We can tell from our site analytics that a lot of readers have been searching here for information about the Don Siegelman/Richard Scrushy case, and many readers have asked us directly to look at the case more closely, especially after the 60 Minutes broadcast last week. After the sentencing, I wrote a lengthy analysis of the case and its merits in a Weekly cover story. Other journalists have crossed swords with bloggers over this story, but aside from what else I write here, I think I’ve said all I’ve wanted to about the matter.

The hue and cry from the left is insistent, but it confuses motives for evidence. The only thing currently separating these Karl Rove scenarios from whole-cloth conspiracy theories is the precarious story of a Rainsville lawyer. On 60 Minutes Dana Jill Simpson’s narrative was hemmed in and pinned down by a line of yes-or-no questions, but when given the opportunity to expound, she has told a much more revealing story. The Birmingham News did a good job last year illustrating this point on it’s website in a post that went largely unnoticed. You can find that post here with the News‘ coverage, audio clips from Brett Blackledge’s interview with Simpson, as well as the transcripts of her deposition before congressional investigators.

Siegelman’s own version of the conspiracy theory has evolved over the years. In the beginning, it was a conspiracy to make Steve Windom governor. But after the dark horse Bob Riley beat Windom, Siegelman redrafted his conspiracy theory to match the changing characters.

However, the drumbeat of scandals coming from his administration in Montgomery was a constant. I’d list them all, if someone hadn’t done so already. While the creator of thetruthaboutdon.com is obviously no fan of the former governor, I can’t impugn the journalism the site uses for fodder. (And to be fair, you can read the other side’s arguments at donsiegelman.org.)

Alabama media have taken a beating for being so skeptical, but I still believe time will prove our credibility. In a column last year, I wrote:

Many reporters in the state have given the Simpson affidavit and Siegelman’s claims less credence than their national counterparts, and liberal bloggers have all but depicted the local media as a bunch of backcountry Klansmen, in lockstep with Grand Wizard Karl Rove, lynching the once-great governor.

But I’d argue that the reason for the local media’s incredulity is that our memories stretch back further - to when Siegelman’s administration collapsed after a steady succession of scandals, to when Siegelman’s administration tried to squelch the bad press by obstructing reporters’ access to public records, to when the governor’s fortunes floundered because he couldn’t govern as well as he could campaign. In the fuller context of the Siegelman saga, we are living in the epilogue.

— Kyle Whitmire

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Thursday night Jefferson County released the second “material event notice” in as many weeks regarding its sewer debt crisis. The news isn’t good.

According to this release, recent downgrades by ratings agencies could soon cause the county’s interest rate swaps to terminate, an event that could cost the county hundreds of millions of dollars. The only way to avoid such terminations is for the county to produce $184 million in insurance or collateral by March 7. According to the notice, the county does not have the revenue or cash on hand to provide such collateral.

The county writes in the notice:

“As of the date of this notice, the County can offer no assurances that it can obtain the required insurance or post the necessary eligible collateral to avoid an Additional Termination Event under the Swap Agreements. If an Additional Termination Event occurs, the respective counterparties will have the right to terminate the respective swap transactions upon notice to the County, in which event the County would be obligated to pay the resulting termination payment in accordance with the provisions of the Swap Agreements. The aggregate amount of the termination payments that would be due is approximately $184 million as of February 27, 2008.”

What’s more, interest rates on variable rate warrants continue to rise and auction rate warrants continue to come due. As the auction rate warrants mature, and the county still cannot pay or find buyers for new bond debt to refinance the old.

“The County has experienced a total of eight failed auctions as of February 27, 2008 with respect to $869,450,000 aggregate principal amount of Auction Rate Warrants,” the county said in the event notice.
The county says that, while it continues to look for solutions to the problems, it can promise none.

More to come as we translate from the original Greek.

Or you can find the whole document here.

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For your reading displeasure

It is common knowledge in Birmingham that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating a series of conspicuous bond deals that took place during Langford’s tenure as president of the Jefferson County Commission.

