Former Ala. mayor convicted of bribe-taking enters federal prison to begin 15-year sentence

Former Ala. mayor begins 15-year prison sentence

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former Birmingham mayor Larry Langford reported to federal prison Wednesday to begin a 15-year sentence for bribery, a term he expects to mean his death behind bars.

Langford, 64, arrived in the company of relatives at midmorning at the Federal Correctional Institution Ashland, a prison in northeastern Kentucky. He was convicted last fall on 60 felony counts of taking some $240,000 in bribes from a former investment banker while serving as president of Alabama’s Jefferson County Commission.

Authorities said Langford would spend several days adapting to life at the low-security lockup, which houses about 1,200 men both in cellblocks and dormitory-style units.

Langford told the University of Alabama’s student newspaper in a published interview Monday that the 15-year term amounts to a life sentence for someone his age. He proclaimed his innocence and told The Crimson White paper that he asked relatives not to bother making the nine-hour drive from Alabama to visit him.

“Just pretend that I’m dead now,” he was quoted as saying. “I’m OK with that.”

Langford was convicted of taking cash, loan payments and expensive clothes and jewelry from former Alabama investment banker Bill Blount and a middleman.

He was automatically removed from office upon his conviction.

Prosecutors present evidence at trial they said showed Blount showered Langford with gifts and received bond work from the county worth millions while Langford was commission president. Langford didn’t testify at trial, but his attorneys claimed he didn’t realize he was being bribed.

Beside the prison term, U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler ordered Langford to repay more than $241,000 and also nearly $120,000 in back taxes.