Heads up: Former Commissioner Buckelew pleads guilty
After 16 years of service on the Jefferson County Commission, Mary Buckelew has gone down in disgrace. She plead guilty Tuesday to one count of obstruction of justice.
Buckelew lied to a grand jury about receiving $4,000 in designer shoes, a purse, a spa treatment and more, all to influence her vote on sewer bonds and swaps.
For eight years, she served as commission president. In 1997, Governing magazine honored her as a Public Official of the Year. Now, she’s expected to lead prosecutors to bigger targets in the ongoing investigation of the county’s poorly managed sewer system.
She joins a growing list of convicted commissioners: Jeff Germany, Chris McNair and Gary White.
Meanwhile, Jefferson County has considered declaring bankruptcy over the $3.2 billion owed in interest alone. How deep is the financial hole, and how deep is the corruption that led us here?
• Birmingham News: Former Jefferson County Commissioner Mary Buckelew pleads guilty
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Monday, November 3, 2008, 1:24 pm
She’s the wedge. As this story progresses, and others go to trial, I’m sure she’ll become an important source for getting to those more involved in this story.
She sure went cheap though.
Monday, November 3, 2008, 5:27 pm
Most definitely … the feds have said as much, that she’s expected to name bigger fish.
I wonder how many shoes I can be bought for …