Also, it has been widely reported that, in his second interview with the SEC, Langford refused to answer investigators’ questions, citing an ambiguous Constitutional right.

What has not been reported is what Langford said to those same investigators in his first SEC interview on June 21, 2007.

Birmingham Weekly has obtained a copy of a transcript from that interview. What it reveals about the mayor is disconcerting: personal financial habits that are reflective of — and perhaps connected to — his management of public funds, and an attitude towards debt that makes the federal government seem frugal.

You can download it here.

And read our Cover Story about it here.

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Former two-year college chancellor Roy Johnson will plead guilty to federal bribery charges, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced this morning. As part of his plea agreement, Johnson will cooperate with an on-going investigation into widespread corruption in the two-year college system. In particular, Johnson will explain potentially illegal arrangements he had with state legislators and members of the state school board.

“The cooperation of Dr. Johnson will advance the work of the state and federal investigation tremendously and propel us forward and down the road that we have been traveling for going on three years,” U.S. Attorney Alice Martin said Thursday morning.

In addition to 14-counts of bribery and conspiracy, the Justice Department is seeking more than $18 million in criminal forfeiture. The $18 million forfeiture includes $1 million of ill-gotten gains received by Johnson and his family and $17 million for work he fraudulently directed to connected contractors.

By federal sentencing guidelines, Johnson would face a virtual life sentence for the crimes he’s admitting, but he would likely receive a recommendation for downward departure due to his cooperation, Martin said.

Several members of Johnson’s family have been connected to the two-year college system corruption. However, they will not be prosecuted, Martin said. In his plea agreement, Johnson has taken full responsibility for arranging jobs for family members, in particular his son and daughter.

“The chancellor spelled out what the involvements are. He is the one who solicited those employees with those vendors,” Martin said. “He is taking full responsibility for those bribes. He is going to make restitution. As part of his agreement to come forward now, his children will not be prosecuted by this district.”

Prosecutors and investigators at the press conference today said that now is the time for members of the two-year college corruption conspiracy to come forward, before the investigation comes to them.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Update: Appended below, 9:30 am.

Walking is for punks. That’s why from now on Birmingham police will have T3 scooters. Because nothing exudes the aura of authority like riding on a motorized tricycle.

Tuesday the Birmingham City Council approved a $201,00 bid from T3 Motion Inc. to provide the police department with electric-powered “three wheel personal mobility vehicles.” (AKA: Scooters.) The proposal from T3 Motion was the only bid.

The T3 series has a top speed of 20 miles per hour and has a carrying capacity of 450 pounds. Birmingham police officials told the council that the vehicles would be used to patrol areas of high pedestrian traffic and to police events such as City Stages.

According to the company’s website, the City of Hoover already uses the T3 scooters.

The council approved the scooters without debate. However, the council was reluctant to support another public safety project — a contact for widespread video surveillance throughout the city.

The mayor’s office had proposed a five-year contract with Ion Interactive Video Technologies Inc., a newly formed company in Birmingham that would own and operate as many as 40 advanced security cameras throughout the city.

If anyone was concerned about privacy issues, it wasn’t the city council. Instead, the councilors focused on the racial make-up of Ion Interactive’s staff and the particulars of the contract.

Councilor Steven Hoyt said that his concerns about minority participation in the contract had not been addressed. Langford’s chief of staff, Deborah Vance, told the council that the company had agreed to almost 50 percent minority participation in its personnel and subcontracting.

Councilor Valerie Abbott initially refused to support the contract because of an expensive escape clause it contained for the city. Under the first draft, the council could have withdrawn from the agreement by paying Ion Interactive $1.4 million.

Mayor Langford, who had been absent during much of the meeting, appeared late to push the contract through a council vote. Langford ordered the $1.4 million cancellation fee redacted from the contract, which the council then approved.

