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Alabama Gov. Allegedly Used State Helicopter To Fly His Wallet To Him

REUTERS/Zachary Sheely

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Blake Neff Reporter
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Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, already in deep trouble for allegedly carrying on an extramarital affair while in office, now faces allegations he used an official state helicopter to fly him his missing wallet.

According to Yellowhammer News, Bentley left his home in Tuscaloosa in a huff after an argument with his then-wife Dianne Bentley, reportedly over his refusal to sever ties with his political adviser and alleged mistress Rebekah Mason. He traveled down to couple’s beach house in Fort Morgan (several hours away), only to find that in his rush to leave he’d forgotten his wallet.

So, Bentley called up the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) and asked them to deliver his wallet via helicopter — and they did.

The allegation adds to the pile of evidence that could cause Bentley to be impeached. Thus far, Bentley has denied having a sexual relationship with Mason (despite audio evidence suggesting otherwise) and he has denied misusing state resources in his relationship with her. Using a state helicopter for such a superfluous purpose would put a big dent in that claim, though.

According to Yellowhammer’s sources, who all spoke anonymously due to fear of retaliation, the decision to help with the delivery was made by ALEA official Stan Stabler. That adds a whiff of corruption to the bizarre affair, as Stabler took over ALEA last month after Bentley fired his predecessor, Spencer Collier. Collier claims he and several others were fired by the governor for assisting in an investigation of the governor carried out by the state’s attorney general. Collier was also the first person to go public with allegations Bentley was having an affair with Mason.

The whistleblowers who gave the story to Yellowhammer said they came forward out of sheer disgust with the behavior of the governor and his allies.

“They are hurting people to keep their power,” one of them said. “They fired several people at ALEA who were just trying to do their jobs, and now they don’t have a way to pay their bills and they don’t have health insurance. At least one of the families has a sick child who is now suffering as a result. It has been hard enough to work in the administration with all of this going on these last two years, but I cannot sit quietly anymore.”

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