Quote:

The SEC alleged that JPMorgan, Charles LeCroy, the banker who pitched the refinancing to Jefferson County, and Douglas MacFaddin, the former head of the New York-based banks municipal derivatives desk, made more than $8 million in undisclosed payments to close friends of county commissioners.

One of those "close friends" was Larry Langford, then a county commissioner who later became mayor of Birmingham. William Blount, an investment banker, pocketed $7M in the swaps deal, paid bribes to Langford, then pleaded guilty and turned state's evidence against Langford. Langford was recently convicted of 60 counts of fraud and accepting bribes, and faces 100s of years of prison time. Blount was convicted of 1 count and faces 10 years.

Meanwhile, Jefferson County, Alabama is still broke.

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