Ford's bling

We're back in McNeil's office. It's November 19, 2004 and Ford and McNeil are meeting. They are working out the draft details and fine tuning the exclusivity of the legislature document. Watching the video, at first it appears like just another business meeting between the two men, when suddenly McNeil stops...

"You've been bling blinging all day long," says McNeil.

Ford shows him his "bling". It's the $50,000 Rolex watch. The one he got from developer Rusty Hyneman.

"Where did you get that? You get that in Miami?" asks McNeil.

They two keep talking about the watch and how much it costs. They estimate it must cost about $50,000, but Ford didn't pay that much for it. It turns out Ford didn't pay for it at all.

"I paid zero," says Ford.

Ford says he got the watch for helping the developer save millions of dollars. McNeil jokes by asking if that's all he got. Ford says he got more than just a watch.

"I imagine you are talking about 3 to 5 carrots. It's a very heavy watch," says Ford, when McNeil asks about the diamonds in the watch.

Towards the end of this same meeting, McNeil counts out another $5000 and puts it on the desk in front of Ford. Ford picks it up and tucks it into his suit pocket.

"Now this is five for the last month," says McNeil.

McNeil says this was for a more changes on the document. McNeil admits that Ford never did anything for them regarding the city, county or the schools.

But why Ford's getting all this bling and money...well, that's another story.