Jury selection continues in Langford bribery trial

TUSCALOOSA | The jury pool for Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford’s federal corruption trial was whittled to 55 at the federal courthouse in Tuscaloosa this morning before the court recessed for lunch.

Langford, 61, is facing an 89-count indictment that includes charges of bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and tax evasion.

His trial, originally planned to begin in August in Birmingham, was moved to Tuscaloosa after his defense attorney convinced the court that pre-trial publicity had tainted the jury pool.

The day began with more than 100 prospective jurors. Of the 55 remaining, about eight told the court they recalled media accounts of the allegations against Langford.

U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler is presiding over the case.

Langford was indicted in December with two other men who have pleaded guilty to corruption charges and reached agreements with prosecutors that require them to testify against the mayor.

Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre have each admitted their roles in allegedly providing about $236,000 in cash, loan payments and other gifts to Langford on at least five occasions between 2002 and 2004.

In exchange, Langford allegedly used his position as the president of the Jefferson County Commission, which he held from 2002 to 2007, to steer more than $7 million in bond work to Blount’s company, Blount Parris & Co. in Montgomery, as part of the multibillion-dollar repair work on Jefferson County’s sewer system.

The bond deals soured during the credit crisis, pushing the county to the brink of what would have been the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

Under the terms of the plea agreements, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of four years in prison for LaPierre, 58, and 52 months in prison for Blount, 55, in exchange for their assistance in the case against Langford.