FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
February 3, 2011
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Suzanne Webb (334) 242-7351
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AG STRANGE ANNOUNCES CONVICTION FOR
POSSESSION OF FORGED AG DOCUMENT
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange announced the conviction
of a Madison man who used a forged document said to be from the Attorney General’s
Office in an attempt to hide his criminal record from a prospective employer. Neal
Mathias Reisel, 28, pleaded guilty yesterday afternoon in Madison County Circuit Court
to second-degree possession of a forged instrument.
“By using a forged government document to hide his criminal background, this
defendant’s actions were a serious attempt to compromise this office,” said Attorney
General Strange. “Due to the vigilance of the company he attempted to deceive, and the
good work of investigators and prosecutors within the Attorney General’s Office,
Reisel’s crimes were discovered and he will be punished in court.”
Sentencing will be set at a later date. Second-degree possession of a forged
instrument is a class C felony, punishable by one year and one day to 10 years
imprisonment and a fine of up to $15,000 for the class C felony. Due to Reisel’s prior
conviction, he faces a penalty of two to 20 years imprisonment and a $30,000 fine under
the Alabama Habitual Offender Act.
The Attorney General’s Office presented the following information about Reisel’s
crimes to Madison County Circuit Judge Laura W. Hamilton during a hearing this
afternoon:
After his selection as a prospective sales agent for the Liberty National Insurance
office in Huntsville, a background inquiry revealed that Reisel had been convicted of a
first-degree robbery in Limestone County and the company therefore declined to hire
him. Reisel denied having a criminal record and claimed he had been a victim of
identity theft and that someone else who was using his name had been arrested and
convicted.
Reisel faxed a letter to Liberty National Insurance’s home office purporting to be
from an Assistant Attorney General of the Alabama Attorney General Office. The letter
stated among other things that the Attorney General’s Office was working to help
Reisel restore his good public record, that the Attorney General’s Office stipulated that
501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36130 (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us Page 2 of 2
Reisel did not participate in the crimes for which he was charged, and that this was a
case of identity theft.
Liberty National Insurance contacted the Assistant Attorney General, who
examined the letter that was purportedly written by her and determined that it was a
forgery. The Assistant Attorney General stated that neither she nor anyone in her
division ever wrote the letter and that the letter was not typed in the style that she and
the other Assistant Attorneys General used.
On March 24, 2008, Reisel admitted that he possessed the forged letter purportedly
written by the Assistant Attorney General. Reisel had, in fact, been convicted of first-
degree robbery in Limestone County on October 22, 2007. The Attorney General’s Office
presented evidence to a Madison County grand jury resulting in Reisel’s indictment for
second-degree possession of a forged instrument, the crime to which he today pleaded
guilty. He was arrested on December 8, 2008, and has remained in jail since that time.
Attorney General Strange commended Assistant Attorneys General Stephanie
Billingslea, Bill Lisenby, Peter Smyczek and Thomas Govan and Administrative
Assistant Lori Arnold of his Public Corruption and White Collar Crimes Division, and
Assistant Attorney General Tina Coker, as well as the Special Agents of his
Investigations Division.
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