HALL-TAYLOR CONSTRUCTION CO. PROPERTYSUBJECT OF CIVIL FORFEITURE COMPLAINT

BIRMINGHAM, AL -  U. S. Attorney Alice H. Martin announced today that the government has filed a Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem this morning, against real property, bank accounts, and vehicles of HALL-TAYLOR CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. (“H-T”) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  The Complaint states that the FBI investigation into corruption in the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education (“ADPE”) revealed that Roy W. Johnson, Jr. (Johnson), and Roger W. Taylor (“Taylor”), a co-owner of H-T, conspired to defraud the State of Alabama, and the government seeks to forfeit assets of the business Taylor used to conduct and conceal the illegal bribery scheme.

The Complaint sets forth that H-T is a construction business located at 5120 McFarland Boulevard, East in Tuscaloosa.  It did business with the ADPE between January 2002 and June 2006, at various community college campuses and other sites. During that time Johnson served as the Chancellor of the ADPE and steered state-funded construction and construction management work to H-T.  In exchange, TAYLOR used H-T to pay over $90,000 to the contractor and vendors who were constructing Johnson’s new residence in Opelika, Alabama, for Johnson’s benefit. 

During this scheme, and covering the time period above, H-T received in excess of $4.4 million in state construction and construction management services.   H-T used its real property on McFarland Boulevard, its bank accounts, and its 20 vehicles, to conduct the business it received as a result of a bribery scheme in violation of federal law.  H-T also engaged in a money laundering scheme to disguise the nature of the payments it made on Johnson’s behalf.  The total estimated value of the properties is $700,000. 

“Today’s filing is our initial step in seeking to condemn and forfeit these Hall-Taylor Construction Co. properties,” said U. S. Attorney Alice H. Martin

This case is being handled by the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U. S. Attorney’s Office by Assistant U. S. Attorney James Ingram.  This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Field Division, and the IRS - Criminal Investigations.