NEWS: Gary White goes down
A federal jury in Montgomery has convicted former Jefferson County Commissioner Gary White on all charges, The Birmingham News is reporting. White was indicted last November on charges of conspiracy and bribery. Prosecutors said that White had accepted bribes from sewer contractor Sohan Singh in exchange for no-bid emergency service and professional service contracts from the county.
In other charges, the prosecution claimed that White received free work from a Birmingham architecture firm, Giattina, Aycock, in exchange for influence, but U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemmon dismissed those counts for lack of evidence before the case was given to the jury. White is the third former County Commissioner convicted in recent years and the second convicted in the sewer scandal. Last September, a federal judge sentenced former Commissioner Chris McNair to five years for his role in the scandal. Jefferson County Environmental Services Director Jack Swann received eight and a half years.
