

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford was quite busy earlier today, talking to area school children about financial responsibility and convincing the City Council to approve funding free bus service in town during the summer months Tags: Larry Langford View |
Tags: Larry Langford View |
Tags: Larry Langford View |
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Larry Paul Langford (born March 17, 1948) is a former mayor of the city of Birmingham (Birmingham, Alabama), Alabama. He previously served on the Jefferson County, Alabama, Commission, including a stint as commission president. He also acted as mayor of Fairfield, Alabama, and served one term on the Birmingham City Council.
Langford raised money and generated public interest and support for Visionland Theme Park (now known as Alabama Adventure Theme Park), located near Bessemer (Bessemer, Alabama). The park was built largely by bond (Bond (finance)) issues backed by a consortium of municipalities in the western part of the county, as well as the city of Birmingham and the county government. The park later declared bankruptcy, and was sold to Southland Entertainment Group for just over $5 million at auction.
In 2007, Langford was investigated by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) on corruption charges. In 2008, a lawsuit was filed against him for illegally accepting $156,000 in cash and benefits.
On December 1, 2008, Langford, along with William B. Blount and Al LaPierre, was arrested by the FBI on a 101-count indictment alleging conspiracy (Conspiracy (crime)), bribery, fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns in connection with a long-running bribery scheme. His public corruption trial ended on October 28, 2009 with convictions on 60 counts, and resulted in his automatic removal from office.
On March 5, 2010, Langford was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a federal judge in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was also fined more than $119,000.
Date of birth: 1948-03-17
Birth Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Mayor of Birmingham
30th
In office: November 13, 2007-October 28, 2009
Predceded by: Bernard Kincaid
Succeeded by: Carole Smitherman