Prosecutors spent Wednesday morning slogging through bond documents, swap agreements and Jefferson County Commission minutes with former county Finance Director Steve Sayler. Much the the testimony was tedious, but it is necessary for the prosecution to satisfy certain requisites of the charges against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.

Birmingham (and former Jefferson County) Finance Director Steve Sayler

Documents introduced in court showed that Langford requested that Bill Blount’s investment firm, Blount-Parrish & Co., be included in bond deals and interest rate swaps. However, Blount’s inclusion in these deals was not always evident from the bond documents typically available to the public.

After bond deals were conducted, JP Morgan would send letters to the county saying that it had paid Blount-Parrish or banks employing Blount-Parrish, including Goldman Sacks and Lehman Brothers.

On the stand, Sayler said that he had seen one of the JP Morgan letters. Others, he never saw or knew about until he was interviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission two years ago.

Some of the JP Morgan letters were directed to and received by Langford.

Prosecutors have accused Langford of accepting bribes of clothes, jewelry and money from Blount in exchange for directing county bond business to Blount’s firm.

In a moment of sunshine in a long storm of boredom, Assistant United States Attorney George Martin asked Sayler about trips the county took to New York to meet with investment bankers and ratings agencies. Sayler said he saw Langford spending his time there eating lunch, going on walks and going shopping.

Martin asked Sayler if he remembered Langford wanting to go to Oxxford, a men’s clothier in New York’s Garment District. At first Sayler said he did not recall, but after being shown an email from that time, he said he remembered that happening.

Under cross-examination, Sayler said it was the commission’s practice to divide up bond business among banks chosen by the individual commissioners.