BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A former Alabama coal executive and a one-time partner in a prominent law firm are going to federal prison for bribery.
A federal judge sentenced former Drummond Co. executive David Roberson to 2½ years in prison during a hearing Tuesday in Birmingham. U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon also sentenced former Balch & Bingham partner Joel Gilbert to five years in prison.
Both men were convicted in a conspiracy to bribe former state legislator Oliver Robinson, who previously was sentenced to nearly three years.
Robinson took a $375,000 contract while serving in the Alabama House and used his influence to oppose Environmental Protection Agency efforts to prioritize a federal Superfund site in Birmingham.
Prosecutors say Roberson and Gilbert were trying to protect a Drummond subsidiary from the cost of the work.
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