Corruption Trial for Former Tennessee State Senator John Ford Set to Begin Monday
FOXNews.com -
"MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As one of Tennessee's most powerful state senators, John Ford bragged that he would have little trouble getting a new law passed to benefit a computer recycling company.
However, the company turned out to be part of an undercover sting operation set up by the FBI, and he was charged with bribery, extortion and threatening a government witness.
'You are talking to the guy who makes the deals,' a federal indictment quotes Ford as saying to an FBI agent posing as a dishonest businessman seeking legislative favors.
Ford, 64, is one of five current or former state lawmakers charged in the investigation. He is accused of taking $55,000 in bribes from E-Cycle Management, which supposedly was in the business of buying and reselling used government computers.
Jurors will hear several secretly recorded tapes of Ford's conversations with undercover agents and see at least two video clips showing him stuffing his pockets with cash.
Ford, a Democrat who represented his Memphis district for 31 years, is a member of one of Tennessee's most politically active families. His nephew is Harold Ford Jr., a former congressman and U.S. Senate candidate; his brother is Harold Ford Sr., who represented Memphis in the U.S. House for 22 years."
"MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As one of Tennessee's most powerful state senators, John Ford bragged that he would have little trouble getting a new law passed to benefit a computer recycling company.
However, the company turned out to be part of an undercover sting operation set up by the FBI, and he was charged with bribery, extortion and threatening a government witness.
'You are talking to the guy who makes the deals,' a federal indictment quotes Ford as saying to an FBI agent posing as a dishonest businessman seeking legislative favors.
Ford, 64, is one of five current or former state lawmakers charged in the investigation. He is accused of taking $55,000 in bribes from E-Cycle Management, which supposedly was in the business of buying and reselling used government computers.
Jurors will hear several secretly recorded tapes of Ford's conversations with undercover agents and see at least two video clips showing him stuffing his pockets with cash.
Ford, a Democrat who represented his Memphis district for 31 years, is a member of one of Tennessee's most politically active families. His nephew is Harold Ford Jr., a former congressman and U.S. Senate candidate; his brother is Harold Ford Sr., who represented Memphis in the U.S. House for 22 years."
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