In August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. A 30-part series running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 Oct. 19 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.

Matthew Cloyd, Russell DeBusk and Benjamin Moseley

Positions held: college students

Wanted for: arson, burglary, conspiracy

Date of conviction: Dec. 20, 2006

Sentence: 8 years in federal prison for Cloyd and Moseley, 7 years in federal prison for DeBusk; 2 years in state prison for all three men; $3.1 million in restitution; 300 hours of community service at the churches

Criminally fun fact: Cloyd and Moseley went on a two-night drunken arson spree in February 2006 that destroyed or damaged nine rural Alabama churches. DeBusk took part on the first night. The three said it started as a joke that escalated out of control. Two firefighters were injured while putting out one of the fires.

DeBusk and Moseley were students at Birmingham-Southern College, while Cloyd had transferred from there to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Birmingham-Southern established the Alabama Churches Rebuilding and Restoration Fund, which distributed more than $368,000 to the churches.

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Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church and Rehobeth Baptist Church of Lawley
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

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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.

J.B. Stoner

Positions held: Georgia-born attorney; chairman of  the National States’ Rights Party, the political arm of the Ku Klux Klan

Wanted for: 1958 bombing of Birmingham’s Bethel Baptist Church

Date of conviction: 1980

Sentence: 10 years in Kilby Prison outside Montgomery, but released after three-and-a-half years for good behavior.

Criminally fun fact: During his 1970 Georgia gubernatorial run, Stoner described Adolf Hitler as “too moderate.” During his 1972 Senate campaign, he won a ruling from the FCC that TV stations had to air his commercials despite his use of the “n-word.”

Stoner was a fugitive for 5 months before surrendering to go to prison, fearing what black prisoners would do to him. A few months before his death at age 81 in a Georgia nursing home, he told a reporter he’d like to still march out and make a segregation speech. He served as an appeals attorney for assassin James Earl Ray.

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Additional reading:

• Bhamwiki: J.B. Stoner
• Crime Watch
• Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed

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Want more Wade on Birmingham? Subscribe to our free newsletter!

The pews and hymnals
look the same. All God’s children
split up by levels.

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