UPDATED: Langford co-defendant Blount pleads guilty

Bill Blount, a Montgomery investment banker and co-defendant of Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, pleaded guilty (PDF) Tuesday to charges that he participated in a bribery scheme with Langford and lobb

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Taxation with representation just legislation without imagination

By Kyle Whitmire

As I write this, the Alabama Legislature is busying trying to fix what’s wrong with Jefferson County. By the time you read this, they might have even passed some sort of “solution.” It doesn’t matter.

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Leapin' Larry counts it down

By Kyle Whitmire

Last Thursday Al LaPierre stood in the eighth floor courtroom at the federal courthouse downtown to utter one word. Guilty. For those of you not keeping up with current events (and judging from

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Leapin' Larry goes for broke

What he didn’t put into slot machines, he spent on clothes and cars. And when he spent all he had, he took more money from friends — friends who happened to be connected to the bond business.

By Kyle Whitmire

This is Birmingham’s take on The Prince and the Pauper, only our version is not about mistaken identities but rather multiple personalities. You see, in this story, the prince and the pauper are one a

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LaPierre to cop plea, deal says documents forged

LaPierre plea deal says he, Larry Langford and Bill Blount forged documents to cover bribery tracks.

By Kyle Whitmire

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, investment banker William Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre forged documents supporting a defense argument that payments to Langford were actually loans, according to a

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Judge denies Langford trial extension

By Kyle Whitmire

U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler has denied a defense motion to delay the trial of Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, lobbyist Al LaPierre and investment banker Bill Blount. [caption id="attachment_

Politics

Two JeffCo bills advertised in Saturday paper

By Kyle Whitmire

Sometimes there's more news in the classifieds than the rest of the paper. Saturday's Birmingham News included two legal advertisement for bills related to Jefferson County. The first bill would re

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Politician-Assisted Suicide

How a decade of blunders back-stabs left Jefferson County broke

By Kyle Whitmire

A week ago, Commissioner Jim Carns sat behind the wide desk in his office at the Jefferson County courthouse. He had the beaten look you'd expect from a man who'd spent several hours on a witness stan

Politics

Birmingham council demands forensic audit

By Kyle Whitmire

The Birmingham City Council will ask the Alabama State Auditor's office to conduct a forensic audit of the City of Birmingham to settle once and for all how much money the city has in the bank. The

News

Jefferson County gives Birmingham a glimpse of its future

By Kyle Whitmire

There’s a question in my mind: Can corruption, incompetence and ego kill a government? Sure, these things can make a government sick, but they’ve always been the sort of parasites that leave their