Judge Dismisses Tuscaloosa Council Member's Misdemeanor Charge

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa County District Court Judge James E. Gentry on Wednesday officially dismissed the charge against Tuscaloosa City Councilor Cassius Lanier of misdemeanor failure to pay sales taxes for one of his businesses, court documents obtained by Patch show.

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Gentry dismissed the charge after Lanier satisfied all of his outstanding payments to the Tuscaloosa County Special Sales Tax Board — the government entity responsible for overseeing sales taxes collected by businesses across the country.

"As a small business owner for many years, I’ve created many jobs and opportunities for coworkers and my family," Lanier told Patch on Wednesday. "As a small business owner, you experience good times and bad times, but through it all, you keep your commitments. Today’s order reflects just that in a method that is prescribed by law and utilized by countless businesses annually."

As Patch reported in mid-November, the board's Revenue Enforcement division claimed that Lanier failed to pay outstanding sales taxes owed for one of his businesses.

It should be pointed out that Lanier was not arrested by law enforcement.

Rather, Lanier was served a summons to appear ahead of the misdemeanor charge being filed and appeared in Tuscaloosa County District Court on Wednesday for his scheduled appearance.

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