According to the information provided to the council with the resolution, Ion Interactive is the only source of supply, exempting it from public bids. Previously, the mayor’s office had said that the contract was exempt from Alabama’s bid law as a professional service contract.

During the debate, the company’s founder, Ed Welden, told the council that his company uses technology not deployed in other cities and that his service was unique.

In fact, public surveillance cameras are nothing new to law enforcement in other cities, including Chicago, New York and Seattle. (We’d give more examples, but Google can do that more quickly with much less trouble. Regardless, saying that this was the only source of supply or unique to one company is a little short of the truth.)

Welden told the council that his company is eight months old and had done video surveillance work for offices and residential buildings. This would be Ion Interactive’s first project for a municipality.

Officials at neither the Alabama Secretary of State’s office nor the Jefferson County Probate office could find incorporation records for Ion Interactive Video Technologies Inc. When asked about this after the council vote, Welden said he would fax the documents showing that his company was incorporated to the Weekly. The Weekly has not received that fax. (See update below.)

Funding for both projects will come from the 1 percent increase in city sales taxes passed by the council last year.

UPDATE: Wednesday morning Welden emailed the probate book and page numbers of ION Interactive’s incorporation records. According to the email, ION Interactive was incorporated in May 2007.

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A federal jury in Montgomery has convicted former Jefferson County Commissioner Gary White on all charges, The Birmingham News is reporting. White was indicted last November on charges of conspiracy and bribery. Prosecutors said that White had accepted bribes from sewer contractor Sohan Singh in exchange for no-bid emergency service and professional service contracts from the county.

Read the full story

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UPDATE APPENDED 4:20 PM: Council Admin retracts security memo.

Not that there was any question, but Birmingham City Hall is under occupation. Mayor Larry Langford has enacted strict security procedures that will limit the public’s access to building, and virtually prohibit City Hall reporters and the like from lurking about. Anyone wanting to visit City Hall must make an appointment a day in advance with the person they want to see. A memo to the councilors from the council administrator explains the new procedures (after the jump).
Read the full story

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I hate to play favorites among the many talented writers at Birmingham Weekly, but in the forthcoming “column,” Courtney Haden did such a bang-up job articulating his dismay about the future by commenting on the present, that I could not resist sending out this 63-word nub as a torchbearer for the entire issue:

So while the observance of IGY’s centenary is underway in 2057, we apparently will still be in Iraq, permanently based in Baghdad, forever policing those blasted streets in the shadow of the mightiest fortified embassy on earth, never to recover the trillions wasted or the thousands killed or the invaluable respect squandered on an evil bargain from which we will never extricate ourselves.

To learn what the IGY is, tune in here about this time tomorrow.

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PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES

Or at least, put your eyes on their shoes. Dozens of empty pairs of combat boots will fill Kelly Ingram Park on Sunday, a silent representation of the lives lost in the war in Iraq. “Eyes Wide Open: The Cost of War to Alabama” will focus primarily on fallen soldiers from Alabama, but hundreds of shoes will also be displayed in remembrance of Iraqi civilians who have also lost their lives in war. The exhibit was first displayed in 2004 at Chicago’s Federal Plaza and has since been split up into smaller segments to memorialize people from different states. The Birmingham Friends Meeting, the Birmingham Islamic Society, the Birmingham Peace Project and Pax Christi sponsor the exhibit, which will be on display from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. An interfaith memorial service will be held at the Church of the Reconciler on Saturday at 7 p.m. This marks the first time “Eyes Wide Open” will be shown in Alabama. For more information visit www.asfc.org/eyes.

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A special prosecutor wants to know whether City Councilor Joel Montgomery participated in any sort of counciling or drug rehabilitation program, but today the councilor failed to show for a court hearing on the matter. In August, special prosecutor Don Colee dropped a public intoxication charge against Montgomery with the understanding that Montgomery would seek some sort of treatment.

A week later, Montgomery announced in a Birmingham City Council meeting that he had not been to rehab, nor was he going to go to rehab.

Read the full story

Popularity: 12% [?]