Alabama state lawmaker Rogers to plead guilty to federal charges
Alabama Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, speaks during a House session at the Statehouse, April 17, 2012, in Montgomery, Ala. Rogers will plead guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice, federal prosecutors announced Monday, March 11, 2024.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Rep. John Rogers, a longtime member of the Alabama House of Representatives, will plead guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, according to a plea agreement filed Monday.
The charges are related to what federal prosecutors described as a kickback scheme that diverted money from a state fund intended to pay for community projects in Jefferson County.
Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, will resign from office and pay $197, 950 in restitution as part of the plea deal. Federal prosecutors are recommending that the 83-year-old lawmaker be sentenced to 14 months of home confinement.
According to a plea deal filed in federal court in Birmingham, Rogers has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Former state Rep. Fred L. Plump, Jr. and Varrie Johnson Kindall, Rogers’ former assistant and girlfriend, previously pleaded guilty to related charges.
Federal prosecutors said that between 2018 and 2018 Rogers directed $400,000 to a youth sports organization run by Plump. Federal prosecutors said that Plump gave approximately $200,000 back to Rogers and Kindall.
Rogers, 83, has served in the Alabama Legislature since 1982. He is currently the longest serving member in the Alabama House of Representatives.
Defense lawyer John Robbins, who is representing Rogers, did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Rogers is the third Alabama lawmaker to agree to plead guilty to a criminal charge during this four-year term.
In addition to Plump, who resigned last year, former state Rep. David Cole, a Republican from Huntsville, last year pleaded guilty to a voter fraud charge that he rented a closet-size space in a home to fraudulently run for office in a district where he did not live.
Alabama coal mine keeps digging after hundreds of fines and a fatal explosion
Following the death of a grandfather, Crimson Oak Grove Resources has left a community afraid for their homes and lives. An expert warns one resident may need to evacuate her home while she still can.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will have a ‘snowball effect’ on residents across the South
Abortion rights advocates say the ban will likely force many to travel farther for abortion care and endure pregnancy and childbirth against their will.
Attitudes among Alabama lawmakers softening on Medicaid expansion
Alabama is one of ten states which has not expanded Medicaid. Republican leaders have pushed back against the idea for years.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
