Weekly Tease No. 3
Larry Langford by the numbers
Income 2007
Jefferson County: $73,000
Langford told the SEC that he made $68,000 per year for the Jefferson County Commission, in addition to a $400 per month car allowance.
Birmingham Budweiser: $80,000
For 25 years Langford has done public relations for the beer distributor, a full-time job in addition to his elected positions.
Global Link: $120,000
Langford and his wife run a telecommunications business out of their Fairfield home. However, when questioned by the SEC, Langford gets confused about the company’s name.
Purchases
Clothes: $70,000
Langford told the SEC that in 2002 he had accumulated that much debt, mostly from buying clothes. About $40,000 of that debt was to Shaia’s mens store in Homewood.
Teeth: $52,000
According to Langford, he maxed out his credit cards paying for dental bills.
More Clothes: Unknown
Langford said that he bought thousands of dollars worth of suits while on county bond trips to New York. He charged them to his credit cards, which he previously testified had been maxed out paying dental bills.
Debts
Mortgage: $300,000
Last year, The Birmingham News discovered that Langford had received a $300,000 mortgage in 2000 on his Fairfield home. The loan from The Bank — now Superior Bank — was due in three years, but probate records don’t indicate it was paid. According to Langford, he had two home equity lines, in addition to “a couple of car notes, maybe three.”
Al LaPierre: $150,000
Late last year, Langford told the SEC that he had borrowed a total $150,000 from the lobbyist. Neither Langford nor LaPierre had recorded the loans on their financial disclosures to the Alabama Ethics Commission. The $150,000 is the total from at least two loans. Langford said there is no paperwork and that their agreements were verbal.
Colonial Bank: $50,000 (paid)
Langford took out the loan in 2002 to pay off credit cars and clothing store credit. While the loan was due six months later, Langford never paid. Instead, LaPierre paid it for him with one of the loans above.
Cover story and PDFs of Langford’s testimony here at noon.
