OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) – Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard was sentenced Friday to four years in prison and another eight on probation for breaking the state ethics law – a prison term handed down as his defense lawyer continued to argue Hubbard’s innocence.
Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker announced the sentence after a hearing in which prosecutors called Hubbard a remorseless figure motivated by greed while defense witnesses urged mercy for the man they described as a public servant.
A jury on June 10 convicted Hubbard on 12 counts of violating the state ethics law, including that he improperly solicited lobbyists and company executives for work and $150,000 in his investments in his debt-riddled printing business and used the power of his office to help his business clients.
Prosecutors argued that Hubbard, 54, betrayed the trust of voters who elected him to the Legislature and fellow lawmakers who chose him to lead the House of Representatives.
“The motive was simply greed. He wanted the money. The evidence showed that everything he did was to get the money,” prosecutor Matt Hart said. Hart also said that Hubbard had shown “absolutely no acceptance or responsibility” while continuing to attack the integrity of the prosecution.