GOVERNMENT CONFLICTS, CORRUPTION AND INDICTMENTS

- TENNESSEE -

Date	Individual / State Agency	Who, What, Where?
05/27/05	Senate/House of Representatives	Four Lawmakers Indicted in Corruption Probe Four legislators, consisting of three state senators and one representative from both major political parties, a former senator and two other individuals were charged with taking bribes from a “sting” company, E-Cycle Management, Inc., set up by the FBI to root out corruption. One of the senators, Democrat John Ford, was also charged with attempting to threaten or intimidate potential witnesses. The senator subsequently resigned from the Senate after he was placed under house arrest.
08/31/05	General Assembly	State Representative Does “Business as Usual” State representative Chris Newton sought and accepted bribes from undercover FBI agents as a part of a continuing federal investigation. Newton and four other former state senators have been charged with taking payoffs to help a bogus company called E-Cycle Management obtain favorable legislation in the General Assembly. After his guilty plea, Newton said he “became caught up in business as usual in Nashville.” As a part of the ongoing investigation, Shelby County Commission Chairman Michael Hooks Sr., nephew of the former head of the NAACP, was charged with taking $24,000 in bribes. Further indictments are expected.