Story note: A tumultuous legislative session came to a close with the arrests of four sitting lawmakers on federal bribery charges. I was lead writer on this package that won in state press contests for breaking news.Friday, May 27, 2005
Section: Main News
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4 sting arrests deal legislature new blow; 3 others also indicted
By BRAD SCHRADE and BONNA de la CRUZ
Staff Writers
An undercover federal sting operation -- code-named "Tennessee Waltz" -- aimed at corrupt deal-making within the highest levels of state government led to a roundup yesterday of four sitting lawmakers, a former senator and one of two alleged bag men who face extortion, conspiracy and bribery charges that could send them to prison for years.
Among those arrested was Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis, who is also accused of threatening and intimidating potential witnesses.
Ford was sent to a Mason, Tenn., jail, outside Memphis, where he remained last night, pending a hearing this morning. The others were released after federal court hearings.
According to the five-count federal grand jury indictment, Ford told an undercover FBI agent in March that "if he caught someone trying to set him up he would shoot that person, kill them, so there would be no witnesses."
The senator is likely to ask for a public defender to handle the criminal case because he cannot afford a lawyer otherwise, said Ford's civil attorney, Martin Grusin.
The investigation, which also included the U.S. attorney's office and TBI, spanned two years and has unfurled the worst corruption scandal to hit state government since the Rocky Top state bingo-corruption investigation 15 years ago.
Federal court papers filed yesterday paint an unsavory picture of a state Capitol where votes are bought and sold from Memphis to Chattanooga to get laws passed to benefit private interests. In this case, the company E-Cycle Management was a fake company set up by federal agents in an effort to snare lawmakers who would accept bribes to push legislation on behalf of the company, the indictments say.
''Our citizens have a right to know government is not for sale,'' said U.S. Attorney Terrell Harris, who serves the Western District of Tennessee, which led the investigation that started when federal authorities responded to allegations of public corruption.
The other legislators arrested yesterday were Sen. Kathryn Bowers, D-Memphis; Sen. Ward Crutchfield, D-Chattanooga; and Rep. Chris Newton, R-Cleveland. Former Sen. Roscoe Dixon, D-Memphis, who left office in January to become a top aide to Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, was also charged. Crutchfield was the Senate majority leader until last year's elections in which Republicans took the Senate majority.
They could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each extortion charge; an additional 10 years and $250,000 on each bribery charge and an additional five years and $250,000 on each conspiracy charge. Ford faces up to 10 additional years and $250,000 on each intimidation charge.
"I'm not guilty of anything," said Crutchfield, moments after leaving a federal courtroom in Nashville that he, Newton and Bowers entered in handcuffs for their initial appearance. "I'll make a statement at the appropriate time."
Six other lawmakers who sponsored the legislation that would have helped E-Cycle were not charged; several of those said they were never offered money and would not have accepted it if it had been offered.
The two bagmen, as they are described in court papers, operated out of Chattanooga and Memphis to deliver thousands of dollars in cash on behalf of the bogus company. Charles Love, a registered lobbyist and Hamilton County school board member, is accused of being the middleman who supplied bribe money to Crutchfield and Newton. He is expected to be arrested. Barry Myers, a Democratic operative in Memphis, is charged with delivering cash to Bowers and Dixon. Ford accepted the cash himself, according to the indictment.
In Memphis, where Ford was taken after his arrest in Nashville yesterday morning, he, Dixon and Myers remained in handcuffs and ankle shackles as they listened to federal Judge Thomas Anderson.
Ford, his shoulders slumped and his shirt collar unbuttoned, said little during the hearing. He said "Yes, sir," three times as Anderson spoke. Ford faces a hearing this morning to sort out the charges of threatening witnesses.
Myers and Dixon were both released from federal custody after the hearing. Dixon emerged smiling and with his necktie back on, saying he was "doing great. I have nothing to hide."
"You've got to remember, (these are) dog-and-pony shows," Dixon said. "That kind of thing, the public has to understand -- there is some politics to this."
