AP News, April 10th, 2007
Former state Sen. John Ford "saw a great opportunity" when he met undercover FBI agents posing as dishonest businessmen with money to spread around, a prosecutor told a federal jury Tuesday.
"And that opportunity was to sell his office," Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim DiScenza said in his opening statement at Ford's public corruption trial.
Ford, 64, is one of five current or former state lawmakers charged with extortion and bribery in an investigation dubbed "Tennessee Waltz."
He is accused of taking $55,000 in bribes from a fake company the FBI called E-Cycle Management to help change state law to give the company a business advantage. He also is charged with threatening a federal witness.
Defense attorney Michael Scholl said Ford thought he was working with businessmen who needed legitimate advice on dealing with state government.
But the FBI was "looking for John Ford" and lied "month after month, day after day to get the man to do something illegal," Scholl said.
"John Ford did not take any bribes," Scholl said.
Undercover agents made hundreds of hours of audio and video recordings during the Tennessee Waltz investigation, and DiScenza told Ford's jurors they will see and hear him seeking and accepting bribes.
Clips of two videos played at pretrial hearings showed Ford pocketing cash given to him by an FBI agent identified by the undercover name L.C. McNiel.
McNiel, who is expected to be a prime government witness at the trial, met often with Ford for almost a year.
"Every time he's talking to John Ford, it's a lie," Scholl said.
Ford, a Memphis Democrat, spent 31 years in the state Senate and was one of the most powerful members of the Legislature. He resigned in May 2005, two days after his indictment in the scandal that led to a special legislative session on ethics reform.
Ford also faces unrelated federal charges in Nashville, where he is accused of taking $800,000 in illegal payments from state contractors.
Ford is a member of one of Tennessee's most politically active families. His nephew is Harold Ford Jr., a former congressman and recent U.S. Senate candidate; his brother is Harold Ford Sr., who represented Memphis in the U.S. House for 22 years.
The counts Ford faces carry a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines, but he would likely receive far less than that if convicted based on sentences given to others convicted in the investigation.
