Free Republic

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...

Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton has weathered acrimonious political feuds, tongue-wagging over fathering a child out of wedlock, an overhyped bout with an aging heavyweight, a tremendous dip in polls and a concerted effort among some of the region's political power brokers to replace him. So it should come as little surprise if the turmoil surrounding Herenton appointee Joseph Lee's actions while head of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division rolls off the mayor like grease off Teflon. "A day in politics is like a light year," said Susan Adler Thorp, a political analyst and former political columnist for The Commercial...

Joseph Lee III owes his ascension and downfall at Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division to the same man: indicted City Councilman Edmund Ford. Advertisement As a nominee of Mayor Willie Herenton, Lee faced a divided City Council in June 2004 over his six-month-long bid to become president and CEO of the city-owned utility company. But he had help in Ford, who lobbied fellow council members privately and publicly to vote for Herenton's nominee. City Council Chairman Tom Marshall in March said Ford asked him to vote for Lee to end "the racial gridlock we were in." "We have the...

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division president and CEO Joseph Lee III and general counsel Odell Horton Jr. will resign effective Friday, Mayor Willie Herenton announced this morning. Herenton said he was accepting their resignations because the city-owned utility had developed a "public relations problem." He said he made the moves in order to allow MLGW to move forward. "Ratepayers deserve calm," said a solemn Herenton. The mayor earlier had rejected Lee’s offer to resign, but he was now accepting it because he had come to a "different point of view." MLGW, the mayor’s office and the City Council have...

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division board member Nick Clark walked into the grand opening reception Tuesday evening at the Westin Memphis Beale Street Hotel. He was looking for Mayor Willie Herenton. Clark had something on his mind: the $61,698.50 in personal legal fees MLGW president and CEO Joseph Lee III wanted the public utility to pay. But instead of Herenton, Clark said he ran into Lee. The MLGW board member said Lee asked him to talk privately ... and then issued what Clark considered to be a threat. In an interview Wednesday, Clark said he's reported the incident to...

As City Council members called for his resignation in late March, MLGW president and CEO Joseph Lee III quietly struck a deal to have his personal legal bills paid for by ratepayers. Documents obtained by The Commercial Appeal show Odell Horton Jr., vice president and general counsel for Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division, provided Lee with an attorney engagement letter. It authorized Lee to hire Robert Spence at the public utility's expense to represent him during an ongoing federal investigation of possible malfeasance at MLGW under Lee's leadership. Spence has so far billed MLGW $61,698.50. The FBI is investigating...

After more than 34 years on the job, Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division's chief financial officer is retiring. MLGW vice president John McCullough, who also serves as secretary-treasurer, will retire from the utility at the end of June, the utility announced today. McCullough joined MLGW in 1973 as a junior engineer and rose through the ranks at the city's public utility.

Amid FBI probe, utility chief apologizes, takes blame for favors to Edmund Ford Facing a federal investigation and widespread community outrage, Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division president and CEO Joseph Lee apologized Tuesday for giving special treatment to City Councilman Edmund Ford. "Based on my personal review of the manner in which MLGW handled one or more accounts belonging to Edmund Ford, I believe he was treated differently, and this was wrong," Lee said outside the federal courthouse after testifying before a federal grant jury. "There was no active intent to treat him differently -- but the fact is,...

Joseph Lee won't be getting a hefty car allowance benefit anymore, but his high-ranking utility company colleagues aren't losing theirs any time soon. The day after Lee announced he would no longer accept the controversial perk, calling it a "distraction" to Memphis, Light, Gas and Water Division, the utility's board declined to take further action regarding the car allowances given to roughly 40 other executives and managers. The issue was discussed at the utility board's meeting Thursday, but no proposal emerged for any change to MLGW's policy. Car allowances, which range from about $300 to $1,050 a month, are scheduled...