Trial Approaching for Former Senate Leader
A prosecutor says he will show that former Alabama Senate leader Lowell Barron gave $58,000 in campaign funds to campaign aide Rhonda Jill Johnson to help her pay a debt to him and a credit card company.
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Defense attorney Joe Espy says Johnson earned the money and there is nothing wrong with using a paycheck to cover debts. Espy represents Barron.
Espy and assistant Attorney General Bill Lisenby explained their cases Friday in a court hearing in Fort Payne. The hearing was in preparation for the trial of Barron and Johnson, which will start next month.
They are charged with misusing $58,000 in campaign funds from Barron’s unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2010. Both Barron and Johnson have pleaded not guilty.
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