Ford leaves Memphis courtroom in chains
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It marked the fall of an influential lawmaker who belongs to a Memphis political dynasty. The indictment says Ford wielded his influence after taking payoffs from a sham company created by the FBI to catch lawmakers on the take. When he became concerned he might be caught, he threatened to kill potential witnesses, the charges say.
The investigation snared three other legislators, a former state senator and two people accused of funneling money to them.
The lawmakers were arrested and handcuffed in Nashville in the waning days of a General Assembly session dominated by ethics after it was discovered that Ford had been a paid consultant for state contractors.
But in a day of stunning events, it might have been most surprising that the two-year probe nicknamed “Tennessee Waltz” uncovered a scheme totally unrelated to the known ethics allegations against Ford.
The indictments handed down in Memphis charge that lawmakers collected money — in Ford’s case $55,000 — in exchange for shepherding bills to give a phony company named E-Cycle an edge in getting the business of recycling the state’s outdated computer and recycling equipment. The payoffs continued through April, authorities said.
The fake company had a Web site, a storefront location in Memphis, hosted a reception for lawmakers with live music and made campaign contributions, according to news reports.
“Public corruption is a high priority,” Memphis prosecutor Terrell Harris said of the two-year probe prompted by an anonymous complaint about lawmakers demanding cash. “Our citizens have a right to know government is not for sale.”
The others charged are Sens. Kathryn Bowers and Ward Crutchfield; state Rep. Chris Newton; and former state Sen. Roscoe Dixon, who left the legislature to become a top aide to the Shelby County mayor. Dixon resigned that job Thursday. Newton is a Republican, and the others are Democrats.
The indictment also named two people who are not lawmakers: Charles Love, a lobbyist from Chattanooga and member of the local school board, and Barry Myers, a Memphian who was a candidate to temporarily replace Dixon in the Senate. Each is charged with being a “bag man,” the person acting as a go-between for the lawmakers and the company.
The arrests Thursday marked the biggest corruption scandal in Tennessee since 1990, when the Rocky Top gambling probe issued several indictments and prompted the suicide of the secretary of state and a lawmaker.
Gov. Phil Bredesen said he was briefed on the latest investigation by FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents early Thursday. He said he had known an undercover operation was under way, but didn’t know — and didn’t want to know — the details.
“If these charges are proven, it will be a sad and difficult day for our state,” Bredesen said. “Even the fact of these indictments and arrests are a sadness to us all and cannot help but shake the confidence of the people of Tennessee.”
The indictment directly quotes some of those charged, indicating the evidence includes secret tape recordings by undercover agents or witnesses cooperating with the probe. Ford is quoted as saying when asked by a company representative if he needs anything, “Yeah, send me a little money.” According to the indictment he got $5,000 in cash from E-Cycle eight days later.
Ford had already been fighting ethical charges all year. The state recently fined him $10,000 for spending campaign money on his daughter’s wedding, and state and federal authorities were looking at whether he took money from companies trying to win state contracts. A state investigation released Thursday indicated he lobbied Tennessee officials on those companies’ behalf.
The witness intimidation charges kept Ford in jail until a detention hearing set for Friday. Ford, whose only comment in court was to say “yes sir” when asked if he understood the charges, was led away shackled at the wrists and ankles.
The court was told by Ford’s civil attorney that the senator hasn’t been able to hire a lawyer because of his financial situation and might need to have a public defender appointed.
Bowers, Crutchfield and Newton were released on their own recognizance Thursday after appearing before a federal magistrate in Nashville.
Bowers, looking tired in a wrinkled lime green suit, declined to talk to reporters about the six charges against her. “I guess I’m feeling as well as could be expected,” she said.
Newton would not comment on the charges, but Crutchfield said he was innocent and would “make a statement at the appropriate time.”
If convicted on all six charges, Bowers faces a maximum penalty of 110 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine. Newton and Crutchfield are both named in two counts, and each faces a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
If Ford is convicted on all five charges, he could be sentenced to 60 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Dixon could get 90 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine if convicted on all five charges. Myers, the accused bag man, faces 11 charges and could get 200 years in prison and a $2.75 million fine if convicted.
Federal sentencing guidelines would likely result in much lighter sentences.
Tennessee has long been considered to have the weakest ethics requirements for lawmakers and lobbyists. But that changed this year after Ford’s consulting deals became public.
A measure making it a crime for public officials to take consulting fees from such companies passed unanimously and has been signed into law by the governor.
The federal charges say the scheme unfolded this way:
It began in June 2003, when Myers told an unidentified individual that Bowers needed to be paid to support legislation.
Demands for specific payoffs didn’t start until March 2004, when Myers and Bowers, then a state representative, began telling E-Cycle that she needed $3,000 to support bills for the company. She was paid off at her home that month.
Ford was the next involved, telling an E-Cycle representative who approached him about introducing legislation, “You are talking to the guy that makes the deals.”
Ford made his first demand for cash in July, telling E-Cycle it needed to pay him $3,000 to $5,000 a month. He got a series of payoffs until April 8.
Love got involved July 30, telling E-Cycle he could get the support of Crutchfield and Newton in exchange for money. The payoffs to them began in September when Love was paid $6,500. He funneled $2,000 to Crutchfield and $750 to Newton. Both would be paid more later.
At one point, Love and an E-Cycle representative gave an envelope containing $2,000 and marked with Crutchfield’s initials to the senator’s Chattanooga secretary when they arrived there for a meeting. The secretary, who wasn’t named, told Crutchfield, “He was mighty nice to us today.”
Dixon also became involved on July 30 through Myers.
The payoffs totaled $55,000 to Ford, $12,000 to Crutchfield and Love, $11,500 to Bowers and Myers, $9,500 to Dixon and Myers, and $4,000 to Newton and Love.
All four indicted lawmakers were sponsors of the legislation for E-Cycle, but six other co-sponsors were not charged: Rep. Ulysses Jones, D-Memphis; Rep. Charles M. Sargent, R-Franklin; Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis; Rep. Paul Stanley, R-Germantown; Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville; and Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland.
“I knew the guy (Love) who was pushing the bill. He told me that he had involvement with the company. He was going around getting signatures on the bill. I didn’t know what the company was because it never did come out in the bill,” Armstrong said.
Jones said he took money from E-Cycle as a campaign contribution during the past year and reported it, but he refused to give a specific amount.
“I’m upset that legislation was used in this way,” Jones said. “I’m offended. Just to do a sting operation is bad policy.”
State law allows the lawmakers to continue to serve even though indicted. After they were released by the court, Crutchfield and Bowers returned to their jobs on Capitol Hill.
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Associated Press writers Woody Baird in Memphis; Matt Gouras, Lucas L. Johnson II, Colin Fly and Rose French in Nashville; and Bill Poovey in Chattanooga contributed to this report.
Q: What’s your reaction to the arrests of four state lawmakers?
“I think if they do the crime, they ought to do the time. I think they ought to be punished to fit the crime, like everybody else.”
— Glenetta Parson
“Some politicians think they are above the law, and I think this proves they’re not. It’s wonderful we’re at that point where they realize there’s a problem and they’re doing something about it.”
— Charlotte McGregor