By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Former lobbyist and landfill developer Lanny Young pleaded guilty to one criminal charge Wednesday in Montgomery. Young says he paid 65-thousand dollars in bribes to former Cherokee County Probate Judge Phillip Jordan. Jordan was also a Cherokee County Commissioner, and he helped Young get favorable decisions from the commission regarding a proposed landfill. Young reached a plea agreement in which prosecutors will drop eight counts against him. He could face up to 250-thousand dollars in fines and 20 years in prison. But prosecutors have agreed to recommend a lighter sentence in return for Young's cooperation. This also wasn't the first time Young was involved in a government corruption issue. Two years ago, he pleaded guilty to paying more than 100-thousand dollars to a member of former Governor Don Siegelman's cabinet.