as. You said...."Ohio will now turn democrat. The GOP there are totally corrupt. The Toledo Blade is full of scandal stories about the GOP leadership. The governor Taft will be lucky to stay out of prison."....
YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Lawmakers arrested
in fed bribery probe
FBI launched bogus company
to root out influence peddling
May 26, 2005
A state senator already under scrutiny for ethical allegations, was indicted today on bribery charges along with three lawmakers, a former lawmaker and two others in a federal probe of his business dealings.
Tennessee state Sen. John Ford, a Memphis Democrat from a powerful political family, is charged with the five others for taking bribes from undercover investigators to influence legislation concerning a sham company set up by the FBI.
Ford and former state Sen. Roscoe Dixon appeared in federal court today handcuffed and shackled at the ankles, according to The Tennessean newspaper.
"He's shocked as you can imagine," Ford's lawyer, Martin Grusin, told the paper. "He's upset."
Ford, who heads the Senate committee that guides Tennessee's child welfare policies, was under the spotlight earlier this year for trying to make personal use of a law he authored that keeps court-ordered support lower when a father is financially responsible for other children.
The senator testified in a juvenile court hearing in November that he maintains two households, living with two different women whose five children he has fathered.
Ford said he pays nearly all the bills for both families and argued he can't afford to pay any more court-ordered support for a third woman, the mother of another 10-year-old girl he fathered.
In its probe of the lawmakers, the FBI established a bogus company called E-Cycle Management Inc. that purported to recycle old electronic equipment.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn said authorities hope the case "will bring back some of the trust to state government."
In a news conference, Gov. Phil Bredesen emphasized that people are innocent until proven guilty. But, he said, according to The Tennessean, ''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.''
Charged along with Ford and Dixon are Sens. Kathryn Bowers and Ward Crutchfield; and state Rep. Chris Newton.
All are Democrats except for Newton, a Republican.
Also charged were Barry Myers and Charles Love, a registered lobbyist.
Ford, alleged to have taken a payoff of $55,000 from E-Cycle Management, also is charged with three counts of attempting to threaten or intimidate potential witnesses.
He is the brother of former U.S. Rep Harold Ford Sr., an 11-term congressman, and his nephew is Rep. Harold Ford Jr., who has served five terms in Congress.
Harold Ford Jr. is running for the Senate seat now held by Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist.
The arrests took place as the Tennessee General Assembly tried to conclude debate on the state budget by Friday.
"It's a sad day for the state of Tennessee. It's a sad day for the Legislature," said Senate Speaker Pro Tem Micheal Williams, according to the AP.
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