Langford found guilty

Published 5:39 pm Wednesday, October 28, 2009

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A federal jury convicted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on Wednesday on all charges of accepting bribes in exchange for funneling $7.1 million in bond business to a prominent investment banker.

With the felony conviction, Langford was automatically removed from the office that he won in a landslide in 2007.

The jury deliberated less than two hours before returning its sweeping verdict on all 60 counts after hearing six days of testimony.

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Langford, 63, showed no emotion when the verdict was read. “We all got our trials in life and this, too, will pass,” he said before leaving the courtroom.

Prosecutors claimed Langford accepted cash and luxury items worth some $236,000 while serving as president of the Jefferson County Commission. In exchange, they claimed, Langford sent lucrative bond business to investment banker Bill Blount, a former chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party.