The state’s top cop, Stephen Collier, was sacked Tuesday by Bentley for misappropriation of state funds. “Collier said Bentley recently told him he was ‘madly in love” with Mason.
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Mr Collier claims he has seen text messages and heard audio recordings of explicit conversations between the pair, with part of a recording published in local media after Governor Bentley tried to deny its existence.
Mason, in a statement, said Collier would have not made that comment about a man in a position of influence within the executive branch. He also says, “If we are going to do what we did the other day, we are going to have to start locking the door”.
“If this had been a Democrat, my goodness, they would have crucified him already”, she says, adding: “It is frustrating for me as the only openly gay elected official hearing people from that side of the aide espouse family values and their Christianity when they use it as a weapon against the gay community, and then something like this happens”. ‘Today I want to apologize to the people of the state of Alabama and once again, I want to apologize to my family.
However, allegations have emerged that Mr Bentley had an extra-marital affair with chief adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason while still married to Ms Bentley, leading to the divorce – despite his belief that a marriage is a monogamous union between one man and one woman. Bentley said he would call a special session if lawmakers override his veto, which would enact the spending plan with a majority vote of both legislative chambers.
Mr Bentley also denied claims he had leased a state plane to avoid having Ms Mason’s name appear on flight manifests.
When Mr Bentley was asked by reporters on Wednesday if he loved Ms Mason, he said he “loves everybody on his staff”. “I am proud of what I have accomplished in my professional career”.
“Since 2010, I have proudly served as Gov. Robert Bentley’s Campaign Press Secretary, Communications Director, Advisor, Campaign Communications Director and now Senior Policy Advisor”.
Collier said Wednesday that he had done nothing wrong. Asked why he was coming forward now, after his firing, Collier said he should have come forward sooner and apologized to the governor’s former wife. Bentley and his wife divorced past year.
In a court filing, Dianne Bentley said, “There exists a conflict of personalities which destroys the legitimate aims of matrimony and all possibilities of reconciliation are futile”.
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“This isn’t just a personal story”, she says. Bentley, who smiled through the photo-op, found out later that his wife filed for divorce about 30 minutes earlier.
