A prominent Alabama attorney and a coal company executive have been convicted on federal charges involving bribery of a state lawmaker.
The verdict against Joel Gilbert, a partner with Balch & Bingham law firm, and Drummond Company Vice President David Roberson was announced Friday after a four-week trial. Jurors found them guilty of conspiracy, bribery, three counts of honest services wire fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors said the two men bribed former state Rep. Oliver Robinson to oppose the Environmental Protection Agency’s expansion of a Superfund site, and also to oppose prioritizing the site’s expensive cleanup. Robinson pleaded guilty last year to bribery and tax evasion. He has not yet been sentenced.
A third defendant, Balch attorney Steven McKinney, was dismissed from the case one day before closing arguments began.
(Associated Press, copyright 2018)
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