A former director of the Alabama Fire College was sentenced in federal court today to 10 years and five months in prison, following his conviction on charges of using his position to steal taxpayer money, The Birmingham News reported. The former director, W.L. Langston, was also ordered to pay $1.4-million in restitution to the state.
At his trial last June, prosecutors said Mr. Langston had used the misappropriated money, in part, to build a home for himself and to employ his own relatives and friends, as well as those of other state officials, in jobs that required little or no work.
The case was part of a widespread scandal in the state’s two-year-college system that led to the ouster of Roy W. Johnson as the system’s chancellor, and the departures of other college leaders. In January, Mr. Johnson agreed to plead guilty to 15 counts of conspiracy and other federal charges, and he testified against Mr. Langston. The State Board of Education brought in a new chancellor in 2007 and has taken other steps to restore the system’s integrity. —Charles Huckabee
