Three Birmingham-area officials were arrested yesterday on felony state ethics charges.
In a news release last night, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Sherry Lewis, chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Water Works, was arrested along with Jerry Jones, a former vice president at Arcadis (the Water Works' preferred engineering firm) and Mt. Vernon Mayor Terry Williams, who also owns Global Solutions International Inc., an Arcadis subcontractor.
All three surrendered at the Jefferson County Jail yesterday after a grand jury handed up indictments against them earlier this week.
Lewis is accused of using her office to obtain personal gain for herself or a family member and voting on matters in which she or her family members had financial interest. Williams and Jones are accused of aiding and abetting Lewis in committing the alleged crimes by offering her money for the purpose of corruptly influencing official action.
The charges revolve around prosecutors’ belief that Jones funneled money to Williams in order for his company to pay or provide benefits to Lewis or her family.
If convicted, all of the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison and fines of $30,000 for each of the three counts in the indictments.