From the penthouse to …: HealthSouth continues its long march to solvency and respectability. A Dallas real estate company will buy its 280 headquarters and giant faux hospital for $60 million from the Birmingham-based health care giant, far less than the $238 million spent on them. The money will go to paying down the company’s $4.2 billion debt, or about 1.4 percent. HealthSouth will remain in its building for a year while seeking new office space within the metro area.

Meanwhile, founder Richard Scrushy and former governor Don Siegelman are a mere 24 days away from sentencing. Federal prosecutors have asked for 25 to 30 years jail time and millions in fines and restitution. Attorneys for the pair have filed for no jail time. Naturally.
• Unused hospital, HQ sold [Birmingham News]

The unholy power of Oprah: Birmingham-based Books-A-Million saw a 40 percent jump in profit between the first quarter of this year and 2006. Was it smart marketing, long-term planning or higher productivity? Or was it the awesome power of daytime TV host Oprah Winfrey? According to the retailer’s president, Oprah’s recommendation of self-help DVD “The Secret” helped boost sales revenues. Yeah, here’s the secret: Save the Oprah, save the world.
• Books-A-Million posts 40 percent increase in profits [Birmingham Business Journal]

Jazz in the field: Moss Rock Preserve (the nature site, not the residential development) will hold an outdoor jazz festival Sunday, featuring Birmingham’s own Eric Essix and Oteil Burbridge as well as headliner Kirk Whalum. The event runs from 3 to 10 p.m., with tickets priced at $24.50. Parking will be at Regions Park (formerly the Hoover Met), with shuttles running to the preserve. [map]
• Preserve Jazz Festival site

Also:

• Citizens asked to conserve water, but ‘go nuts’ with gasoline
• Mayor’s budget funds wacky new neighbor, surprise pregnancy
• Free from schools shackles, teens start summer jobs looting, chilling

• • •

More headlines | send us your news tips.

A last look at the ’06 …

Then and now

Guilty and guiltier: One served as a health care company CEO, the other as governor. Now they share a jail cell — but can these best buds make it in minimum security? The laughs ensue on “The Dick and the Don.”

Richard Scrushy, so confident he’d wriggle out of yet another conviction, bribed preachers and columnists, continued a television ministry and founded another one to feed African children. Don Siegelman, so confident of his campaigning skills with voters and/or jurors, actually ran for the Democratic Party gubernatorial nomination while on trial, losing badly in both races.

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If you thought July was hot, well, you’re right, temperatures were above normal. Um, yeah …
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VESTAVIA HILLS — 27 OCT 2018 — Released earlier today from federal prison, Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy received a warm welcome from dozens of supporters as they returned to the outside world. Siegelman and Scrushy both completed 12-year prison terms following their 2006 convictions on charges of bribery, conspiracy and fraud.

The pair shook hands with friends and made short statements at the rally, skipping media questions before exiting quietly. The rally featured a marching band and former investors in the men’s careers.

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We can sum up June in four words: City Stages, politics and movies. Not a very exciting summary, but still …
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Guilty: Former governor Don Siegelman, right, was found guilty today on seven counts of bribery, mail fraud and obstruction of justice. Ousted Healthsouth CEO Richard Scrushy, left, was found guilty on all six counts of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud.

During the 42-day federal trial in Montgomery, Siegelman ran for and lost the Democratic nomination for governor, while Scrushy continued his ministry building through his TV show and plans to feed African children. The jury, seven black members and five white members, spent 11 days deliberating — at one point, deadlocked but charged by U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller to continue.

Also on trial were Siegelman’s chief of staff Paul Hamrick and state highway director Mack Roberts. The jury acquitted Hamrick and Roberts on all charges.

Siegelman served as governor from 1999 to 2003, losing his re-election bid to Bob Riley in a tight race. Siegelman maintained throughout the proceedings that the charges were politically motivated. Scrushy founded sports rehabilitation hospital chain Healthsouth in 1984 and was ousted in 2003. He was acquitted in the $2.7 billion fraud scandal involving the Birmingham-based company in 2005.

Prosecutors said that Siegelman traded favors for gifts and campaign donations and that Scrushy had arranged for $500,000 to be donated to Siegelman’s campaign for a lottery.

Sentencing dates have not been announced. Maximum sentences are five to 20 years, minimum sentence is probation, with home confinement a possibility.

Always a patsy: One of the lesser players in the Healthsouth debacle ended up with eight years in federal prison. Hannibal “Sonny” Crumpler could’ve faced 15 years plus $1.3 million in fines. Contrast that with 15 other execs found guilty who earned probation to five years in prison. Who says there’s no justice for the little guy?
• Ex-HealthSouth exec sentenced [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Martin Luther King Jr.: Don’t put me in the middle of your corruption trial
• So much for the amen corner defense
• Maybe they can room together in prison

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The nondeciders: The jury in the Don Siegelman/Richard Scrushy corruption trial is deadlocked after six days of deliberation. TV reports say U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Fuller will instruct the jury to continue until a unanimous verdict is reached. Charges for former governor Siegelman and Healthsouth founder Scrushy include racketeering, bribery and conspiracy. The trial is in its eighth week.
• Jury In Corruption Trial Has Failed To Reach A Verdict [Fox 6]

