Jefferson County, Alabama, the county where Birmingham is located, is suing JPMorgan Chase & Co. and former mayor Larry Langford for engineering over $3 billion refinancing of the county's ruinous sewer debt to generate hundreds of millions in fees and interest payments.
DIRTY POLITICO HID BEHIND SEWER SYSTEM
Former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, pictured right in a sewer manhole, was convicted Oct. 28 -- guilty on all 60 federal counts of fraud, conspiracy, bribery and money laundering, as reported by Ethic Soup.
The composite picture is symbolic of the "dirty politician." If he lived long enough, Langford could spend 800 years in prison for his crimes. He took $230,000 cash and loot that included a $12,015 Rolex watch and designer clothes including an Ermenegildo Zegna suit. I doubt that he ever heard the expression "Hey Dude, don't go down the sewer in your Zegna!" Or, the long-lived saying "It's hard to tell time with shit on your Rolex."
'UNCONSCIONABLE' FINANCIAL RISK
The 23-page lawsuit asserts the financing deals -- a series of bond refinancings and interest-rate swap deals -- increased the county's sewer bond debt by millions and exposed the county "to an unconscionable degree" of financial risk. "The financial and reputational damages incurred by the county from the defendants' conduct are in the billions of dollars," says the lawsuit.
"This is a suit for fraud and fraudulent suppression, conspiracy, and unjust enrichment against those who have brought the county and its citizens to the brink of financial disaster while lining their own pockets," the complaint said.
LANGFORD "SICK AND TIRED"
Langford laments that he is "sick and tired" of being blamed for the county's sewer debt crisis, reports The Birmingham News:
"My cup is about to runneth over with this nonsense," he said Friday. "The last time I checked it took the majority of the commission to vote on these bond deals. If they want to file suit you'd have to file lawsuit against all the law firms that advised the county that these were good deals and to move forward. The county Commission did not make these decisions in isolation. This was not a kingship where one person had all power."
In order to settle the SEC suit targeting illegal activity in sewer financing deals, JP Morgan agreed last week to pay $75 million in penalties -- including a $50 million cash payment to the county -- and forfeit $647 million in swap-termination fees from the county.
SURPRISED BY EXTENT OF BRIBES, KICKBACKS AND PAYOFFS
OR, GOLLY WE HAD NO IDEA (LOVE YOU, MEAN IT)
County officials claim that it wasn't until the SEC lawsuit and Langford's criminal trial in October that they realized the extent of the "bribes, kickbacks and payoffs" in the bond and swap deals between JPMorgan and the county, as they said in the suit.
TO READ "OUT OF THE SEWERS INTO FEDERAL PRISON: BIRMINGHAMS LANGFORD GETS 15 YEARS" CLICK HERE.
TO READ "BIRMINGHAM MAYOR ARRESTED: LANGFORD JOINS JAILED MAYORS CLUB" CLICK HERE.
TO READ "BIRMINGHAM MAYOR LANGFORD CONVICTED ON 60 COUNTS OF BRIBERY, MONEY LAUNDERING" CLICK HERE
TO READ " 'BAMA'S BIRMINGHAM VOTES TO REPLACE OUSTED MAYOR: IT'S 4 MAYORS IN 4 MONTHS" CLICK HERE.
by Sharon McEachern
Comments