Gary White Found Guilty of All Charges
Former Jefferson County Commissioner Gary White was found guilty of nine counts of conspiracy and bribery today.
The Homewood Republican is accused of accepting envelopes filled with $100 bills - often $2,000 at a time - from a Birmingham engineer as a reward for help with county business while serving on the commission.
Sohan Singh, owner of US Infrastructure Inc. testified at the trial that he gave the cash to White in hope of earning his influence, “just to keep him pretty much happy,” and for consulting work through which White offered to find new clients for Singh’s business.
White was responsible for the county’s sewer program. The engineering company was seeking county sewer contracts at the time.
Envelopes full of cash? Dude, that’s so last century.
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January 10th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
22 and counting. That’s how many have either pleaded guilty or been convicted in the sewer scandal.
Wouldn’t you think these numbers would be sobering and give pause to elected officials selling themselves? Fat chance! Witness the pullout from SWMA by the B’ham City Council. B’ham News story by Thomas Spencer points out that the engineering firm that talked the city council into dropping SWMA pitched their plan for stormwater work. Oh, and they also made contributions to Langford and several of the city council members during the election cycle.
Kathy, if I’m repeating what you’ve blogged already, my bad. I haven’t checked past the White story to see what lies below.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Thanks, Sansou. No, I haven’t blogged the SWMA story yet. I can’t figure out how this firm snowed the City Council into believing that paying $4.8 million to re-invent the storm water management wheel is cheaper than sticking with the system that’s already in place. Clearly some of the snow was of the green variety. They don’t even bother to be subtle anymore — the payoffs and corruption are right up front.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
They’ve been getting away with it for decades. Only now are the chickens coming home to roost.
The worst part is that the public continues apathetic, it appears. I thought by now the monthly water and sewer bill would have galvanized more people into action. If you’re not involved, there are dozens of ways to jump on board–letter writing, telling others, attending meetings, demanding real answers from officials, joining solid environmental organizations. . . .
Government is more than something to gripe about–citizens need to be watching all the time (and it wouldn’t hurt to share the praise when the occasion arises–I let Valerie Abbott know regularly I’m grateful she’s my District Rep.)
There’s also a lot of general railing against corporations. Let’s start naming names. Ok, most readers here know BARD was behind the “ring-around-the-collar” hype about the “exhorbitant” rise in SWMMA fees ($5-$12 per residence after more than a decade. Who is BARD? - Alabama Power, Drummond Co, US Steel, among others. Why are ratepayers expected to subsidize their filter-clogging, river desecrating, quality-of-life destroying activities?
It’s time “progress” was redefined as something other than bulldozing and paving.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Helen,
Indeed, I hope that history notes that Valerie Abbott tried her best to defend ratepayers, taxpayers, and the river against this body slam aimed at all of the aforementioned (ratepayers, taxpayers, and the Cahaba River)by the Big Mules who pushed through the Birmingham City Council’s withdrawal from Stormwater Management Authority.
Please, folks, don’t just take this lying down!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Roanoke, Al, Wedowee, Al …. them too need to be investigated.
They have their own way, bout doing things there, cant understand rich still abusing everyday folks like myself !
February 6th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
[...] was found guilty of nine counts of conspiracy and bribery for taking envelopes full of cash from an engineering firm seeking county contracts while he was [...]
February 11th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
[...] Gary White and Mary Buckelew. White, defeated in the 2006 Republican primary by Jim Carns, was convicted in January of conspiracy and bribery for accepting envelopes full of cash from an engineer whose company was [...]
August 12th, 2008 at 8:51 am
[...] in 2002 and served until 2006, when Bettye Fine Collins was elected to the position. White was convicted of bribery and conspiracy in January, but his conviction was set aside in February under rather odd [...]