Posted on 05/20/2007 6:20:18 PM PDT by SmithL
Memphis City Councilman Edmund Ford may be able to keep his mortuary in its Whitehaven home after all.
His landlord, Dennis Churchwell, had threatened to auction off the 5.8-acre property on Elvis Presley because of its notoriety. It's where Ford was allowed to rack up a five-digit Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division bill, touching off a scandal that led to the resignation of the utility's president.
Advertisement But after the live auction Saturday afternoon, the property's only bid came from a lender of the Supreme Lending Group in Memphis, who offered Churchwell $750,000 to purchase the property on Ford's behalf.
Churchwell accepted the offer and the men agreed to finalize the deal on Wednesday.
The lender, Charles Monger, offered few details about the purchase, saying only, "I'm going to arrange the loan for Mr. Ford."
As Monger and Churchwell discussed the sale, Ford waited in E.H. Ford Mortuary Services, across the street on Elvis Presley.
Ford declined to give specifics about the purchase, but he told reporters that he felt good about the deal.
"I've been planning on trying to buy it all along, so I mean so everything works out for the better," he said.
Churchwell said he will be thrilled to sever ties with Ford and the property once the deal is final.
"I'm sorry all this mess came up and I just want to get out of it," he said.
Churchwell first announced his intentions to auction off Ford's property in early May, after the attention surrounding Ford's troubles had started to wear on him.
Although he said Ford was a relatively easy tenant who was occasionally a month or two late on rent, Churchwell complained that he and his wife have been hounded by the news media.
He also was subpoenaed and testified before a federal grand jury amid the ongoing FBI investigation into MLGW's handling of Ford's accounts.
Ford was allowed to rack up more than $16,000 in debt for water and other utility charges on three accounts -- including two connected to the mortuary and the neighboring businesses -- while he served as chairman of the council committee that oversees MLGW's spending.
The uproar over Ford's treatment led to the resignation early this month of Joseph Lee, the utility's president and CEO.
Churchwell said hiring a lawyer has cost him about $12,000.
At Saturday's auction, held in a cavernous warehouse on Elvis Presley, there were no initial offers for the four parcels of land located on 3390, 3396, 3398 and 3402 Elvis Presley that contain Ford's mortuary and car repair shops.
Churchwell had almost given up on selling his property and had assumed that "no one else wants to get into this mess," he said.
But Monger showed up to the auction 30 minutes late, saying he was tied up at his son's high school graduation.
Because no one else had bid on the property, he was able to grab it for much below its asking price of $1.4 million.
Churchwell enthusiastically accepted the $750,000 offer.
"When I get that green in my hand, the monkey will be off my back," he said.
Dennis Churchwell accepted an offer for property where he leased space to Ford, saying he wants to sever ties with Ford. "I'm sorry all this mess came up and I just want to get out of it," Churchwell said.
They have to keep all those dead voters under the control of the Ford family.
Yeah, "Walkin' in Memphis"
Oh, you mean 5 digits before the decimal point?
This deal smells too.....half what it is worth.
Yea, but Dennis gets to stay upright and whole now.
>>Yea, but Dennis gets to stay upright and whole now.<<
Don’t lose any sleep worrying about Dennis Churchwell. He is fully capable of looking out for himself. He has been in a very tough tote the note business in a volatile neighborhood for years.
The big “Q” in this equation is Monger. When I knew him, he couldn’t have mustered $7.50. He has come a long way, baby. I smell fish.
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