Appeals court upholds bribery conviction of Alabama coal executive

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned away the legal challenges of a one-time Drummond Coal Company vice president and an attorney. A federal appeals court ruling upholds the convictions of Drummond executive David Lynn Roberson and Joel Iverson Gilbert, a former partner at Balch & Bingham law firm. Prosecutors say the two bribed a former Alabama legislator to sidetrack an environmental cleanup. Federal prosecutors say the court rejected claims by Roberson and Gilbert that their actions didn't constitute bribery under the law. They were accused of paying a former state lawmaker to oppose an environmental cleanup in north Birmingham.