Second Witness: Joe Caroll

Thursday begins with the prosecutor interviewing Joe Caroll. Joe was the retired FBI agent who played the role of E-Cycle's president aka Joe Carson. He's spent 30 years with the FBI.

Joe says one of the reasons the FBI sets up fictitious companies rather than working with existing companies is because they think about the liability they have after the case is over.

"You might not want to be known as a company that supported the FBI in a corruption case against the Tennessee and then have to work with the State after," says Caroll.

The fictitious company is set up to look as real as possible. This includes offices, business cards (Exhibit 74a), brochures (Exhibit 74b), entertainment events such as the yacht party -- which was used once in the sting. The company was also officially incorporated with offices in Memphis and Nashville.

"When in Rome do as the Romans do, if you will. You have to appear as if you are equal to other companies involved in similar types of business you're involved in," says Caroll.

At first Caroll wasn't interested in being a part of the sting.

"I didn't have the time or the interest initially. I was merely talking to them about the different techniques," says Caroll.

Caroll's role was that he was a venture capitalist with money to spend.

"I have some personal and some professional knowledge in that particular industry," says Caroll.

Caroll says it's important that the agents have a background story and that everyone is aware of the story.

"It not uncommon for someone to come up and say 'Where did you two guys meet?' You need to know what the other guy is going to say," says Caroll.