The Alabama House Speaker weighed in, following this week's guilty plea and resignation of longtime state Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham). Federal prosecutors charged Rogers with conspiracy and fraud for a kickback scheme involving about $200,000 in taxpayer funds intended for a youth baseball league. The money went instead to Rogers' assistant and sometime girlfriend, Varrie Johnson Kindall, who also pleaded guilty along with former state Rep. Fred Plump (D-Fairfield). Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) said, "Serving the people of Alabama demands the highest level of honesty, integrity and accountability. Anything less than that is totally unacceptable, and it's unfortunate that some 45,000 Alabamians have been left without representation." Rogers has agreed to pay nearly $200,000 to the Jefferson County Community Service Fund as restitution. He will be sentenced this summer.