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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Dec. 1) - The mayor of Alabama's largest city, Larry
Langford, was arrested Monday on federal bribery and fraud charges connected
to a multibillion-dollar sewer bond deal that has driven the surrounding
county to the brink of bankruptcy.
Federal prosecutors in Birmingham said Langford, Montgomery investment
banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre were charged in the 101-count
indictment released Monday. The charges also include money laundering and
filing false tax returns.
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Birmingham Mayor *Larry Langford* was arrested in Alabama Monday on federal
bribery and fraud charges connected to a multibillion-dollar sewer bond
deal. The 60-year-old Democratic lawmaker is accused of receiving $230,000
in bribes from an investment banker, and also faces several other
charges. *Click
through for other political scandals.*
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Langford is accused of receiving $230,000 in bribes from Blount, some of
them routed through LaPierre, to influence the bond deals while Langford was
president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount's firm made $7.1
million in fees from the bond work.
The three men have denied any wrongdoing in the face of similar allegations
contained in a lawsuit by federal regulators.
Langford, 60, was taken into custody around 7 a.m. Monday, FBI spokesman
Paul Daymond said. Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission
before he was elected mayor last year. Birmingham is in Jefferson County.
The county is trying to avoid filing what would be the largest municipal
bankruptcy in U.S. history over $3.2 billion in debt for sewer bonds, nearly
double the record of $1.7 billion set in 1994 by Orange County, Calif.
Those bonds went sour as the mortgage crisis hit and banks tightened up on
lending, sending credit costs for the bonds skyrocketing.
The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Langford in a lawsuit of
taking more than $156,000 in undisclosed payments and benefits from Blount
and routed through LaPierre.
David McKnight, an attorney for Blount, said Blount was on his way to
Birmingham to surrender.
An attorney for LaPierre, Tommy Spina, told The Birmingham News that
LaPierre would be surrendering later Monday. Spina did not immediately
return a call for comment.
The mayor's chief of staff said city business would go on as usual. In a
statement, Deborah Vance-Bowie also said the indictment of Langford was
"certainly no surprise to us" and that they had expected some action from
U.S. Attorney Alice Martin as she nears a possible end of her appointment
with the swearing in of a new president in January.
"We are glad the mayor will finally have his day in court," the chief of
staff's statement said.
Langford has said the investigation was politically motivated. He contends
Martin, who was appointed by President Bush, has targeted Democrats.
Langford, who was elected mayor in a nonpartisan vote, was a Democrat when
he served on the commission and identifies himself as a Democrat. Blount is
a former state Democratic Party chairman and LaPierre is a former state
Democratic Party executive director.
Martin has denied any political motivation behind her office's
investigations and prosecutions.
Langford has drawn attention for a series of colorful stunts since taking
office last year, many of which are aimed at trying to turn around an old
steel city-turned-medical hub.
He walked into a business meeting with two police officers carrying
submachine guns, props meant to generate interest in his "top secret"
finance plans. He also announced a longshot bid to bring the 2020 Olympics
to Birmingham, and his critics have even gone as far as to call him "Mayor
LaLa."
The former promoter and television reporter has been unapologetic about his
conduct, saying it's his job to sell the city.
--
"Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over
their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."
- Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks, 1965
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