TennWatch/Volitics

FBI Declares Tennessee Waltz Over

The FBI sting investigation into public corruption in Tennessee has come to a close. From the FBI website:

Last month, the undercover sting known as "Tennessee Waltz" (coincidentally, also the official state song), ended where it started: a contractor working in Shelby County Juvenile Court Clerk's Office was sentenced for his role in a corrupt invoice scam, accepting money for work never performed.

He was the 12th and final subject brought to justice in the case.

So ends our hopes that a wider net would be cast -- one that would ensnare King Willie and his cronies.

But at least several state senators, a state representative, two county commissioners, two school board members and several minor players were caught. At least John Ford will finally have to pay for a crime that he committed.

Then again:

For the FBI, public corruption continues to be our top criminal priority. Right now, we have more than 2,500 pending cases—an increase of 50 percent from 2003.

Perhaps an expanded Shelby County Waltz is in the works. We can only hope.

TCPR 2007 Lump of Coal Award

Via a newsletter, I see that the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has given the 2007 Lump of Coal Award to Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and the Knox County Commissioners. The Lump of Coal Award is given every year to "the person or group in Tennessee who, more than any other over the past year, acted as a Grinch to taxpayers by wastefully spending tax dollars and bah-humbugged the principles of open, transparent government."

It's easy to see why Knox County was so honored. From the newsletter:

After the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the term-limited Knox County Commission could not serve once their terms expired, commissioners voted to fill 12 soon-vacant commission seats with friends and family members. Among the new appointees were the son, wife, father, campaign treasurer and chief deputy of outgoing council members.

Following the vote, it came to light that Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale had threatened to withhold funding to districts of commissioners who did not vote for the mayor's preferred candidates. The mayor and commissioners were later found in violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act for the closed door vote-trading that occurred during the selection of the new commissioners.

To make matters worse for Knox County taxpayers, members of Mayor Ragsdale's staff and county commissioners made questionable and unapproved purchases at taxpayers' expense on county credit cards. This led to the resignation of the Knox County finance director, the mayor's executive assistant and an administrative assistant. Among the dodgy expenses were a cruise and a $227 lobster lunch for three.

Shame.

Jury Says Ford Took the Money

After 2 1/2 days of jury deliberation, former state senator John Ford has been convicted of taking $55,000 in bribes.

The jury deadlocked on the more serious charge of extortion, and prosecutor David Kustoff says that the decision to retry Ford on that charge has not yet been made.

Ford gets to walk on three counts of witness intimidation, having been found not guilty of all three counts by the jury.

Kustoff's formal statement can be found here.

Sentencing of Ford was set for Tuesday, July 31, at 9 a.m.

Otis Brings Perspective Borne of Experience

Journalist Otis Sanford was a reporter for the Commercial Appeal for ten years, starting in 1977. He covered a lot of political corruption stories during that time, and now he's back and a little pissed off that politicians like former state senator Roscoe Dixon keep trying to play the race card when they get caught up in things like FBI sting Tennessee Waltz.

Now back at the Commercial Appeal, Otis writes:

The argument usually goes this way: "White politicians have been doing this stuff for years and getting away with it. But now that black folks are in power, they are being targeted because of racism. Why don't they go after the white politicians too?"

But Otis notes that back in the day, there was trial after trial and conviction after conviction, and almost always is was a white male on the receiving end of the prison sentences:

Long before "Tennessee Waltz," there was "TENNPAR." And before "Operation Main Street Sweeper," there was "Operation SHELBCO."

TENNPAR was the seldom used code name for the federal investigation of the state's pardons and paroles scandal of the late 1970s that reached all the way to the office of then-Gov. Ray Blanton.

Blanton's brother, Gene Blanton, and several others also were ensnared in federal investigations of bid-rigging on state road contracts.

At about the same time, the feds in Memphis and Jackson, Tenn., were investigating corruption by rural county sheriffs throughout West Tennessee. Those probes eventually led to indictments and convictions against nine sheriffs, all white.

Former U.S. attorney Hickman Ewing Jr., the chief prosecutor on many of those cases, recalls one sheriff who took a nine-month break from collecting payoffs to let the investigations cool down. When he thought the prosecutions had subsided, his hiatus ended and "he was back collecting his money again," Ewing said.

Memphis and Shelby County politics also had its share of shadiness. SHELBCO was the FBI code name for a massive investigation in the late '70s and early '80s of corruption in county government. The cases focused primarily on elected and appointed officials accepting payoffs and kickbacks from developers and others doing business with the county.

As many as 10 people were prosecuted in the SHELBCO cases, including former county commissioner Lee Hyden, former top county administrator Bill Hays and former public works director-turned informant Jim Butler.

Read the whole thing, especially the money quote that follows this:

Greed is greed and politics, in all colors, is full of it.

Nice job, Otis. And a breath of fresh air — honesty in journalism. I like you, Otis

Herenton's Dirty Lot

Memphis Mayor Herenton's tied up in another scandal, this one involving a questionable land deal with a man that has received numerous no-bid contracts from the city.

