MONTGOMERY, Ala., May 27 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors announced Thursday former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and two others have been indicted in a bid-rigging scheme.
Siegelman, a Democrat, and his former chief of staff Paul Hamrick, are accused of helping Tuscaloosa, Ala., physician Dr. Phillip Bobo rig bids for a maternity care program while Siegelman was governor, WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Ala., reported.
The federal grand jury that issued the indictment alleged the former governor and his aide moved $550,000 from the state's education budget to the Tuscaloosa-based State Fire College so Bobo could use the money to pay off a competitor for a state contract.
Siegelman attorney Doug Jones had no immediate comment and was still trying to learn details of the indictment, WSFA said.
Siegelman, a former Alabama attorney general and lieutenant governor, was elected governor in 1998. In 2002, he lost his bid for a second term, coming up just over 3,000 votes short of Republican Bob Riley.
