Birmingham, AL – A federal court jury has convicted state Sen. E.B. McClain and a Jefferson County minister on all charges in a corruption trial in Birmingham.
Jurors got the case Wednesday morning after receiving final instructions from a federal judge. They reached a guilty verdict on all 48 counts late Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors say the Rev. Samuel Pettagrue accepted about $760,000 in state grant money obtained by McClain to run a nonprofit foundation and then gave the six-term Birmingham Democrat more than $300,000 in kickbacks.
The men were charged with multiple counts of bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and mail fraud.
Attorneys for Pettagrue and McClain said the grants and payments were proper.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)