Joel Iverson Gilbert, Bribery, Alabama 2023

Birmingham Lawyer, Coal Company Executive Convicted of Bribing State Legislator

A federal jury in Birmingham has convicted a local lawyer and a coal company executive of bribing a state legislator to influence his office’s actions related to the Environmental Protection Agency’s north Birmingham Superfund site. The verdicts were announced by U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr., and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.

The jury found Balch & Bingham partner Joel Iverson Gilbert, 46, and Drummond Company Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs David Lynn Roberson, 67, guilty of bribing former Alabama Rep. Oliver Robinson to advocate their employers’ opposition to EPA’s prioritization or expansion of the north Birmingham Superfund site. The bribe came in the form of a lucrative consulting contract that paid Robinson $360,000 through his Oliver Robinson Foundation, a non-profit organization, between 2015 and 2016.

Drummond Company was a client of the Birmingham-based Balch & Bingham law firm. The jury found Gilbert and Roberson guilty of bribery, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. Robinson pleaded guilty in September to the conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and tax evasion.

“This case was not about the EPA. This case was not about pollution. This was a case about greed at the expense of too many,” Town said. “The findings of guilt for these three individuals, by trial or plea, should forewarn anyone who would be corruptly motivated to act in similar unlawful interest. Voters deserve public officials who seek to represent them honestly and fairly. When elected officials, corporate executives or their lawyers violate our federal laws, they should expect to suffer the fate of these three guilty defendants. We appreciate the dedication of the federal agencies that worked tirelessly on this case.”

“Public corruption continues to be the top criminal priority for the FBI and those who violate the public’s trust must be held accountable,” Sharp said. “As long as corruption and greed exists, the FBI will work to bring them to the bar of justice.”

The case began in 2013 when the EPA designated an area of north Birmingham, including the neighborhoods of Harriman Park, Fairmont, and Collegeville, as a Superfund site after finding elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and benzo(a)pyrene during soil sampling. In September 2014, EPA proposed adding the site, designated the 35th Avenue Superfund Site, to its National Priorities List, signaling that it required priority attention. Placement on the priorities list would have allowed EPA to use the federal Superfund Trust Fund to conduct long-term cleanup at the site, provided the State of Alabama agreed to pay 10 percent of the costs.

According to evidence at trial, Gilbert and Roberson were intent on protecting ABC Coke and Drummond from the tremendous potential costs associated with being held responsible for pollution in the 35th Avenue site. As part of their strategy to accomplish that goal, they began working to prevent expansion of the site or its placement on EPA’s priority list. The defendants hired Robinson, whose legislative district adjoined the Superfund site, to persuade north Birmingham residents and governmental agencies to oppose EPA’s actions.

The bribe came in the form of a lucrative consulting contract that paid Robinson $360,000 through his Oliver Robinson Foundation, a non-profit organization, between 2015 and 2016. The jury found Gilbert and Roberson guilty of bribery, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. The verdicts are a significant blow to public corruption in Alabama and demonstrate the FBI’s commitment to holding those who abuse their power accountable.

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