Sundquist friend avoids jail time

Al Ganier III, who was chairman of the Sundquist’s 1995 inauguration, had agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge in return for federal prosecutors dropping four felony charges.

Ganier had been accused of trying to destroy or conceal files after learning in 2002 that prosecutors were investigating how his company received a $106 million, five-year contract from the Sundquist administration to provide Internet service to public schools. Court records show Ganier’s company, Education Networks of America, was struggling before it received a state contract with no competing bids.