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Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, arrested early Monday morning at his job at Birmingham Budweiser, appeared in federal court in leg-irons and pleaded not guilty in federal court as prosecutors outlined a 101-count criminal indictment alleging bribery, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and filing false income tax returns; he is named in 60 of them.
Langford, with longtime friend and lobbyist Albert LaPierre and Montgomery-based investment banker William Blount, are accused of creating “pay to play” criminal schemes in which they personally and professionally profited from Jefferson County’s billion-dollar sewer bond deals.
Langford was the County Commission president from 2003 to 2007, and oversaw the county’s financial committee. During that time, prosecutors allege Langford got as much as $235,000 from Blount through LaPierre, and that Blount’s firm, Blount Parrish & Co., received $7.1 million in fees from county bond swap transactions.
