Ex-Ala. County Official Gets Probation For Lying

JAY REEVES

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A judge sentenced a former Jefferson County commissioner to three years of probation Thursday for lying to grand jurors about pricey gifts she took from a banker who made millions of dollars off lucrative public bond work.

Prosecutors sought six months in prison and a $30,000 fine for Mary Buckelew, who admitted lying when she denied taking $4,000 worth of shoes, spa treatments and a purse from upscale New York stores during business trips with investment banker Bill Blount of Montgomery.

But U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson cited the absence of previous crimes and the testimony of a dozen character witnesses in granting leniency to Buckelew.

Johnson called Buckelew "an incredible public servant" who should be held to a higher standard than others. The judge said the years on probation, combined with a $20,000 fine and 200 hours of community service work in Jefferson County schools, would "promote respect for the law."

Prosecutors declined comment on the sentence.

Buckelew, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, denied taking items from Blount when she testified before a grand jury last year as it investigated corruption in Jefferson County bond deals.