IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, NORTHERN DIVISION

AMENDMENT # 2A

RICO including Conspiracy - 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 et seq.

I. Mail and Wire Fraud - 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343

1. Plaintiffs adopt all statements and averments previously stated and incorporate the statements and averments, herein as fully rewritten.

2. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker used mail and wire communication to eliminate the plaintiffs from Alabama's Child Support Guidelines Committee and to eliminate the plaintiffs' knowledge about the Committee's activities, beginning on May 28, 1993 and continuing, until the 1999 child support guideline's update began.⁽¹⁾

3. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker violate the terms of this Court's Consent Order, dated December 21, 1995, that stated, "Specifically, the defendant agrees to provide the plaintiffs with individual notice of all committee meetings and to allow the plaintiffs to tape record all such meetings." (Court's Order, Exhibit 2B, ¶1, p1)

4. Following the conclusion of the 1993 lawsuit, Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker continued updating Alabama's child support guidelines for six (6) years and contrived a scheme to eliminate or minimize Blackston's appointment to the Committee.

5. In the fall of 1998, with approval from Dorrough, Maddox and Walker, Alabama Administrative Office of Court's (ADC) Director Gregory, contracted with Policy Studies, Inc. (PSI), of Denver, Colorado, to update the schedule of basic child support obligations. (Second Memorandum, Exhibit 2C, ¶1, p1.)

6. Plaintiffs Blackston and Barber were NOT informed about the PSI contract and were excluded from all decisions concerning the contract.

7. Dorrough, Maddox and Walker notified Committee members about the PSI contract on February 17, 1999 by sending a Memorandum to all Committee members, again proposing "the committee complete its review and formulate its recommendations by mail." (Second Memorandum, Exhibit 2C, ¶1-2, p1.)

8. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker's mail scheme caused a corporation, engaged in interstate commerce (PSI), and persons "out of state" to use the United States Mail to establish child support policy, based on fraudulent data, with the express intent to increase Barber and Alabama non-custodial parents' child support obligations and to eliminate the plaintiffs from Alabama's current child support guidelines update.

9. The contract with PSI required PSI to mail numerous correspondence to Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker to facilitate the Child Support Committee's functions.

10. The final product of PSI's 1999 contract, The Proposed Updated Child Support Schedule - State of Alabama, dated January 27, 1999 was mailed to Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker.

11. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker openly admit the mail scheme in the February 17, 1999, Memorandum, stating, ". . . I (Dorrough) am proposing that the committee complete its review and formulate its recommendations by mail." (Second Memorandum, Exhibit 2C, ¶2, p1.)

12. Bob Maddox and Peggy Walker are the contacts in case of questions concerning this matter. (Second Memorandum, Exhibit 2C, ¶5, p2.)

13. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker, acting without Committee approval, conducted the update process approximately six (6) months before informing anyone about the contract with PSI.

14. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker operated the Child Support Committee on and off for approximately six (6) years without Blackston and Barber's knowledge or participation.

15. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker completed the Child Support Committee functions and purpose before notifying Blackston or Barber that the guidelines update process had begun.

16. Dorrough, Maddox, Gregory and Walker conducted several private meetings, telephone conversations and mail correspondence to PSI, to form an "enterprise" that provided an organized framework for eliminating Blackston and Barber from the Child Support Committee.

17. One manner, among others, in which the enterprise operated was that Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker would eliminate Blackston and Barber from the Child Support Committee, operate the Child Support Committee in secret, clandestine meetings, communicate with PSI and each other by mail and wire, share all information they obtained from PSI and others with other members of the enterprise, to avoid publicity and unfavorable comments, and avoid input and actions by the general public and the plaintiffs.

18. Walker, Maddox and Gregory were aware of the basic structure and purpose of the enterprise, agreed to the operations of the Child Support committee by mail, and, by their actions, nurtured to fruition the acts of the other co-conspirators.

19. Walker and Maddox not only were privy to the ultra-secret workings of the Child Support Committee and the terms of the Consent Decree, but also sought to facilitate the mail and wire fraud crimes acting as Dorrough and Gregory's "right hand man".

20. For example, concerning the contract with PSI, Inc. Walker and Maddox facilitated the mail and wire communications.

21. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker's scheme directly targeted Blackston and Barber to eliminate their knowledge about the Child Support Committee, so as to eliminate all possibilities Blackston and Barber could exercise their free speech and contract rights under Court Order and Consent Decree.

22. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker caused the United States Mail, telephone, fax, e-mail communications and satellite communication to be used, in concert with Walker and Williams, President of Policy Studies Inc, (PSI) and unnamed Child Support Committee members, to deceive, misrepresent and defraud plaintiffs Blackston and Barber about the operations of the Child Support Committee.

23. The mail and wire communications left Blackston and Barber completely outside the Child Support Committee's activities without the knowledge that a child support guidelines update was in progress.

24. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker regularly sent letters and other correspondence through the United States Mail and fax over wire communications in furtherance of the mail fraud scheme.

25. PSI's replies came by the same method - the United States Mail, telephone (fax).

26. By using mail and wire communications, Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker completely eliminated Blackston and Barber by failing to inform them about Committee functions and activities, including but not limited to the "out of state" contracts with PSI.

