Breaking old news - The Ford brothers, and Jr. too! (TENNESSEE)

Nashville Files ^ | 6/9/05

[Brian Mosely]

This would be considered a breaking "old" news story, but it's something you won't see anywhere else on the Internet.

As I said yesterday, there are probably plenty of things in John Ford's past that we either don't know about or have just forgotten. This would fall into the latter category. This actually includes alleged troubles also involving former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., father of current Congressman and Senate hopeful Harold Ford, Jr. I'm afraid that it's not just John Ford that Harold Ford, Jr. has to be concerned about...his father has plenty of problems that he should be worried about as well.

John Ford's troubles started from the very beginning when he was elected as a state Senator in 1974. It involved his residency. For the election, he claimed he lived in an apartment at his family's funeral home, but his real home wasn't located in the district from which he was elected. Apparently, the investigation went away after no one could provide more evidence. This particular issue has been something that has been questioned to this day. Of course, as seen by this list, he's never been a stranger to controversy throughout the rest of his career either.

John Ford's brother, Harold Ford, Sr. (elected to Congress in 1974 as well), also had a few troubles during his tenure as a Congressman. As noted in a Nashville Scene story by Roger Abramson on Harold Ford, Jr., he was eventually acquitted of most of the federal charges...after six years (printed in the Metro Pulse):

Congressman Ford’s father, Harold Ford Sr., fought federal bank fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy charges for six years until his final acquittal in 1993. He was among the worst offenders in the House banking scandals of the early 1990s, having written over $500,000 worth of bad checks. The elder Ford also raised hackles in 1994 when he characterized the mostly white residents of East Memphis as “devils,” something that reverberates to this day.

Ok, so he was acquitted of those charges, but with all the issues coming up around former state Senator John Ford, I've found a few things that also include Harold Sr.'s name right alongside John Ford's...things have all been forgotten.

First, let's go back to the year 1979. It seems that an investigation was going on around a former head of the state's Alcoholic Beverage Commission's west Tennessee office...William Frogge. During his trial, a "topless nightclub" owner by the name of Arthur Baldwin was brought to the stand to testify against Frogge whom Baldwin had given money to. During cross examination from the federal prosecutor he was asked which candidates had received direct contributions from him. How did he answer? Here's an excerpt from a Tennessean article from September 21, 1979:

Under cross-examination in the federal extortion trial of William Frogge, former head of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission's West Tennessee office, Baldwin was asked which candidates received direct contributions from him.

"JOHN AND HAROLD Ford," Baldwin answered.

The Fords, however, hotly denied any association with Baldwin, claiming they had never met the man who has worked as an undercover informant in the clemency-for-cash investigation in Nashville.

"I don't know Art Baldwin. I've never seen him and never met him," Harold Ford said in a telephone interview from Washington. "I don't know anything about him other than what I've read about him in the newspapers."

JOHN FORD SAID he also did not know Baldwin, but described him as a "crook" who "lied to impress the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office."

"If Arthur Baldwin said he handed me something himself, he's a damn liar," the state senator said. "He didn't."

Baldwin who began his testimony Wednesday said when he came to memphis in 1974 to start up his nightclub operations he was told political contributions were needed to gain leverage with influential officials.

I also came across another incident that involves the two brothers. Fast forward to 1991. A trial was under way involving embezzlement and several employees of the National Bank of Commerce. Again, the Fords' names come up in testimony (under oath). From the Tennessean on December 8, 1991:

Former tellers Patricia Elliot and Joann Moore said they were pressured by members of the Ford family to cash checks their bank accounts would not cover.

They were unclear on what leverage the Fords would have to make such demands.

U.S. Attorney Ed Bryant has refused to comment on the case except to say it is still under investigation.

Jones is charged with conspiracy, bank fraud and embezzlement. The trial began last Monday and was recessed for the weekend Friday.

Ford said the former tellers are trying to win favors from the prosecution by making accusations against him and his family.

"I'm going to pursue perjury charges," he said.
.....
The tellers were indicted on charges they embezzled some $1.5 million from an NBC branch January 1987-February 1991.

Elliott, former head teller at the branch, said financial records were falsified to cover the scheme.

The former tellers said individuals for whom checks were held included Harold, John, and James Ford.

Moore said the congressman's aides "were constantly coming in for large sums of money, $4,000 or more."

Elliott said tellers hid some outstanding checks from Ford family members "to show we weren't the only ones who got money."

She said she could not report the money going to the Fords since that would lead to an audit.

This was also included earlier in the article regarding the (sworn) testimony:

State Sen. John Ford, a leading family member, described the allegations against him as "insane." None of the Fords is changed in the case.

It's "ridiculous. Don't just say it's not true. That's too mild," Ford said Friday.

The rhetoric coming from the Fords in each case is strikingly similar (and almost along the same lines as what we've heard this week from John Ford). (Also see a December 9, 1991 article on the same story.)

A few weeks ago, TeamGOP was asking if Harold Ford, Jr. would be "tarred" over the allegations over John Ford taking bribes because they took place in Miami...

Perhaps this is just a coincidence or just bad luck, but John Ford’s brother, former Memphis Congressman Harold Ford Sr. now lives in Miami, Florida. According to several public records the father of US Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. resides on Fisher Island Drive in Miami Florida. This adds some new twists to an already bizarre story.

I'm not really sure that story had any legs to run on, but all one has to do is do a little digging to show that there's a lot of "coincidences" in John and Harold Sr.'s past that tie them together in several alledged "schemes."

Many people say that Harold Ford, Jr. is the cleanest politician in his family (if there is such a thing as a "clean" politician), but with the history of not only his uncle but also his father, he may have to fight a lot harder to prove otherwise. It's also hard to distance one's self from his father if his father's lobbying firm is paying for ethically questionable trips....(or if you've forgotten to remove a couple of indicted "Tennessee Waltzers" from an invitation to a Chattanooga fundraiser listing them as being on the honorary host committee).

There just seem to be too many coincidences, ties and instances of money being allegedly taken for me to be comfortable having a United States Senator by the name of Ford representing the state of Tennessee. I don't know...maybe that's just me.

As an aside...don't you also think it's extremely ironic (and almost humorous) that the prosecutor in the '91 bank fraud case that mentioned the Fords was none other than Senate hopeful Ed Bryant?

Indeed it is.

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For reference, the articles I cited from the Tennessean have been transcribed in their entirety and are linked below:

September 21, 1979
Club Operator Claims Direct Gifts To Fords

December 8, 1991
Fords accused in bank fraud case

December 9, 1991
Latest accusations bring Ford denial

[Gondring]

Ford corruption PING

[Digger]

Thanks, Brian. This is MOST informative. This is why Free Republic is the greatest.

[GailA]

harold senior was acquited after slick willie was elected and replaced all the sitting US attorney generals. IF the case had been tried in Knox Co as it should have been harold senior more than likely would have been convicted.

This involved the Butcher brothers so I'm told. (It took place before I moved here.)

johnny boy is trying to make out that the charges were a conspiracy to derail JUNIOR's run for the senate and his involvement in not disenrolling Tenncare people.

[GailA]

There is much doubt in Memphis at least among the conservatives who call into Fleming whether the Government can get a fair trial in Memphis..the jury pool can come from the 3 surrounding counties. The blacks simply see johnny boy as doing no wrong.

On a bit of other good news a chancelor has upheld our term limit law. Which will oust walter bailey, cleo krick and julian bolton..they are vowing an appeal of the ruling. This was passed a decade ago with a 81% approval.