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.
How many kids go to work instead of school?
They toil in mines, tend crops, scrub floors. An author of a new report on child labor points to great progress in reducing the number of kids who work but says the numbers remain "unacceptable."
The Trump administration says it wants to eliminate FEMA. Here’s what we know
Every year, millions of Americans rely on FEMA assistance after hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and other disasters. The president says state governments should do more.
‘Equal dignity’: U.S. map shows the impact of Obergefell v. Hodges decision
"They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law," then-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the June 26, 2015, ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. "The Constitution grants them that right."
Michelle Obama addresses *those* divorce rumors — and how she defines her own story
Michelle Obama is in a place in her life where she gets to integrate her public and private self a little more. She tells Rachel that means saying "no" to some of the things that are expected of her.
Forget ‘total obliteration’ — experts say Iran and U.S. need to negotiate
President Trump doubled down on his claims that the U.S. strikes in Iran last weekend "obliterated" its key nuclear facilities. But experts say that regardless of the amount of damage done to Iran's nuclear facilities, deliberate negotiations leading to a lasting agreement are crucial to prevent the resumption of war.
Nursing homes face 2 threats: Trump’s Medicaid cuts and his immigration crackdown
Understaffed nursing homes rely on an immigrant workforce. Cuts to Medicaid and a tough immigration policy amount to a double whammy for the long-term care industry.
