Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Mayor Larry Langford of Birmingham, Alabama, was convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for giving $7.1 million in sewer-bond business to a friend of his who was a bond underwriter.

“This is no fairy tale; it’s an old story, the one where the politician trades public power for personal gain,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews-Johnson said during closing arguments.

Jurors heard testimony for six days, including that Langford took money to pay off loans, designer suits and a Rolex watch from Albert LaPierre, a consultant to the underwriter Blount Parrish & Co. In return, Langford, then president of the Jefferson County Commission, gave bond and interest-rate swap deals to Blount Parrish, prosecutors say. LaPierre pleaded guilty to the bribes, as did company chairman William Blount.

Langford, 61, said with yesterday’s conviction, he is no longer mayor. He blamed his conviction on racism and the local media. There were nine white jurors and three black jurors on the panel. Prosecutors “struck as many black people off the jury as they could,” said Langford, a Democrat. “That was not a jury of my peers.” He said he will appeal.

Kissed His Wife

The jury deliberated less than two hours. When the verdict was announced by the judge, Langford kissed his wife and otherwise showed no emotion. If Langford were to receive the statutory maximum sentence, it would be more than 500 years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin said “he won’t get anywhere near that.” Langford’s sentencing date wasn’t set and he remains out on bond.

Defense attorney Mike Rasmussen told the jury that Blount and LaPierre gave Langford checks and purchased his gifts with credit cards, rather than giving him cash, which the lawyer said would be untraceable. Leaving a paper trail would be illogical for people engaging in a bribery scheme, he said.

Blount and Langford were friends who regularly exchanged gifts, Rasmussen told the jury.

Blount and LaPierre testified against Langford. Jurors also heard testimony from Caryn Cope Hughes, the former chief credit officer for Colonial BancGroup Inc. She said that while dating Blount, she approved a $50,000 unsecured loan for him that was meant for Langford. Langford “had a lower credit score,” she said. Cope Hughes said she knew Blount wanted to drum up business in Jefferson County.

LaPierre repaid the $50,000 for Langford, testimony showed. Colonial refused another $75,000 loan for Langford, despite Blount’s efforts to secure one for him, Cope Hughes said.

Almost Bankrupt County

Jefferson County, the state’s most populous county, is on the edge of bankruptcy mostly because of what became a $3 billion sewer project. Fixed-rate debt for the project was refinanced into floating-rate bonds hedged with interest-rate swaps, derivative contracts intended to lower borrowing costs.

The county paid JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a group of banks $120.2 million for the swaps, Bloomberg News reported in 2005. JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp., Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. charged Jefferson County about $50 million more than prevailing prices for 11 interest-rate swaps the county bought from 2001 to 2004. None of the fees was disclosed to commissioners, records show.

Blount Parrish, based in Montgomery, Alabama, garnered about $7.1 million in business through Langford, including about $3 million from New York-based JPMorgan, prosecutors say.

U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler presided at the trial, held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Coogler moved the trial from Birmingham due to the publicity and possible tainting of the jury pool.

Langford’s lawyer disagreed that racism was an issue in yesterday’s verdict.

“I don’t believe that,” said attorney Glennon Threatt.

Langford was mayor of Fairfield, Alabama, from 1988 to 2000. He was on the Jefferson County Commission starting in 2002 and served as president until he became mayor of Birmingham in 2007.

The case is U.S. v. Langford, 2:08-cr-00245, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama (Birmingham).

To contact the reporters on this story: David Beasley in Birmingham, Alabama, at dbeasley4@yahoo.com; Martin Z. Braun in New York at mbraun6@bloomberg.net; Laurence Viele Davidson in Atlanta at lviele@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 29, 2009 00:01 EDT