Operation Tennessee Waltz was a
sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role a ...
set up by federal and state law enforcement agents, including the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) and
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is the state bureau of investigation of the state of Tennessee. It has statutory authority to conduct criminal investigations and make arrests of crimes occurring throughout the state. The bureau is an ...
(TBI). The operation led to the arrest of seven
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
state lawmakers and two men identified as "
bagmen" in the indictment on the morning of May 26, 2005, on
bribery
Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
charges. The FBI and TBI followed these arrests with an additional arrest of two county commissioners, one from
Hamilton County, and the other a member of the prominent Hooks family of
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. Investigators also arrested a former county administrator.
Execution
The FBI set up E-Cycle, a bogus company based in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and claiming to
recycle electronics by sending the electronics to third world countries.
In the May 26 edition of the ''
Chattanooga Times Free Press
The ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's majo ...
'', an article appeared about Charles Love, reporting that he owed almost $300,000 in back taxes and that the
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
had placed
lien
A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the pers ...
s against his home. The article also mentioned E-Cycle in passing, as if it were a real company, possibly at the request of the FBI or TBI, to help confirm E-Cycle's seeming legitimacy.
The FBI sting operation ran from 2003 to 2007 in which eleven state and local officials were arrested for in relation to an FBI sting operation, using a fake company claiming to recycle electronics called E-Cycle Management. The company was used to offer bribes for favorable legislation.
#
John Ford (Tennessee politician)
John Newton Ford (born May 3, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee), is a former Democratic member of the Tennessee State Senate and a member of Tennessee's most prominent African-American political family. He is the older brother of former U.S. Represe ...
(D) State Senator from Memphis in the 29th District, took an $800,000 bribe, and was sentenced to 66 months in prison.
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Roscoe Dixon
Roscoe Dixon (September 20, 1949 – April 15, 2021) was an American politician in the state of Tennessee. Dixon lived in Memphis, Tennessee and was involved with the public relations business. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives ...
(D) State Senator from Memphis in the 33rd District, was found guilty of taking a $9,500 bribe, and was sentenced to 63 months in jail.
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J. Chris Newton (R) State Representative from Bradley County which is in the 22nd District, was found guilty of taking a $1,500 bribe and conspiracy. He was sentenced to one year and one day in jail, two years probation and community service.
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Kathryn I. Bowers
Kathryn Inez Bowers (May 2, 1943 – May 13, 2015) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and member of the Tennessee General Assembly who left office after being implicated in the Operation Tennessee Waltz, Tenness ...
(D) State Senator, replaced
Roscoe Dixon
Roscoe Dixon (September 20, 1949 – April 15, 2021) was an American politician in the state of Tennessee. Dixon lived in Memphis, Tennessee and was involved with the public relations business. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives ...
in the 33rd District when he left office on charges of bribery. Bowers was also found guilty of taking a $5,750 bribe, and was sentenced to 16 months in jail.
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Ward Crutchfield
William Ward Crutchfield (December 6, 1928 – April 3, 2016) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate for the 10th district, which encompassed Marion County and part of Hamilton County. He was a member of th ...
(D) State Senator from District 10, pled guilty to bribery, and was sentenced to six months of home confinement, two years probation, and fined.
Local politicians who were arrested include:
#William Cotton, Hamilton County Commissioner, extortion, sentenced to 3 years.
#Charles Love, Hamilton County School Board member, the bagman, extortion, 12 months.
#Michael Hooks, Sr., Shelby County Commissioner, pled guilty to taking $24K in bribes and was sentenced to 26 months in prison.
#Michael Hooks, Jr., Memphis School Board member, conspired to take $3K for bogus consulting work. He resigned and was sentenced to 30 days in prison.
#Calvin Williams (R), Shelby County Administrator, convicted of extortion and bribery, sentenced to 33 months.
See also
*
Operation Rocky Top Operation Rocky Top was an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into political corruption in the Tennessee state government in the late 1980s.Ronald SmothersTennessee Republicans See an Election Weapon in State's Bingo Scandal ''The ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee Waltz, Operation
Federal Bureau of Investigation operations
Political corruption investigations in the United States
Political scandals in Tennessee