Tenn. State Senator Subject of Probe
By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer (and edited freely by Memphis Steve)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Over three decades in the Tennessee Senate, John Ford has lost paternity lawsuits (knocked up a lot of hos), given a political job to a girlfriend (Monica?) and been successfully sued for sexual harassment (Gennifer?)
So it was not entirely surprising last year when the 62-year-old lawmaker testified at a child-support hearing that he has two households — one with a pregnant ex-wife (psycho) and their three children, another with a longtime girlfriend and their two offspring. That is in addition to another young child he has with a third woman. But what really caught the eye of fellow lawmakers was the release of Ford's tax returns at the hearing.
They showed he got more than $230,000 from a consulting company with financial ties to TennCare, the state's Medicaid program for the poor. Now a Senate Ethics Committee and a federal grand jury are looking into the matter, and the scandalous senator from Memphis is facing perhaps his most serious investigation yet (as opposed to all those comical ones.)
Ford had not disclosed his work as a consultant (bribe-taker), and senators want to know whether (voters will figure out that) he tried to influence the awarding of state contracts or (and) had financial ties to TennCare.
The ethics committee's chairman, Senate Republican Leader Ron Ramsey, said Ford's business dealings "don't pass the smell test" (looks like shit, smells like shit, tastes like shit ... good thing we didn't step in it.)
Ford — brother of former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford (news, bio, voting record) Sr. and uncle of current U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. — has said he has done nothing illegal or unethical (define "ethical.") The Democrat did not respond to a request from The Associated Press for an interview for this story (but he did have reporter Andy Wise arrested.)
Ford's tax returns show that a consulting company called Managed Care Services Group paid him $237,000 in 2002 and 2003. The consulting company had been hired by Doral Dental to promote its bid to win a TennCare contract.
Doral was eventually awarded an exclusive, $6.3 million contract to provide dental coverage to about 620,000 poor and uninsured children through the state's publicly funded TennCare program.
Doral fired Managed Care Services Group after Ford's involvement became public. Doral also conducted an internal investigation, and said it is still unclear what Ford did, or was paid to do, for the company.
The ethics committee is also looking at Ford's work for a Milwaukee heating and air conditioning company. Johnson Controls said it paid Ford $15,000 in 2001 to help promote its services to Erlanger Hospital, a private facility affiliated with the University of Tennessee. That bid was unsuccessful.
Ford also arranged a meeting between Johnson Controls and members of the Tennessee Board of Regents about contracts for state buildings. Ford said he was not paid for that, and Johnson Controls did not win any contracts.
Tennessee senators, who have the authority to remove one of their own from office, have long drawn criticism that their ethics and financial disclosure rules are weak. Now, because of Ford's troubles (scandals), "people are taking the criticism more seriously," said Sen. Jim Kyle, a Memphis Democrat.
For one thing, the House passed a bill that would make it a crime for lawmakers to draw consulting fees from companies doing business with the state.
Ford began his public career in the 1970s when he, brother Harold and other members of their large family began building what became one of the strongest political organizations in Memphis history.
In 1974, Harold Ford beat a white incumbent to become Tennessee's first black congressman. That same election sent John Ford to the state Senate and brother Emmett Ford to the Tennessee House.
Harold Ford kept his congressional seat for 22 years, and when he retired in 1996, he turned it over to his son, who is now considering a run for the Senate.
Despite his past scandals, Ford has easily won re-election from his poor, inner-city district (hood.) Allegations of fast spending with campaign money and repeated public clashes between an ex-wife and a girlfriend have done little to hurt him with the voters (who admire that sort of thing and would vote for a gansta rapper or circus clown if one ran.)
"I vote for John Ford, and I'm going to keep on voting for him," said district resident Darrell Kirk. "He ain't no different from the rest of them (that I also voted for.)"
Outside the district, it can be a different story, and critics cry often that Ford is an embarrassment to the city (where hookers, drug dealers and strip clubs have historically been the main sources of revenue since the city was founded.)
In 1996, Ford lost a sexual harassment suit to a former employee, who also won a court ruling that he was the father of her young daughter (this raises the question, if the court had ruled that he wasn't the child's father would he not be anyway?)
The following year, he was charged with pulling a shotgun on utility workers who had parked their truck near his driveway. Ford was ordered to perform community service and stay out of trouble for two years (does impregnating employees count as community service?)
In 2001, the senator's (crazy) wife (Tamara) was charged with ramming her Jaguar into his girlfriend's home, a $385,000 house owned by Ford (that was hilarious.)
Ford contends he is a victim of the "white media." Where he comes from, that (hating whitey) can be a winning strategy (with racists.)
"He's the African-American political leader that a lot of white people love to hate (because he's crooked and racist)," said University of Memphis history professor Charles Crawford, "and that makes him a hero in his district" (where crooks and racists are admired.)
