"An FBI investigation of Mississippi Choctaw gaming facilities involves the tribe's ties to two Atlanta companies.

Mercury Gaming Group and its marketing arm, the Titan Agency, are a focus of the investigation, according to a new report from the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Federal authorities raided the Silver Star and Grand Moon casinos near Philadelphia, Mississippi, last Tuesday.

The raid has drawn strong interest in Alabama, largely because of reports that the Choctaws spent some $13 million, funneled through GOP felon Jack Abramoff, to help Republican Bob Riley get elected governor in 2002. Riley's apparent desire to protect the Choctaws' market share by keeping gaming out of Alabama helped spark a federal electronic-bingo prosecution that is ongoing in Montgomery.

It remains unknown if the FBI investigation will focus on Bush-era political prosecutions and election irregularities in the Deep South. But it is known that the Titan Agency is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, meaning the company started in 2001, at the outset of the George W. Bush administration. Titan apparently is thriving, as it recently announced a planned move to an office complex in the upscale Buckhead area."

Get the Story:
Roger Shuler: Will FBI Raid Yield New Abramoff-Related Sleaze in the Deep South? (OpEd News 7/21)

Related Stories:
Opinion: Corruption and FBI's raid on Mississippi Choctaw casino (7/15)