Ford Ordered To Report To Federal Prison In Texas
MEMPHIS, TN. (AP) – Former state senator John Ford has been ordered to report to federal prison on Oct. 17, but he still hopes to remain free pending an appeal.
The Memphis Democrat has a hearing on Oct. 1 at which he will ask to remain free on bond. He is scheduled to report to prison in Anthony, Texas, near El Paso. Ford, 65, was sentenced last month to 5 1/2 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of taking $55,000 in a federal corruption investigation code named Tennessee Waltz. He has claimed he was entrapped.
Attorney Robert C. Brooks said Ford still needs time to get copies of his trial transcripts so they can determine whether procedural errors were made in his prosecution. Brooks also said sending Ford to prison in Texas would make it difficult for him to prepare a defense against separate corruption charges Ford faces in Nashville in November. In that case, he is charged with misreporting $800,000 in payments from private contractors with TennCare, the state’s heath insurance program for the poor.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