Known as "King Willie" because of his tyrannical misuse of power, the mayor lives in a $529,400 house at 5281 Horn Lake Road, a rather nice neighborhood. Here's an aerial view of his 5 bedroom, 4 full bath home.

He also owns an adjoining lot at the corner of Horn Lake and Dubois Drive, which has been appraised by the Shelby County Assessor of Property at $45,000.

In October 2005, Herenton sold the lot to E.W. Moon, LLC (view the warranty deed) for $50,000. Then just months later, in May 2006, Moon gave the property back. Gave, as in "for free". (View the quit claim.)

Herenton is now building a home on the lot and sees "nothing improper" about the deal with Moon, even though Moon has received $702,000 no-bid city road design contracts from the mayor since 2002. (The mayor is the man that approves city contracts. As I understand it, the city council can't do anything except make recommendations.)

Reached in his Los Angeles office, Moon said he didn't give or loan Herenton $50,000, but said he forwarded the money to the mayor because he intends to buy the house when it's finished. Moon said he doesn't have a written contract on the house but does have an oral agreement to buy it.

"You don't have to put everything in writing. We're friends,'' he said.

Indeed. And you don't have to exchange money in the light of day, either. It takes really good, trustworthy friends to move money under the table. And this looks like a good way to move money under the table — only they got caught.

But so what? It seems that these actions don't even violate Memphis' ethics rules!

This is not the first time that this particular lot has made Willie money. According to records on the Shelby County Register of Deeds site, Herenton sold this lot to Joyce P. Kelly in 1996 for $35,000. Then in 2003, Kelly sold it back to the mayor for $28,000 — after seven years of real estate appreciation as high-dollar houses sprung up all around it. After all, it is located in Banneker Estates, a gated community that Herenton has developed and in which his own home is located.

The name Joyce Kelly is a familiar one in Memphis politics, as it is the name of the mayor's girlfriend and sometimes fiancee. She first entered the public light in 1989, when County Commissioner Pete Sisson charged Herenton (who was Memphis City Schools Superintendent) with promoting Joyce Kelly to principal of Corry Junior High while she was having an affair with Herenton (Thaddeus Mathews has a scan of the story).

How is John Ford like Shrek?

Meanwhile in Memphis, ex-legislator John Ford, who is currently waiting trial for corruption charges, has been hit with six more indictments. This time, he is accused of taking more than $800,000 in illegal payments from state contractors associated with TennCare.

A six-count federal indictment charges Ford with wire fraud and concealment of material facts related to huge consulting fees from two firms contracting with TennCare, the state's taxpayer-funded Medicaid program.

Ford schemed with others to hide payments he wasn't legally entitled to receive, prosecutors allege. ...

According to the indictment, the scheme started in 2001 when Doral Dental, a Milwaukee firm seeking a TennCare contract to provide dental benefits management for 620,000 children, first met with Ford. Believing that a bidding process was about to start, Doral executives turned to Ford, then an influential lawmaker who sat on three key Senate committees.

What makes this story even worse for ol' man Ford is that the charges apparently stem from investigations into his finances by the Commercial Appeal when he tried to fight an attempt to increase his child support payments. A North Carolina woman whom he never married wanted to up the payments, but Ford contested it because he just couldn't afford it. After all, he was supporting (and alternately living with) two whole other families:

In the hearing, Ford said he lives some days with ex-wife Tamara Mitchell-Ford and the three children they had together. On others, he said, he stays with his longtime girlfriend, Connie Mathews, and their two children.

So Ford was supporting three families, living with two, married to none. He was taking money disguised as consulting fees from at least one company seemingly set up specifically to make these fees appear legitimate. Yet he later takes bribe money from FBI agents with no appearance of legitimacy at all.

One would think that a conversation between John Ford and Donkey would go something like this:

FORD: For your information, there's a lot more to politicians than people think.

DONKEY: Example?

FORD: Example? Okay, um, politicians are like onions.

DONKEY: [Sniffs] They stink?

FORD: Yes. No!

DONKEY: They make you cry?

FORD: No!

DONKEY: You leave them out in the sun, they get all brown, start sprouting' little white hairs.

FORD: No! Layers! Onions have layers! Politicians have layers! Onions have layers.
You get it? We both have layers. [Sighs]

DONKEY: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. [Sniffs] You know, not everybody likes onions. Cake! Everybody loves cakes! Cakes have layers.

FORD: I don't care... what everyone likes. Politicians are not like cakes.

Up, in John Ford's case politicians are exactly like onions. They stink, make you cry, go rotten and have layer upon layer of lies and deceptions.

Corruption vs. Racism

Michael Hooks, Sr. goes in front of the judge today to be sentenced for taking $24,200 in bribes from FBI agents in the Tennessee Waltz sting.