27. In so doing, Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker violated Blackston and Barber's "property interest" membership and participation in the Child Support Committee, breached their First Amendment rights and breached their contract rights.

28. After 1993 and certainly in 1999, Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker knew or should have known, that the data provided by PSI was deliberately flawed and contained ONLY data from other regions and localities and that NONE of the data came from Alabama!

29. By deliberately using Williams' data and child support guidelines proposal Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker perpetrated a RICO/fraud upon the plaintiffs by using ONLY data from outside Alabama to factor into the Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligation, causing an abnormally high schedule in terms of Alabama families' income.

30. The false increase in data amounts caused plaintiff Barber to pay an inflated child support amount for the past six (6) years.

31. Dorrough, Gregory, Walker and Maddox completely nullified and rendered useless, the plaintiffs' financial and personal resources intended for their participation in the Child Support Committee.

32. Continuing the pattern of racketeering activity, Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker took an extra two (2) years to began the update process, utilizing the extra time to plot against the plaintiffs and the Consent Decree and this Court's Order.

33. Additionally, Blackston was not on the Committee for a period of about six (6) months, during the past six (6) years for a total of about two (2) years. Blackston was reappointed only after a stern demand for an updated Child Support Committee member list.

34. For six (6) years all activities of the Committee were secret and hidden until February 17, 1999, wherein Blackston received his "after the fact" memo from AOC. (Second Memorandum, Exhibit 2C.)

35. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker, using the mails, contracted with PSI for a predetermined and finalized child support guideline, during the time Blackston was illegally removed from the Committee.

36. The decision to contract with PSI was a decision formulated in a secret meeting, not open to the public or other Committee members, especially Blackston and Barber.

37. By holding secret and/or private meetings Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker, eliminated the plaintiffs' knowledge about the contract with PSI.

38. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker conspired to change organized - required by state law - public committee meetings, to operating the Committee by mail and wire communication.

39. To facilitate the mail and wire fraud scheme, Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker cooperated and agreed with each other to conduct the required public meetings of the Committee by mail.

40. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker, thus far, have thwarted every reasonable attempt, granted by court Order and the Consent Decree, for Blackston and Barber to participate in the update process.

41. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker failed to allow the plaintiffs to make a recording of the Committee's activities, pursuant to their first amendment rights, Court Order and Consent Decree.

42. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker failed to inform Blackston about all the activities and information about the Committee and include him in committee decisions and activities.

43. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker failed to include Blackston in the decision to hire "out of state" contractors to produce Alabama's child support guidelines.

44. Defendant Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker held meetings and conspired to update the Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations without any public notice or notice to Blackston and Barber. (Second Memorandum, Exhibit 2C.)

45. Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker were all knowledgeable about the Consent Decree's terms and each consciously agreed NOT to abide by the Consent Decree, thereby conspiring to violate the plaintiffs' rights enumerated under the Consent Decree and this Court's Order.

II. CONCLUSION

46. Circumstances of the defendants' acts caused United States Mails to be used as the vehicle to defraud plaintiffs in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343 (Mail and Wire Fraud) have been sufficiently enumerated, without any discovery to date, to maintain a RICO claim.

47. Defendants' deliberate and premeditated use of the United States mail caused PSI and other Committee members to utilize the mail in reply.

48. Defendants' use of the United States mail was for the purpose of executing the scheme to defraud the plaintiffs and eliminate the plaintiffs from the Committee.

49. The plaintiffs' actual or imminent injury is traceable to the alleged unlawful conduct of the defendants, while acting under color of law and office, and the relief requested will likely remedy the plaintiff's injury.

50. All of the predicate acts, without any discovery allowed to date, upon which the Plaintiffs rely, involved Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walkers' operation of the Enterprise named as the Advisory Committee on Child Support Guidelines Updates and Enforcement working both from within and from without Alabama's Administrative Office of Courts.

51 . In conducting the affairs of the enterprise, the Dorrough, Gregory, Maddox and Walker violated the terms of Consent Decree and this Court's Order, by refusing to give notice of Child Support Committee meetings and eliminated Blackston and Barber from the Child Support Committee.

Wherefore premises considered, the plaintiffs respectfully request, as follows:

1 Plaintiffs seek temporary and permanent injunctive relief and restitution under 18 U.S.C. § 1961.

2 That damages be awarded, commensurate with the degree of harm suffered by the plaintiffs, an amount to be determined by a jury.

3 That each plaintiff prays for such other, further and different relief to which he may be entitled and for general relief.

Respectfully submitted July _______, 2000.

______________________________

James R. Blackston

______________________________

Bradley W. Barber

1. On May 28, 1993, Walker mailed a Memorandum to all Alabama's Child Support Committee members stating, "In light of the pending litigation, Judge Dorrough has suggested that the Committee try to complete its review by mail." (First Memorandum, Exhibit 2A, ¶1, p1.)⁽²⁾

2. The plaintiffs were unaware in 1993 that the defendants would conduct the mail fraud scheme by using the United States Mail and wire communications to eliminate Blackston and Barber from knowledge about the Committee's activities. The second memorandum Blackston received on February 17, 1999, unquestionably revealed the mail fraud scheme. (Second Memorandum, Exhibit 2D, ¶1, p1.)

[ Home]---[Search]---[Email]---[Access Page]---[Child Support]