By Alabama Public Radio
Gaylesville, AL – Cherokee County Commissioner Leonard Woodall has been charged with accepting bribes and making false statements in a five-count federal indictment handed down by a grand jury. The 56-year-old from Gaylesville is accused of taking bribes in 2003 and 2004 from one of two insurance agents. The agents have both pleaded guilty to giving money to Cherokee County elected officials in exchange for the county's insurance business. Prosecutors say Woodall accepted the money from Michael Tillery. Tillery and James Williams admitted in November to taking part in the bribery scheme, so the county would buy its casualty insurance from them. Woodall is also accused of lying to FBI agents about bribes from Tillery in connection with a county landfill deal. The corrupt deal prompted Phillip Jordan to resign his dual offices as Cherokee County Commission president and probate judge in June before pleading guilty to accepting bribes.