Born in Gadsden, Alabama, as a youth Swindall worked in and later managed his father Nathan's Atlanta Furniture Store on the corner of Butler and Decatur Streets. He earned a B.A. from the University of Georgia in 1972 and obtained his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1975. After law school he practiced law with Heyman & Sizemore and, in April 1979, at the age of 28, became its youngest partner to that date. He practiced law in Atlanta until December 31, 1983, when he resigned to run for Congress. In 1984, with Robb Austin as his campaign manager, Swindall defeated five term Democratic congressman Elliott H. Levitas by six percentage points, an upset election considering Levitas was elected with relative ease since his first election in 1974. He won by a similar margin against actor Ben L. Jones in 1986. However, after being indicted for perjury, Swindall lost in a rematch with Jones in 1988 by a 20 point margin.
Perjury conviction
In October 1988, Swindall was indicted on ten counts of perjury related to a money laundering scheme. In recorded dealings with an undercover IRS agent posing as a representative of the Colombian drug cartel, Swindall was told that the $850,000 loan he was seeking to finish building his luxury home included illegal drug money and that he would be part of an operation to "wash" cash. Swindall proposed that an associate set up a mortgage company to funnel the money through. During an ensuing investigation into the illegal drug trade, Swindall lied to a federal grand jury about his knowledge that the funds were from a drug trafficking operation, which was refuted by the undercover tapes. While one of the perjury charges was dismissed by District Judge Richard C. Freeman, the jury convicted Swindall on nine counts and sentenced him to one year in prison and a fine of $30,450. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned three of the counts, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the remaining six and he began serving his sentence in 1994. He was disbarred by the Supreme Court of Georgia in 1996.
Later life
Upon his release from prison on February 9, 1995, Swindall hosted a religious-themed conservative radio show on the Providence Broadcasting Network. His show's motto was "Where religion and politics converge." When the Providence Broadcasting Network ceased operations, Swindall announced that he was going to "pursue a prison ministry." Swindall was the owner of multiple businesses in Atlanta and College Park. In June 2009, a Fulton Countygrand jury indicted Swindall and two of his fired employees for making illegal campaign contributions to Atlanta City Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd. The businessmen were indicted for making false statements because they said that Swindall was the actual source of the contributions. The donations were reported on Sheperd's campaign disclosure forms as coming from other people, including family and friends of the two former employees. In November 2009, he was involved in a confrontation with tenants at a flea market location he had formerly leased; Swindall left after College Park code enforcement officers and police arrived. He wanted to remove the walls that delineate the individual stalls within the flea market. Swindall also wanted to remove other structures belonging to him, but the request was denied by the College Park Police. Swindall was married to former Duke University cheerleader Kimberly; together they had seven children. During his time in Congress the two were called the "Barbie and Ken of Politics".
Death
Swindall died in his sleep on July 11, 2018 at his home in Johns Creek, Georgia of an undisclosed cause. He was 67.
Books
A House Divided: A Congressman Examines the Divisive Issues That Face America,.
