By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY— As of May 31, Timothy J. Fuhrman, Chief Investigator for the State’s Attorney General’s Office, is no longer at his post.
When Luther Strange won the election for Attorney General in 2010, he made a number of new hires, including a new Chief Investigator to replace Howard “Gene” Sisson. Sisson had been promoted to the position by Troy King. Strange defeated King in the 2010 Republican primary, and hired Fuhrman in January 2011.
Fuhrman, a 29-year veteran and former FBI agent, would become Sisson’s boss for the next three years. Scisson was fired from the Attorney General’s Office in May 2015, after it was revealed that he, along with Henry T. “Sonny” Reagan, had assisted the criminal defense team in the Mike Hubbard investigation.
Before retiring from the FBI, Fuhrman led the Mobile field. During that time, he worked on many high profile cases including the Bingo-Bribery case that indicted lobbyists, legislators, and casino operators. Only those who cooperated with the government for lesser sentences were found guilty of a crime.
In Sisson’s termination letter Strange states, “I cannot trust you to follow Office policies and to be faithful to the rule of law; I cannot trust you to keep the work-related confidences of your co-workers; and I cannot trust you to conduct yourself with honesty and integrity in the workplace.”
Evidence provided in the termination letter (but not released to the public) states that emails sent by Sisson prove that he conspired with Reagan and others to undermine the investigation into Hubbard.
Strange also states that an internal investigation found Sisson assisted Reagan in covertly taping a conversation with Acting Attorney General Davis: “On August 1, 2014, you assisted Mr. Reagan in secretly taping a conversation with Acting Attorney General Davis, relating to the work of the Lee County Special Grand Jury.”
In response to the investigation, Sisson claimed that his direct superior, Fuhrman, had okayed the taping of Davis.
According to Strange, “Taping anyone in the Attorney’s Office by an investigator without their knowledge is expressly prohibited by policy.”
Regarding Sisson’s excuse that he had been authorized by Fuhrman to tape Davis without his knowledge, Strange said, “That you thought the Chief Investigator [Fuhrman] had authorized a secretive recording of the Acting Attorney General does not excuse your behavior. The Chief Investigator had no authority to suspend the Office policies that were implemented by me, effective January 1, 2013.”
Fuhrman’s name is now added to a list of individuals who have left the Attorney General’s Office, after an internal investigation found a coordinated effort by Reagan and Sisson to interfere with the Hubbard investigation. Chief Deputy Kevin Turner has also left the Office.
