Buck says he contacted FBI about Ford three years ago

Buck, who has crusaded for ethics changes in the state Legislature, said he’s not sure if his tip was the one that spawned the FBI’s “Tennessee Waltz” corruption sting that resulted in the arrests late last month of seven people, including five current or former legislators.

Buck said he believes others also may have approached the FBI with suspicions about Ford’s dealings.

Ford was arrested and charged with taking bribes from a bogus company called E-Cycle Management. Other lawmakers arrested were Sens. Kathryn Bowers of Memphis and Ward Crutchfield of Chattanooga; Rep. Chris Newton, R-Cleveland; and former Sen. Roscoe Dixon of Memphis, who had recently left the Legislature to become an aide to the Shelby County mayor.

Charles Love, a lobbyist from Chattanooga, and Barry Myers, a Memphis resident, are charged with being “bagmen” for the payoffs.

Authorities have declined to elaborate on the initial allegations that led to the sting, which began about two years ago.

Buck said this week he felt obligated to pass on to investigators what he was hearing, even though he had no firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing. Buck said he was initially interviewed in either late 2001 or early 2002.

“Basically, another senator told me that Ford was running off his mouth about TennCare and consulting fees. With Ford, you never know how much was the truth,” Buck said. “But I thought they (FBI agents) ought to know about the TennCare stuff.”

Prior to his arrest, Ford reportedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from firms dealing with TennCare. Officials say the fees appear to violate state contractual provisions and Senate ethics rules, thought no criminal charges have resulted.

Buck would not name the senator who told him about Ford’s boasts, and said the senator did not want to speak directly to the FBI.

“There have been a heck of a bunch of people afraid they were going to offend somebody and they lost sight of right or wrong,” he told The Knoxville News Sentinel. “That’s been the disappointing thing to me about the whole thing. Many people have stuck their heads in the sand.”

Buck said his first meeting with the FBI took place in a Nashville office. In late 2002 the FBI contacted him again and requested another interview, which took place at his law office in Smithville.

During the second interview, Buck said agents quizzed him mostly about state government contracts let during the administration of former Gov. Don Sundquist.

One former state employee has been convicted in the Sundquist contracts investigation, while two former friends of the ex-governor — Al Ganier and John Stamps — are awaiting trial.

Buck said he never heard again from the FBI after the second interview.

Buck also said he was disappointed that Gov. Phil Bredesen would not actively support his push for legislation that would require legislators to disclose consulting fees they receive from companies doing business with the state.

Legislation requiring the disclosure of consulting fees and other income received by lawmakers and other government officials was approved by the General Assembly in the session just completed.

Buck said he met with Bredesen in 2003, seeking the governor’s opinion on whether to seek re-election again in 2004 to his House seat. During the meeting, Buck said he appealed for Bredesen’s help on the disclosure bill and “he gave me the brush off.” He quoted Bredesen as saying during the meeting that “he didn’t want to get into a fight he couldn’t win.”

Bredesen spokeswoman Lydia Lenker on Tuesday said the governor “respectfully disagrees with Buck’s recollection of the meeting.”

“Ethics in state government is — and always will be — a paramount concern for this governor,” Lenker said.

Buck said he has not decided whether to seek re-election in 2006.