MONTGOMERY — Former Dist. 10 state Sen. Larry Means wants his life back.

Means, 64, was acquitted by a jury in Montgomery last week. He had been charged with conspiracy and bribery in a federal gambling corruption case that began in October 2010.

All five of Means' alleged co-conspirators were also found not guilty. They were casino owner Milton McGregor, Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker, former state Sen. Jim Preuitt, Sen. Harry Ann Smith, and lobbyist Tom Coker.

“The Good Lord was with us the whole time,” Means said March 7 after the verdict was read.

One month before the November 2010 election, Means was charged with 16 counts of corruption by federal officials investigating alleged vote-buying to pass a bill that would have allowed electronic bingo in Alabama.

Means was found not guilty on all but two of the charges against him in a trial that ended last August. The other five defendants in last week's trial were also found not guilty on the majority of charges against them in the first trial. Two other defendants were exonerated last summer.

This time, federal prosecutors cut their case from seven weeks to two, hoping to zero in on what they considered the main points of the case. But as they had in the first case, the defense rested without presenting any evidence, so sure were they of their clients' innocence and the weakness of the evidence against them. For a second time, a jury agreed that the prosecution had failed to prove any crimes were committed.

After his acquittal, Means said in his 12 years in the state Senate he never once sought or accepted a bribe. He said to be accused was “a shock.”

Means said the cost of defending himself against the charges has decimated his savings. Recently, he has gone to work for Twin Bridges Golf Course in Gadsden.

“I had limited money,” he said last week. “It's tough.”

Means was serving his third term in the Alabama Senate in 2010 while bingo legislation was being debated. Means voted for the final version of the constitutional amendment but it died in the House after word leaked of a federal investigation into vote-buying.

Means said the first he had heard of the alleged vote-buying scheme was when he was arrested a month before the General Election, which he narrowly lost to Republican challenger Phil Williams.

Asked about whether he might seek public office again, Means was non-committal.

“You never say never,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.