Major political scandal led to ethics reform in Tennessee: Notorious Nashville
A dozen local and state officials were arrested in 2005 on bribery charges and convicted in a case led by the FBI dubbed "Tennessee Waltz," aptly named after the famed song about a stinging betrayal. It remains one of the biggest political scandals in state history.
The case is part of the state's infamous past, but its impact stretched across decades with ethics reforms that still serve as guardrails for politicians today.
The highest-ranking public servants arrested after betraying their oaths of office include two former state senators from Memphis − John Ford and the late Roscoe Dixon. Ford, the most powerful politician caught in the FBI investigation, was convicted of accepting $55,000 in cash payoffs from an undercover agent posing as a corrupt businessman. Ford's chicanery included shepherding a bill tailored to benefit the fake company − even using the wording proposed by the undercover agent.
Dixon was convicted on bribery and extortion charges for accepting $9,500 in bribes to help pass legislation.
Police in Memphis initially investigated a tip about an invoice scam in which a contractor for the Shelby County Juvenile Court Clerk's Office accepted money for work never performed. When investigators realized the corruption extended all the way to the state capitol in Nashville, they sought help from the FBI, which has no jurisdictional boundaries.
FBI agents created a fake electronics recycling company, E-Cycle, and used informants to infiltrate state government. They also used undercover agents to pay bribes and record conversations with politicians.
An FBI agent used the name "Joe Carson" and posed as the head of E-Cycle, meeting with lawmakers, passing out fake business cards, making campaign contributions and hosting a reception with live music for politicians at the Sheraton Nashville Hotel. Federal agents were surprised at how easy it was to bribe lawmakers − and to write a new state bill the politicians were ready to pass that would have favored the fake company.
The case lasted more than three years and ensnared politicians in Memphis, Chattanooga and at the state capitol in Nashville. Those convicted and sentenced to prison included: Chris Newton, a former Republican representative from Cleveland; William Cotton, a Democratic Hamilton County commissioner; Charles Love, who had been a member of the Hamilton County school board; and Darrell Catron, a former Shelby County Juvenile Court aide.
The FBI sting led to the arrest of a father-son duo from a Memphis political dynasty. Michael Hooks Sr., a powerhouse Democrat and son of a Civil Rights pioneer − pleaded guilty to accepting $24,200 in bribes while chairing the Shelby County Commission. His son, Michael Hooks Jr., pleaded guilty to theft from a federally funded program when he was a Memphis city school board member.
The scandal resulted in the creation of new state ethics laws and an independent ethics commission.
The Tennessean is publishing a Notorious Nashville story for each year from 2000-2024. Catch up on the series here.
Beth Warren can be reached at bwarren@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville, Memphis political corruption led to ethics reform
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dad Gets a Call at Work Telling Him to Race Home. First He Sees the Plume of Smoke, Then His Young Son's Body
A June 2 home fire in Louisville, Miss., claimed the lives of young brothers Kayden and Augustus McCleer as well as their grandfather Michael Coffey 'If you had to take your own heart out and put it in the ground and bury your own heart, that's probably a good way to describe it,' Cully McCleer, the boys' father, tells PEOPLE Here, he opens up about that day and what came afterLast month, after the funerals for his two young sons and his fiancée's father, Cully McCleer picked up a shovel and helped fill their graves himself. "We bury our own," says McCleer, a 35-year-old mechanic in Louisville, Miss. That didn't make it any easier. Imagine, he says: 'If you had to take your own heart out and put it in the ground and bury your own heart, that's probably a good way to describe it." McCleer's boys, 11-year-old Kayden and Augustus, 8, whom he shared with Victoria Coffey, were killed in a house fire in Louisville in early June along with their grandfather Michael Coffey, 65. Weeks later, McCleer still can't find the words to describe the love his sons had for each other. More than just their common interest in video games and music, he says, Kayden and Augustus touched the lives of those around them. 'They squabbled just like any brothers,' he says. 'But in the end, there was always somebody's shoulder to sleep on in the car, always a hug to be had, always a picture to be taken.' On the morning of June 2, McCleer was at work while Victoria, a 33-year-old photographer, and their 4-year-old daughter, Nova, were visiting Victoria's sister. Around 10 o'clock, McCleer received a phone call that Michael's home — where the family was living — was on fire and he needed to get there immediately. 'It didn't really become real until I got a little closer and could see the plume,' he recalls. McCleer arrived at the scene before first responders. There, neighbors and bystanders were reportedly trying to get inside the home to help. He says he kicked the front door in and went looking for his sons and Victoria's dad. After only "about 10 seconds, I came back out after feeling the couch and the chair. I couldn't see anything, couldn't breathe," he says. The firefighters wouldn't let him return. As the fire raged hotter and hotter — and as McCleer began hollering into the house, hoping for anybody to answer — the emergency personnel pulled Kayden out of a bedroom window and began CPR. McCleer and his fiancée followed their son in an ambulance to the hospital. McCleer says that officials later determined the blaze was an electrical fire that started in the attack at the back of the home. 'I did not finish watching the house burn,' he says. 