Former Jefferson County Commissioner Larry Langford wants the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.
Langford appealed to the high court after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta refused to reconsider its ruling upholding the conviction in October. After a detailed review of the trial, the appellate court said it was not persuaded that any errors were made in the case.
Langford in 2009 was found guilty on 61 federal counts of bribery, money laundering, mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, and filing a false tax return.
Most of the charges related to Jefferson County’s defaulted sewer refunding warrants, which Langford spearheaded while in office to delay huge rate increases. The refunding debt — mostly in variable- and auction-rate mode with associated swaps — collapsed in the market freeze.
In early November, the county filed for bankruptcy after failing to reach a restructuring agreement with creditors.
Langford is serving a 15-year prison sentence in Kentucky. He is among dozens of elected officials, contractors, and others working on the sewer system and the financings who have been convicted of corruption.
In addition to the prison sentence, Langford was ordered to pay $119,985 to the Internal Revenue Service for taxes he failed to pay on bribes, forfeit $241,843, and pay court costs.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against two former JPMorgan bankers whom the agency says paid various people to obtain bond business for JPMorgan. The firm is the county’s largest creditor.
