John Rogers, the longtime Alabama State Representative from Birmingham, has been indicted on federal corruption charges in a kickback scheme that took down another lawmaker.

Rogers, 82, is charged with one count of obstruction of justice and one count of obstruction of justice by bribery, according to the indictment that was filed in federal court on Tuesday and made public in court records today. The indictment says Rogers attempted to bribe someone to lie to federal investigators about a federal kickback scheme in exchange for receiving public funding for the person’s nonprofit organization.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” said Rogers, a Democrat who was first elected to the State House in 1982. “I’m so innocent, I ain’t even worried and I look forward to a court date.

“I wouldn’t do anything that crazy,” he added in a phone interview with AL.com on Wednesday evening. “I wouldn’t do anything that stupid. This is going to be a royal affair. I’ll enjoy kicking their ass.”

Rogers will be arraigned at the federal courthouse in Birmingham on Oct. 12 at 9:30 a.m.

Read more: John Rogers has been the feds’ target for 35 years. He isn’t afraid

The charges stem from misuse of money from the Jefferson County Community Service Fund, money that was intended to support the nonprofit Piper Davis youth baseball league and another unnamed organization, according to the indictment.

Rogers is the third person to be indicted in the kickback scheme. In June, former Alabama State Rep. Fred Plump, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit baseball league, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. Plump, a Democrat, resigned his seat in the legislature, and a runoff election is scheduled for Oct. 24 for the seat.

Attorney John C. Robbins of Birmingham, who’s representing Rogers, said that Rogers maintains he hasn’t done anything wrong or illegal.

“I just received a copy of the indictment and haven’t yet gone over it in-depth. I contacted Representative Rogers to let him know about the indictment,” Robbins said. “We intend to vigorously defend him on these charges.”

Varrie Kindall – also known as Varrie Johnson – who has worked as Rogers’ assistant for many years, is also indicted with new tax charges in the case. Kindall, 58, of Chelsea, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, one count of money laundering, one count of obstruction of justice, one count of obstruction of justice by bribery, one count of failure to file tax return and two counts of aiding preparation of false tax return.

The indictment issued this week is a superseding indictment, adding additional charges to the previous indictment last month that named only Kindall.

The indictment alleges that between fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2022, Rogers was allocated about $500,000 by the community service fund, a collection of public tax dollars that local lawmakers get to hand out to various service organizations. Rogers directed about $400,000 of that money to Plump’s baseball league. In turn, Plump gave about $200,000 to Kindall, Rogers’ assistant, according to the indictment. The indictment says Kindall used the money for personal spending, including a mortgage and credit card payments.

The new indictment also outlines new information, alleging that Rogers directed money from the fund to another organization, called “Organization #1,” and the founder of that organization, identified as “Individual #1,” also gave some of that money to Kindall.

“It was a part of the scheme and artifice that defendant John Rogers, with defendant Varrie Johnson Kindall’s assistance, would and did direct Fund money to Organization #1,” the indictment reads. “Further, defendant Varrie Johnson Kindall would and did require Individual #1 to pay part of that money back to her as an ‘administration fee.’”

Then, between April and July 2023, Rogers and Johnson attempted to convince Individual #1 to give false information to FBI and IRS investigators, the indictment says. They also attempted to “obstruct, delay and prevent” the person from communicating with investigators through bribery, “by offering to help Organization #1 obtain grants funded by taxpayer dollars,” the indictment reads.

The indictment notes that Johnson had “romantic relationships” with both Rogers and Plump.

A new arraignment for Johnson is scheduled for Oct. 12 at the Hugo L. Black Courthouse in Birmingham, per the docket.

Read more here:

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A Birmingham nonprofit rejected money from a lawmaker. Then he accused them of corruption.

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Sentencing date set for former State Rep. Fred Plump after federal guilty plea

Alabama lawmaker’s assistant pleads guilty to stealing parents’ retirement benefits