'By the time I left, it was completely engulfed.' Though Kayden began breathing again while hospitalized, he eventually died from smoke inhalation. His little brother and their grandfather were both pronounced dead at the scene. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Now the family grieves. And remembers. Kayden, who had autism, loved music and anatomy as well as video games. 'Even though he was 11 years old, he was as innocent as any newborn baby,' his dad says. 'He didn't know hate. He didn't know anything but love. He would've easily outshone a saint, and he was so special to us because of his condition. I was excited to see where his life was going to go after all the hardship in the very beginning.' Augustus — who everyone called Gus — 'reminded me a lot of me when I was a little boy,' McCleer says. 'Loved to be outside, loved camping, loved fishing, loved animals.' 'He never really picked up on liking to work on things, but he did pick up his daddy's passion for drawing and music … Gus made a close connection with a lot of my close friends,' McCleer adds. He calls Michael a tough guy on the outside but a teddy bear on the inside. 'He rode motorcycles and drove trucks his whole life,' McCleer says. 'He had just retired recently. He was a loving grandfather, man. He was there for them kids.' 'In the mornings,' McCleer says, 'I'd go to work — Mike would be up and we would leave the boys with him. Mike was fully capable of helping with the boys and the boys honestly helped him ... say, putting his shoes on or something.' Having been displaced because of the fire, McCleer, Coffey and their daughter, Nova, are staying at Victoria's sister's home. A GoFundMe was set up on their behalf that has so far raised more than $24,000. 'All the positive reinforcement from the community has definitely helped me get through this way more than I would've ever imagined,' McCleer says, adding, 'Just the sheer amount of people willing to give anything — I mean, babies' toys — that would help ease any kind of burden.' 'I can't express how grateful I am in words,' he says. He says the family is coping the best way they can. Their daughter, now their only child, understands what's happened, in a way. 'Bless her heart. I don't know if she knew what she was doing, but she threw dirt on her bubbas [at the burial],' McCleer says. 'She helped us. I felt like it would've been a crime not to let her be a part of that.' If there is anything that the public could learn from this tragedy, he says, it's to take the time to give a hug or kiss to a loved one. 'I don't want that to happen to anybody else,' McCleer says. 'I don't want this pain for anybody, not even my worst enemy. Just make every moment count. Every moment.' Read the original article on People
CBS News
16 minutes ago
- CBS News
1 person in custody after overnight shooting at Plantation motel, police say
At least one person is in custody after a shooting at a Plantation motel early Sunday morning, police said. Plantation Police told CBS News Miami that the shooting happened at the Plantation Motel on South State Road 7, just north of Davie Boulevard. Police also said one person was taken into custody but they did not share whether anyone was injured during the shooting or further details surrounding the incident. Neighbors told CBS News Miami that they heard multiple gunshots around 2:30 a.m. "I heard the shots, but I'm just thinking that it's fireworks, seeing as it's probably left over from Fourth of July, so I'm not thinking anything of it," said neighbor Carey. CBS News Miami tried to speak with the motel's property manager right after the crime scene was taken down on Sunday afternoon, but our crew was asked to leave. CBS News Miami has also reached out to Plantation Police for more information regarding the shooting, but has yet to hear back by the time of publication. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
CBS News
16 minutes ago
- CBS News
Trump says he'll host a UFC fight on White House grounds next year
Get ready to see some punches on the White House grounds. President Trump says he will host a UFC mixed martial arts fight at the White House as part of next year's festivities celebrating 250 years of American independence. The idea came up during a Thursday night speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, one year and one day before the 250th anniversary of the 1776 ratification of the Declaration of Independence. The federal government is planning to mark the occasion with a year's worth of events — including a UFC fight, according to Mr. Trump. "We're going to have some incredible events," the president said. "Some professional events, some amateur events. But the UFC fight is going to be a big deal, too." Further details on the event, which is not lacking for possible names (the Rose Garden Fight Night? Oval Office Octagon?), are unclear. But the president is "dead serious" about the idea, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a pool reporter on Thursday. A UFC spokesperson also confirmed the plans to CBS News. Mr. Trump described it as a "championship fight, full fight" with 20,000 or 25,000 spectators — a tall order for the White House grounds, though Mr. Trump said, "we have a lot of land there." He said longtime UFC CEO Dana White will organize the event. "It's going to be EPIC!" wrote Leavitt on X. The president's ties to the UFC go back to at least 2001, when the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City hosted the mixed martial arts enterprise. Since then, Mr. Trump has periodically attended UFC fights, including last month. The president is also close with White, who helped introduce Mr. Trump at last summer's Republican National Convention and took the stage at Mr. Trump's election night victory party. Mr. Trump plugged a handful of other America250 events in his Thursday speech, including a "Great American State Fair," a National Mall celebration and an athletic competition called the "Patriot Games." "I think it's going to be a wild time," Mr. Trump told reporters after returning to the D.C. area following the speech.
