Birmingham, Alabama Mayor arrested on bribery and fraud charges
Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Larry Langford was arrested Monday on bribery and fraud charges for allegedly steering millions of dollars of Jefferson County bond work to a friend in exchange for more than $230,000 in bribes. Langford, his friend Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount, and lobbyist Al LaPierre are all charged with charges including conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns. Langford is accused of telling Wall Street firms JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Lehman Brothers they had to let Blount's investment banking firm in on the deal if they wanted to handle the county's bond work.