Dixon said he was arrested at his Memphis home yesterday morning around 8.
"At first I was scared, because I didn't know what was going on," Dixon said. "Of course, I just have to trust God. ... I'm going to try to be very open and honest."
At Legislative Plaza and the Capitol, where most days there is a hum of activity, the mood was somber, slow and confused, as if federal authorities had punched the place in the gut. Lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists and others were glued to television sets as they watched the faces of their indicted colleagues flash across the screen and as reports unfolded.
Discussion of ethics has dominated this legislative session as state lawmakers have tried to restore public trust in the institution that for months has been focused on allegations against Ford. Earlier this month, Gov. Phil Bredesen signed ethics legislation barring lawmakers from accepting consulting fees to help companies with business before the state. The bill was heralded at the time as important legislation that would also force more disclosure.
Yesterday, all that paled in corridors in the Capitol, as charges of money and bribes and bag men now placed a dark cloud over the entire legislative session.
Federal and state agents came to Bredesen's south Davidson County home at 6 a.m. to brief him on the investigation and tell him that the sting arrests were going to be made in the next few hours.
Hours later, the governor was flanked by legislative leaders inside the Capitolat a news conference, where he tried to remind the public that the indicted lawmakers are innocent until proven guilty.
"If these charges are proven, however, it will be a sad and difficult day for our state," Bredesen said. "Even the fact of these indictments and arrests are a challenge and a sadness to us all, and cannot help but shake the confidence of the people of Tennessee."
The federal indictments put a pall on what had been great anticipation this week, as both houses were trying to finalize a budget, place the finishing touches on a TennCare plan and end the session in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
"This won't be easy. Our hearts are heavy, but we have business to attend to," said Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Goodlettsville, one of a handful of senators who publicly shook Crutchfield's hand when he returned to the Senate chamber yesterday afternoon after his arrest and federal court appearance.
Bowers and Newton were also back at work in the Capitol. Many of Newton's House colleagues offered support and hugs before an early evening session resumed. Bowers, who had been a member of the House for years, just entered the Senate this month after winning a special election to assume Dixon's seat.
"I guess I'm feeling as well as can be expected," she said after an initial hearing in federal court.
The lawmakers were arrested early yesterday before arriving at the Capitol. Crutchfield and Ford were staying at the Sheraton Hotel, directly across Union Street from their Legislative Plaza offices. Bowers was staying at the Wa-tauga House apartments, a block away on Polk Avenue. It's unclear where Newton was staying.
The arrests come after an investigation that started in Memphis in 2003. The investigation stretched as far as Miami, where Ford is alleged to have met with a federal agent posing as a representative of E-Cycle. The company registered with the Georgia secretary of state's office in January 2004.
An undercover agent told the legislators that E-Cycle was a company that dealt with disposing of outdated computers and electronic equipment and that it needed help with legislation that would help it.
In February 2004, a company executive approached Dixon and told him money would be available if he wrote favorable legislation, according to federal court papers. Dixon told the federal agent to "work through Barry (Myers), keep Barry happy," the indictment says.
In April 2004, when an E-Cycle representative approached Ford about helping with legislation that would benefit the company, Ford said: "You are talking to the guy that makes the deals," according to court records.
Ford is charged with accepting $55,000 in illegal bribes.
Authorities timed their sting, apparently by coincidence, on the same day that a state attorney general report on ethics charges against Ford that was delivered to the Senate was released publicly.
Dixon said Ford "was in better spirits than I thought he would be."
Dixon left the Senate in January to take a six-figure job as Wharton's chief administrative officer.
In a statement released yesterday, Wharton said he expected Dixon to resign.
Brad Schrade can be reached at bschrade@tennessean.com or 259-8086. Bonna de la Cruz can be reached at bdelacruz@tennessean.com or 726-5990.
Staff Writers Trent Seibert, Michael Cass and Sheila Wissner contributed to this report.
