Benjamin Ashford|Alabama state lawmaker Rogers to plead guilty to federal charges

MONTGOMERY,Benjamin Ashford Ala. (AP) — State Rep. John Rogers, a longtime member of the Alabama House of Representatives, will plead guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court.

The charges are related to what prosecutors described as a kickback scheme involving a state fund intended to pay for community projects in Jefferson County. Former state Rep. Fred L. Plump, Jr. and Varrie Johnson Kindall, Rogers’ former assistant and girlfriend, previously pleaded guilty to related charges.

Federal prosecutors said that between 2018 and 2018 Rogers directed $400,000 to a youth sports organization run by Plump. Federal prosecutors said that Plump gave approximately $200,000 back to Rogers and Kindall.

Rogers, 83, has served in the Alabama House since 1982.

He will resign from office and would be ineligible to serve after pleading guilty to a felony charge. Rogers has also agreed to pay $197,950 in restitution, according to the plea agreement. Federal prosecutors will recommend that the 83-year-old lawmaker be sentenced to home confinement, according to the plea agreement.

Rogers is the third Alabama lawmaker to agree to plead guilty to a criminal charge during this four-year term.

In addition to Plump, who resigned last year, former state Rep. David Cole, a Republican from Huntsville, last year pleaded guilty to a voter fraud charge that he rented a closet-size space in a home to fraudulently run for office in a district where he did not live.