State Rep. John Rogers charged with obstruction of justice
Sen. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, speaks during a House session at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., April 17, 2012. Rogers, a longtime member of the Alabama House of Representatives, has been indicted on charges of trying to obstruct a federal investigation into the possible misuse of state grant money, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Rep. John Rogers, a longtime member of the Alabama House of Representatives, has been indicted on charges of trying to obstruct a federal investigation into the possible misuse of state grant money, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The indictment accuses Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, and his assistant of offering additional grant money as a bribe to persuade a person to give false information to federal agents who were investigating possible kickbacks that prosecutors said were paid to Rogers’ assistant.
Rogers, 82, is charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, and his assistant Varrie Johnson Kindall is charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and tax charges. Prosecutors first announced charges against Kindall last month.
“I’m pretty confident that I’m going to be cleared. Looking forward to my day in court,” Rogers wrote in a text to The Associated Press.
Rogers has served in the Alabama House of Representatives since 1982. A public defender listed in court records as representing Kindall did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Rogers is the second lawmaker arrested in connection with the investigation. Former Rep. Fred Plump Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction charges in part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Prosecutors wrote in the plea agreement that Plump took about $200,000 of the $400,000 in grant funds that Rogers steered to his youth sports league over several years and gave it back to Rogers’ assistant. Plump resigned from the Alabama House of Representatives.
The money came from the Jefferson County Community Service Fund, a pot of tax money distributed by area lawmakers for projects in the county.
Prosecutors said that Rogers also directed grant money to another organization and that the organization’s founder, referred to as “Individual #1” in the indictment, also “gave a portion of that money to defendant Varrie Johnson Kindall.”
The indictment said earlier this year Rogers and Kindall offered assistance in obtaining state grants as a bribe “to obstruct, delay, and prevent Individual #1 from communicating information relating to a violation of a criminal statute” to FBI and IRS agents.
Rogers is the third Alabama lawmaker to face criminal charges this year. In an unrelated case, Rep. David Cole, a Republican from Huntsville, resigned and agreed to plead guilty in August to charges of using a fraudulent address to run for office in a district where he did not live.
She owed $7K due to a water leak. Her utility saw the signs but didn’t tell her
Birmingham Water Works flagged Claire Ahalt’s account for unusually high water use, but she did not find out until asking a utility worker weeks later.
City OK’s $5 million to help keep Birmingham-Southern College open
BSC President Daniel Coleman said in a statement that next he’ll ask Jefferson County to meet the city’s commitment, focus on private donors and reengage with state leaders to work on getting more funding.
A year after the Moody landfill fire: “We need just as much help now”
Around Thanksgiving a year ago a landfill near Moody caught fire blanketing the surrounding area with smoke. The fire burned for months before the Environmental Protection Agency covered the landfill with dirt to extinguish the flames, but there have been flare ups since. To understand what things are like now, we heard from one nearby resident.
Why trees are an environmental and health Swiss army knife
Cool Green Trees plants trees in under-resourced communities in the Birmingham area to help mitigate climate change and advance environmental justice initiatives.
A pro jiu-jitsu league is bringing grapplers from across the globe to a small city in Alabama
For acclaimed grappler Brandon Mccaghren, Decatur, Alabama, was the perfect place to grow the Professional Grappling Federation from idea to reality.
The flu is soaring in the South and rising elsewhere
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina.