Say what you want to about Hooks Sr., but he isn't stupid. Earlier this year Roscoe Dixon refused to show remorse for his part in the corruption scandal and was subsequently sentenced to 63 months in prison (5 yr. and 3 mo.). Hooks evidently learned from this display and has has publicly apologized, pleaded guilty, blamed no one but himself and not once did he play the race card. In fact, Hook's attorney Steve Farese said in court papers:

(Hooks) respectfully submits that he has made an extraordinary public disclosure of his criminal activity which has helped to remove the specter of racism as had been alleged by some. This honest and forthright public admission was a heartfelt act of contrition, which not only lifted a burden from the Defendant but, more importantly, helped vindicate the Government's investigation into public corruption. ... Unlike others similarly situated, (Hooks) never implied that his indictment was based on race or that he never accepted money.

Not Edmund Ford, no sir! In the best Ford tradition, ol' Edmund claims it a vast government conspiracy:

"Hey, they good at making movies," said Ford.

But why would the federal government do such a thing?

During a break in the council meeting, reporters asked [Edmund Ford] why he was still voting. He replied: "I'm innocent, OK? I'm innocent."

Earlier he told The Commercial Appeal "This is about color."

"I'm a child of God, OK? I know what I have not done. Maybe this will open up the eyes of some people."

Yep, open your eyes and see that it must be Bush's fault! After Katrina, everyone knows that he hates minorities (in spite of "a cabinet unprecedented for its inclusiveness").

If fact, according to Edmund, he doesn't have time to be taking bribes!

You know, if anybody knows me, I've always said, if there's some wrong doing I'm going to let the world know. You've been sitting there, when I made those statements, Mike, Ok? I work 5 hard jobs a day. I get up at 7:00 in the morning. I work 7 days a week. So take it from there.

Wow! 5 "hard" jobs every day! Let's see, 8 hours of work per job, five jobs, carry the . . . Whoa! Eddie works 40 hours a day!

Or perhaps he thinks having lunch and asking for bribe money constitues a full days work in one of his "hard" jobs.

And speaking of continuing the race divide, check out this quote from journalist Wendi Thomas:

Black man after black man was making federal court appearances just down the street, while Ford and Peete were trotting their behinds into city hall, for what I fear was business as expected, if not business as usual.

The fact that the vast majority of those arrested as a result of Tennessee Waltz were black has nothing to do with Wendi's story. If a white journalist were to write the exact same phrase the African-American community would rise up as one and shout, "Racist!" So why does a black journalist get to do so? And what good came from doing so?

Peete Classier than E. Ford?

Edmund Ford and Rickey Peete are currently under indictment on federal bribery charges as a result of a public corruption investigation tagged "Main Street Sweeper." They allegedly took bribes in exchange for voting to support a billboard moratorium.

Yesterday was the first city council meeting since the sting went down.

Felon Rickey Peete (he was convicted of bribery 17 years ago but the voters put him back in office anyway) is, so far, apparently the classier of the two. He said he would not vote on any planning and zoning issues and actually resigned as chairman of the Center City Commission.

On the other hand, he retains his seat on the commission and will still vote. Further, he is also a member of the Community Industrial Development Board and the Riverfront Development Corporation. All three of these bodies deal with planning and zoning issues every day. It's what they do and it's all they do! So how is Peete recusing himself from actions for which he is currently (and once again) under indictment?

And how could Peete possibly be classier than Ford?

Because Ford refuses to even consider promising to recuse himself from every zoning vote. And because he is falling into the race-baiting behavior of claiming government conspiracy:

"Hey, they good at making movies," said Ford.

Yeah, that's helpful.

So what is the city council doing to clean up its image?

The council can't make a member resign until they are convicted, but Councilman Jack Sammons proposed a resolution that "humbly, prayerfully and respectfully" requested that Peete and Ford step down from the council and concentrate their energies on their legal defenses.

Voting for the resolution were Carol Chumney, Myron Lowery, Tom Marshall, Scott McCormick, Jack Sammons and Brent Taylor.

Voting against were Dedrick Brittenum, Joe Brown, Barbara Swearengen Holt, E.C. Jones, TaJuan Stout Mitchell and Edmund Ford.

That's right, Ford cast the vote that tied the coucil 6 to 6. (Peete hadn't shown up yet.)

Of course, the coucil can vote to remove Ford and Peete from every committee and commission, thus drastically limiting their power. Anyone think that'll happen?

Wendi Nails One

Quote of the Day comes from Wendi Thomas, who for once gets something absolutely right as she writes about the recent arrests of Memphis City Councilmen Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford:

No insult to addicts intended, this award goes to anyone whose behavior is so bizarre, so devoid of any common sense, so head-scratchingly stupid that the only explanation is a serious addiction to the crack pipe.

Indeed, as Wendi goes on to point out there have been a steady stream of arrests for the last 16 months of officials and gadflys on bribery and corruption charges. Who but an utter idiot would consider taking a bribe in this environment?

Only those who are arrogant enough to think that they won't get caught and, even if they do, will either get freed by a Memphean jury or re-elected by Memphis voters after doing a very short sentence.

The sad thing is that the latter is undoubtedly true.

Who Said That?

News journalist Cameron Harper blogs this conversation, recently heard at City Hall:

"You really should resign.",

"No way man, you couldn't pay me to leave."

Heh. So was it Ricky Peete or Edmund Ford?