Birmingham, AL – Influential figures in business and judicial circles are asking a federal judge to go easy on two men who pleaded guilty to bribing former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.
Supporters seeking leniency for investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre - two longtime Democratic Party leaders - include corporate executives, attorneys, a one-time member of the Alabama Supreme Court and a former federal prosecutor.
U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler is set to sentence the two Friday in Tuscaloosa. They both admitted bribing Langford while he was president of the Jefferson County Commission.
Records show prosecutors are seeking four years and four months in prison and a total of $6.5 million from Blount. The government asked Coogler to sentence LaPierre to four years in prison and is seeking $5.9 million in payments.
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