The heat is on: How hot is it? It’s triple-digit hot, as Wednesday was the first 100-degree day in six years. It’s hot enough to send Gov. Riley to Washington, to beg for drought assistance from the feds for farmers. It’s hot enough that Birmingham has to watch its water usage. And it’s hot enough that our punchlines have wilted.
• Across The Board–Our Hottest Day This Year and in Several Years [ABC 33/40]

Rocky rain: Want rain? Be sure to wish for the right kind. Our pal William has the story of Tarrant residents bombarded with hail the size of rocks. That would be because they are rocks, damaging roofs, cars and anything out in the open. Blasting at the Vulcan Materials quarry was the culprit. Talk about getting stoned (we couldn’t resist).
• Blasted stone falls on neighbors [Birmingham News]

Also:

• It’s always sunny in Pleasant Grove, making it difficult to sleep
• Alabaster summer school class learns about stuff it should’ve learned back in fall
• We already miss Gray Charles

• • •

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The contenders: Tuesday’s state primaries offered few surprises, including the top races for governor. For Republicans, Gov. Bob Riley soundly defeated ousted judge Roy Moore, while for Democrats, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley knocked out six opponents, including still-on-trial former governor Don Siegelman. Both Riley and Baxley benefitted not only from solid campaigns, but the virtual self-destruction of the their main opponents. Moore seemed to offer little beyond his Ten Commandments bully pulpit, while Siegelman unsuccessfully trotted out the lottery again and blamed Riley for his current courtroom tour on corruption and racketeering charges. Turnout was slightly higher than the 2002 state primaries. Great, Nov. 7 will have a sane and likely boring campaign for governor.
• Primary results [Alabama Live]

A toast: Not surprisingly, the amendment to ban gay marriage in Alabama passed overwhelmingly. Some voters in favor of the amendment cited religion as their reason. Lowndes County, however, did approve liquor sales on Sundays. Tsk tsk. If Jesus died to keep gays from marrying, he certainly didn’t die so you could booze it up on the Sabbath. Straights can drink to victory, gays can drink to better days.
• Gay marriage ban easily approved [Montgomery Advertiser]

The last line of defense: With someone like the mayor of Alabama’s largest city, you’d want only the best protecting him, right? A Birmingham cop assigned to protect Mayor Kincaid has just returned to duty after a month off. Officer William T. Camp Jr. wasn’t on vacation: He was suspended for abandoning a dying man and four victims during a shooting at a restaurant where he provided off-duty security. Camp left to chase the suspect — without calling the paramedics or the cops. Someone please get Mayor Kincaid a panic button and a helmet that says “MAYOR.”
• Officer back on job after 30-day suspension [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Losing candidates prepare to make losing endorsements
• Voters: the vote was yesterday?!
• Only 42 shopping days until runoffs

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Touched by a devil: Birmingham-based Eternal Word Television Network knowingly employed a priest and self-admitted pedophile for seven years. The Rev. Real Bourque, who started at the religious cable network in 1991, remained employed until 2002, even after receiving treatment at a program for abusive priests in the mid-’90s. Borque has never been charged with any crimes. As pointed out in the article, the EWTN Web site advocates “severe punishment” for such a transgression.

The 78-year-old retiree could still face prosecution if a witness comes forward. Bourque, seen here as a speaker at a religious youth retreat in June 2002, resides in Illinois but has worked or lived in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington, DC. Holy moly.
• Alabama-based Catholic network kept abusive priest on staff [Associated Press]

Shell game: Think your ballot counts? Maybe, but not as much as your big buckin’ checkbook. Political action committees not only grease the wheels of Alabama campaigns, but also hide who their true donors are. PAC money makes up 44 percent of campaign funds in major state races, nearly $4 million. One Tuscaloosa accountant has raised a quarter of that through six PACs, with big chunks coming from lawyers and teachers. All thanks to a loophole in state law — and a ruling from then Attorney Gen. Don Siegelman. Anyone wanna form a PAC with us?
• PACs often mask who’s behind gift [Birmingham News]

Thank you for smirking: Birmingham’s crackdown on smoking in restaurants is a year old — and results are mixed. Some owners are reporting no effect, while others have seen a drop in business to towns without the ban. The Birmingham law prohibits smoking in public places, except bars and lounges. Meanwhile, small towns such as Luverne, Cottonwood and Headland have passed their own smoking bans.
• Smoking bans catch fire – and some heat [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Young professionals fight to be heard, then say nothing
• Teachers’ dirty looks running in short supply near end of school year
• Next week: Iced Tea Turnoff Week

• • •

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Bob Riley for governor
1. Not crazy, for a change.
2. When the revolution comes, the revolutionaries will be shot.
3. It’s morning in Alabama.
4. Bow before your new Korean masters.
5. The second term’s the charm.
6. Shriner, I hardly even know her.
7. Robert Renfroe Riley. Renfroe? really??
8. Made Katrina his bitch.
9. Amendment One, Riley 0.
10. Will send O.J. to Aruba to find the real killers.
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