Sentencing in Kimberly Corruption, Bribery, Illegal Gambling

June 20, 2013

John Lynwood Taylor sentenced in Kimberly gambling and corruption probe
 By Robert Carter
North Jefferson News The North Jefferson News
Thu Jun 20, 2013, 03:41 PM CDT

BIRMINGHAM — Another person charged in the federal gambling and public corruption probe in Kimberly has been sentenced.

John Lynwood Taylor, one of six defendants on the case, was sentenced to seven months in prison plus another seven months of home confinement. The sentence was handed down in a sealed hearing on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Birmingham.

Taylor will also serve three years’ probation, perform community service and pay a $4,000 fine.

Taylor is the fourth person indicted in the case to be sentenced. Daniel “Boone” Stone, Kyle Sloan and Carl Scoggins Jr. were sentenced earlier this year, with Daniel Stone receiving only probation and a fine.

Like the other four, Christopher Adam McGraw and Robert Taylor have also cut plea deals with prosecutors. Taylor will be sentenced on July 23 and McGraw after that, according to trial attorney Tracee Plowell of the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section.

The six men conspired to place illegal electronic bingo machines in houses in and around Kimberly, and bribed then-Mayor Craig Harris to keep police away from the operations. When he first received a bribe offer, Harris contacted authorities, and agreed to wear a concealed recording device to gather details about the gambling operation. -

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Gambling Addiction: Cleaner cleans out account

Birmingham professor is cleaned out by his cleaner


A CLEANER with a chronic gambling addiction emptied a Birmingham professor’s bank account after stealing a bank card from his home.

Adrian Flanagan, 36, who siphoned off more than £14,000, was sentenced to 50 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of two years.

The former Land Rover worker, of School Road, Yardley Wood, was also ordered to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work and pay £14,041 compensation after admitting theft between March and June this year.

Judge Rupert Mayo said: “It was a wicked breach of trust in that you stole a bank card and pin details from someone who trusted you to be in their home unsupervised.”

But the judge said he accepted Flanagan had tried to get help to beat his “ghastly” addiction and that he had saved up enough to pay a third of the money back.


Rhydian James, prosecuting, at Birmingham Crown Court, said that Flanagan worked with his partner, who owned her own cleaning business, and added that he took the card from Prof Stephen Field while working at his home.

Mr James said, over about a three-month period, Flanagan used the card 56 times to withdraw the money from three different cash points.

He said Prof Field had not been aware of what was going on because he did most of his banking on the internet.

It was only when he made a transfer that he realised that an account was overdrawn, Mr James told the court.

Mr James said that police later looked at CCTV and identified Flanagan using the card to withdraw £500 from a cash point at the Maypole.

Joe Louis, defending, said Flanagan was ashamed about what he had done and that he would be able to pay Prof Field back the full amount within 18 months.

He added that if he went to prison it would devastate his family.