In August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. Running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.

Chris McNair

Positions held: milkman, photographer, Jefferson County commissioner, state legislator (one of the first black representatives since Reconstruction). Also, father of Denise McNair, one of the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church.

Wanted for: bribery and conspiracy related to awarding contracts in the Jefferson County sewer debacle.

Date of conviction: April 21, 2006

Sentence: 5 years in prison and more than $850,000 in restitution. However, McNair, 83, remains out on bond pending an appeal 2 years after sentencing.

Criminally fun fact: McNair once had a health clinic named in his honor, until the Jefferson County Board of Health renamed it as the West End Health Center in 2008.

• • •

Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: Chris McNair
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

• • •

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Weary traveler,
why did you leave so quickly,
with such despair?

• • •

Read more haiku.

In August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. Running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.

Rube Burrow

Positions held: Alabama native who became a farmer, train robber and outlaw

Wanted for: robbery and murder. One 1887 train robbery netted Burrow’s gang between $12,000 and $30,000 (or in 2009 dollars, from $284,000 to $710,000). He shot and killed a Lamar County postmaster.

Date of conviction: never convicted. Possibly gunned down or captured by Linden store owner J.D. “Dixie” Carter, after Burrow hid out in the Alabama wilderness for two years during one of the nation’s largest manhunts.

Criminally fun fact: Burrow’s body was displayed in Birmingham (and other cities) before being buried in his home county of Lamar in 1890. Namesake of the former Rube Burrow’s Food and Spirits in Five Points South.

• • •

Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: Rube Burrow
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

On Wednesdays, tweet your
updates poetically in
5-7-5 verse.

• • •

Read more haiku.

In August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. Running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.

Marvin Warner

Positions held: Birmingham native appointed U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, attorney, insurance salesman, real estate developer, banker and owner of Home State Savings Bank in Cincinnati.

Wanted for: fraud and securities violations. His bad investments led to a run on his savings and loans across Ohio, draining the state’s insurance fund and causing about 90,000 to lose access to $143 million in savings.

Date of conviction: 1987

Sentence: Served 2 years, 4 months in prison, then lived on his farm in Florida while serving out 4 years of probation.

Criminally fun fact: Warner was team owner of the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions.

• • •

Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: Marvin Warner
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

We canvass houses
to tally pets by barks and
purrs and wagging tails.

• • •

Read more haiku.

In August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. Running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.

Mary Buckelew

Position held: president, Jefferson County Commission (Governing magazine’s 1997 Public Official of the Year)

Wanted for: obstruction of justice, lying to a grand jury about accepted gifts, including $4,000 in designer shoes, a purse and a spa treatment.

Date of conviction: Oct. 28, 2008

Sentence: Faces 12 to 18 months in prison. Sentencing postponed from June 30 to Sept. 30, after Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s federal trial. Her cooperation in a plea deal was to uncover others involved in criminal activity related to the bond swaps over the Jefferson County sewer system.

Criminally fun fact: Heckuva job … Buckelew was honored by FEMA in 2002 for her “drive, enthusiasm and dedication.”

• • •

Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: Mary Buckelew
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

The day never ends
as we toil for more things,
better life, new fate.

• • •

Read more haiku.

In August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. Running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.

Gregory Clarke

Position held: pastor, New Hope Baptist Church (6,000 members)

Wanted for: filing false tax returns, owing $35,684 in back taxes

Date of conviction: July 20, 2007

Sentence: 21 months in prison, but was released from Atlanta federal prison in April after 14 months served. He’s serving the remainder of his sentence in a Birmingham halfway house.

Criminally fun fact: Clarke says he was targeted by the Bush administration for his support and friendship of former governor Don Siegelman [letter, Jan. 12, 2009, PDF].

• • •

Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: Gregory Clarke
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

The light is fading
too soon. You’re two umbrellas
one late afternoon.

• • •

Read more haiku.

In August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. Running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.

Gary White

Positions held: Jefferson County commissioner. Also became Golden Rule Bar-B-Q manager.

Wanted for: bribery and conspiracy related to the $3 billion sewer debacle

Date of conviction: Jan. 10, 2008

Sentence: He faces up to 85 years in prison and $2.25 million in fines, but was awarded a new trial prior to sentencing.

Criminally fun fact: He took up to $4,000 in bribes in hundred-dollar bills.

• • •

Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: Gary White
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

Farmers patiently
wait for rains to dissipate.
The dogs wag onward.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Neighborhood jungle
contains howling pets not quite
domesticated.

• • •

Read more haiku.

The empty storefront
has room enough for a new
enterprise of dreams.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Meats seduced into
submission, with a hint of
smoke and tangy sauce.

• • •

Read more haiku.