Former Leighton mayor arrested

LEIGHTON -- Former mayor Robert Ricks was arrested Monday on a federal extortion charge.

Jill Ellis, a spokeswoman for the office of U.S. Attorney Alice Martin, said Ricks is accused of accepting kickbacks from people who performed work on city vehicles from May 14, 2002, to Sept. 23, 2002, while he was Leighton's mayor.

Ellis said Ricks, 60, was charged under a one-count indictment. The in-dictment notes that as mayor, Ricks had the authority to approve repair work on city-owned vehicles and the authority to approve invoices for payments.

"This was apparently a scheme," Ellis said.

She said invoices were submitted to the city for payment for more than the actual cost of the work that was performed. Ricks is accused of receiving the additional money.

She said the individuals or businesses who performed the work on

the vehicles were not identified in the indictment and have not been charged.

The indictment does not specify how much money Ricks is accused of receiving. Authorities said that the amount of money Ricks is accused of taking is less than $5,000.

Effort to contact Ricks for comment Monday were unsuccessful.

The offense, which is part of the federal racketeering statute, carries a penalty of not more than 20 years in federal prison, a fine of no more than $250,000, or both.

FBI agents arrested Ricks on Monday and transferred him to U.S. District Court in Huntsville.

An official in the court clerk's office said Ricks appeared before a magistrate judge after his arrest and was released on a $500 unsecured bond.

She said Ricks will be arraigned May 10 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert R. Armstrong Jr. in Birmingham.

At that time, Ricks will officially accept service of the indictment and be provided an attorney, if he cannot afford one.

"The only thing you can do is plead not guilty in the federal system," Ellis said.

Ellis said she could not make additional comments about the investigation.

Councilman Jim Leatherwood said Mayor Lawayne Harrison and the newly elected Leighton Town Council asked the FBI to investigate the former council.

Leatherwood said he served on the council with Ricks in the late 1970s. He said Ricks was appointed to the council in 1978 and was re-elected for several more terms.

In 2001, the Leighton Town Council appointed Ricks to serve the remainder of Mayor Eugene Boatwright's term.

Harrison was elected mayor in 2004.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@timesdaily.com.