Larry Langford

Who is Larry Langford?

Larry Paul Langford is the former mayor of the city of Birmingham, Alabama. He previously served on the Jefferson County, Alabama, Commission, including four years as the first African-American commission president. He also served as mayor of Fairfield, Alabama, and served one term on the Birmingham City Council. Prior to entering politics, Langford was a well-known television personality, having worked for then-local ABC affiliate, WBRC TV as the community's first African-American TV news reporter. In 2010, Langford began serving a 15-year federal felony sentence, the result of a highly publicized public corruption trial in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Langford raised money and generated public interest and support for Visionland Theme Park, located near Bessemer. The park was built largely by bond issues backed by a consortium of municipalities in the western part of the county, as well as the city of Birmingham and the county government. The park later declared bankruptcy, and was sold to Southland Entertainment Group for just over $5 million at auction.

In 2007, Langford was investigated by the SEC on corruption charges. In 2008, a lawsuit was filed against him for illegally accepting $156,000 in cash and benefits.