Fred Plump, Birmingham state MP, sentenced to a year in prison

Associated Press

A former Alabama lawmaker was sentenced Friday to a year in federal prison for his role in a kickback scheme involving state grant funds.

U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler sentenced former state Rep. Fred Plump to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. Plump, a Democrat from Fairfield, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges and resigned from the Alabama House of Representatives as part of a deal with prosecutors.

The allegations date back to before Plump took office. Prosecutors said Plump paid kickbacks from state grant funds allocated to his youth sports group to then-Rep. John Rogers. Plump took about $200,000 of the $400,000 that was allocated to his Piper Davis Youth Baseball League and gave it to Rogers’ legislative assistant, according to the plea agreement.

“We appreciate that the government and Judge Coogler acknowledged that the coach did not personally benefit from this arrangement, but knew that the money going to his co-defendants was illegal,” Richard Jaffe, Plump’s attorney, wrote in an email. – email.

He said “Plump looks forward to being reunited with his family soon and continuing to help more disadvantaged youth” through youth sports. Plump was also ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in restitution.

Rogers, the lawmaker at the center of the alleged scheme, will be sentenced in federal court on Tuesday.

Rogers, a longtime member of the Alabama Legislature, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He also resigned as part of a deal with prosecutors.

At the time of his resignation, Rogers was the longest serving member of the Alabama House of Representatives. Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, was elected to the Alabama Legislature in 1982.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys are arguing over whether Rogers, 83, should serve a 14-month sentence in a federal prison or under house arrest.

In the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would recommend a sentence of home detention. But they later accused Rogers of violating his plea agreement by filing a court document denying knowledge of the obstruction conspiracy. Rogers’ defense attorney disputes that the plea agreement was violated and has requested a hearing on the matter.

Three Alabama lawmakers resigned this four-year term after pleading guilty to criminal charges. Former state Rep. David Cole, a Republican from Huntsville, pleaded guilty last year to a voter fraud charge that he rented a closet-sized space in a home to fraudulently run for office in a district where he did not live.