Over a seven-month span, businesses tied through shared ownership records, addresses and registration filings sent six campaign contributions totaling roughly $90,000 into the political committees of Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry, who is running for the Alabama Public Service Commission, and Lt. Chad Whaley, Gentry’s chosen successor in the race for Cullman County sheriff. During the same period, questions emerged after reports alleged gambling machines were operating inside a Hanceville gas station connected to the same business network.
The contributions and corporate records reviewed by APR do not establish wrongdoing by any individual or business. But together they reveal an unusually concentrated pattern of political giving centered around two campaigns connected to the same county law-enforcement structure.
At the center of the network is Hoover-area businessman Amin Dewani, whose name appears across dozens of Alabama corporate records tied primarily to convenience stores and fuel stations. Campaign filings and Secretary of State records reviewed by APR show five Dewani-connected LLCs or storefront entities accounted for six contributions directed almost entirely toward Gentry’s PSC campaign and Whaley’s sheriff campaign.
The records show three separate $10,000 contributions arriving during July 2025, each spaced seven days apart. Two additional $25,000 contributions followed in January 2026, one benefiting Gentry’s PSC campaign and another benefiting Whaley’s sheriff campaign exactly one week later.
APR’s review found no comparable pattern of contributions from Dewani-linked entities to other Alabama candidates during the same period.
In Alabama politics, sheriffs occupy a uniquely influential position, serving simultaneously as law-enforcement leaders, public officials and central figures inside county political structures. That overlap often places campaign money, business interests and public authority in close proximity — particularly in counties where one political primary effectively decides who will hold office.
Gentry is seeking election to the Alabama Public Service Commission while Whaley, his longtime subordinate and endorsed successor, is running to replace him as sheriff. No Democrat qualified for the race, making the Republican primary the likely deciding contest.
The donations drew heightened attention following reporting by 1819 News and Yellowhammer News involving a Shell station at Interstate 65 Exit 291 in Hanceville. Those reports alleged a concealed back room inside the station housed gambling machines similar to devices previously identified as illegal by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.
Campaign finance records later showed that AASHNA LLC, the entity operating the station, contributed $25,000 to Gentry’s PSC campaign committee in January 2026.
In comments previously reported by 1819 News, Gentry said his office had communicated with the Attorney General’s Office regarding the machines.
“To be honest, the state of Alabama has been arguing over what is ‘illegal gambling’ for decades, and they still can’t figure it out,” Gentry said.
Public records reviewed by APR show the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office followed a formal Attorney General inspection process during another gaming-machine complaint in 2021.
The Cullman Tribune reported in 2021 that the Sheriff’s Office requested an inspection by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office after complaints surfaced regarding gaming machines at a Dodge City thrift store. The Cullman Tribune further reported that the Attorney General’s Office later determined the machines were “out of compliance with state gaming machine regulations,” after which the Sheriff’s Office served a removal notice on the operator.
APR has not independently verified the full circumstances surrounding either case beyond the public reporting and records reviewed.
Corporate records reviewed by APR also show multiple entities tied to Dewani shared addresses, registration details or organizational connections. Several LLCs associated with the contributions were reportedly formed on the same day in May 2024.
Two contributions appearing on campaign filings under storefront names — “Valley Grove Food Mart” and “Cross Roads Food Mart” — do not appear to correspond directly with registered Alabama LLC names. However, the addresses listed on those filings match business locations tied to Dewani-linked entities in Secretary of State records reviewed by APR.
The public record also shows the relationship between Dewani and the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office predates the current election cycle.
A July 2020 Facebook post published by the Sheriff’s Office thanked Dewani by name for donating masks and hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic. The post identified him as the owner of the “291 Food Mart (Shell).”
Whaley, meanwhile, has publicly campaigned on continuing the direction established under Gentry’s leadership. Whaley told The Cullman Tribune in 2025 that he intended to keep the Sheriff’s Office “on the right course.”
The scrutiny intensified further after APR received information that an ethics complaint against Gentry has been filed by Daniel Joseph Davis of Hanceville. APR has independently verified public records related to allegations surrounding the matters referenced in this story.
The Alabama Ethics Commission generally does not comment publicly on pending complaints unless formal action is taken.
Several questions remain unresolved.
APR has not determined the disposition of a 2013 Walker County civil forfeiture case involving Dewani referenced in the records reviewed for this story.
APR also has not independently confirmed whether the Attorney General’s Office conducted a formal inspection of the Hanceville location or whether any enforcement requests were made locally regarding the machines identified in prior reporting.
APR’s review of campaign finance filings, corporate records and public reporting does not establish wrongdoing by any individual or business, nor has APR uncovered evidence showing that any law-enforcement decision was directly influenced by political contributions.
Alabama law permits LLCs to make campaign donations, and public officials routinely receive contributions from business owners and community supporters.
APR was unable to establish contact with Gentry, Whaley or Dewani regarding the campaign contributions, business relationships and questions raised by the public records reviewed for this story. Any responses received after publication will be added.
For now, the public record reveals a tightly connected stream of campaign contributions flowing through one county political structure at the same moment questions are emerging about gambling enforcement, political succession, and the intersection of money and public authority in Cullman County.
