Ala. General Fund Getting Money From Casino Raid

The state's troubled General Fund is getting nearly $550,000 from a raid on a gambling hall in Lowndes County. Attorney General Luther Strange's office announced that Circuit Judge Robert Vance approved the forfeiture of the money to state. Alabama's gambling task force seized the money during a raid on electronic bingo machines at the White Hall Entertainment Center in March 2009. The operators, Cornerstone Community Outreach and Freedom Trail Ventures, recently agreed to forfeit the $549,981. The judge approved it in a one-paragraph order Tuesday. The money will help the General Fund, which finances non-education agencies, such as state troopers and prisons. The governor had to cut spending 10.6 percent in March because revenue collections were falling behind appropriations. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.