Ala. mayor arrested on bribery charges

ATLANTA — The mayor of Birmingham, Ala., was indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud and conspiracy Monday, part of a probe into a local financial crisis that has the surrounding county on the brink of one of the largest municipal bankruptcies in American history.

The 101-count indictment focuses on Mayor Larry Langford's tenure as Jefferson County commission president from 2002 to 2006. Langford also served as head of the county finance department, where he engaged in a risky strategy to restructure $3.2 billion in debt the county incurred while fixing its sewer system.

That strategy eventually would leave the county government in disastrous financial shape. It also had the short-term effect of enriching William Blount, a Montgomery, Ala., investment banker and friend of Langford's who earned $7.1 million in fees from transactions related to the restructuring, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege that Langford pressured financial institutions that took part in the county's debt deals to hire Blount as a consultant. In exchange, prosecutors say, Langford, 62, received about $235,000 in expensive clothes, Rolex watches and cash from Blount and a Birmingham lobbyist, Albert LaPierre.

Blount, 55, and LaPierre, 58, also were indicted Monday on bribery and other charges. All three pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.

April Odom, a mayoral spokeswoman, said Langford, a Democrat, would continue to serve as mayor.

The federal government's concern over Jefferson County's financial meltdown — and Langford's role in it — has been apparent for months. Three of the former commissioners on the five-member board have been found guilty of federal corruption charges related to the sewer-system work or the debt restructuring. In April, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit accusing Langford of improprieties similar to those in the criminal complaint.