadership positions in every aspect of the city and county life.
With thousands of young soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Benning the illegal activities thrived as never before. The young soldiers would cross the river, partake of the drugs, gambling or protitution and if they couldn’t pay up, they might end up in the Chattahoochee instead of the army base. The search of the river for evidence in Albert Patterson’s murder turned up many bodies officials were unable to identify.
By the time Albert Patterson was gunned down on June 18, 1954, by the county’s chief deputy sheriff, Albert Fuller with the local district attorney Arch Ferrell, standing at his side, the city was finally on the road to recovery. But it would still take the intervention of the National Guard and dedicated prosecutors to finish the job. Fuller, Ferrell and Attorney General Si Garrett were all indicted for the Patterson murder.
Gov. Gordon Persons declared limited martial rule and ordered the National Guard to take over law enforcement duties from the local police and sheriff’s deputies. Special prosecutors, including Montgomery attorney MacDonald Gallion and Circuit Court Judge Walter B. Jones of Montgomery were dispatched to Russell County to replace the local judiciary.
Within six months the crime syndicate running Phenix City was completely dismantled. A special grand jury brought 734 indictments, including charges against many law enforcement officers, local business owners connected to organized crime and elected officials.
Fuller was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but Ferrell was acquitted. Garrett, the attorney general, was never brought to trial, and spent time convalescing in a mental hospital for much of the first year or so after Patterson’s murder.
Nothing compares with Phenix City
Mr. Riley has gone about the state attempting to make a comparison of the owners and operators of first class gaming facilities in Alabama to the thugs and corriupt politicians who ran Phenix City.
I am told he has bragged about bringing Gov. Patterson, who, at 88 is recovering from recent heart surgery at his Goldville farm, into the fray.
Riley then found an organization called “Citizens for a Better Alabama” to purchase ads in most state newspapers which contained the former governor’s letter accompanied with a photo of his father’s murderer, Albert Fuller, pointing to his father’s blood on the sidewalk where Fuller had shot him.
The organization, Citizens for a Better Alabama, operates out of the same office as Birmingham lawyer Eric Johnston at Suite 107, 1200 Corporate Drive in Birmingham. Johnston is also listed as president and general counsel of the Southeast Law Institute.
Bob Martin is editor and publisher of The Montgomery Independent. Email him at: bob@montgomeryindependent.com