To catch a Senator

With this trial it's all about listening - listening to audio tapes and phone conversations. And if you can weed out all the white noise and background conversations of other diners, you'll learn that it's not always what's being said on the tapes that's important.

Right now we're listening to a conversation that took place on April 19, 2004. At this point, John Ford is still a Senator and has not yet become involved in the sting. Ford is doing the listening and McNeil is giving the E-Cycle sales pitch.

When McNeil is done, Ford tells him while it sounds like a good idea, he's not quite sold.

"I just don't have the time to do it," says Ford.

Ford continues to tell McNeil that he has too many businesses right now, the E-Cycle project would take up five months of his time and he just doesn't have the time to do it. He then goes on to say the has other obligations. He's got children - young ones and others in college.

Ford doesn't commit to the project at this time, but according to Scholl, the FBI wasn't ready to give up on him. The next day McNeil paid a visit to Ford's office.

"You sure look busy," says McNeil on the tape. "Stacks of paper..."

Ford is too busy to talk to McNeil at this time, but agrees to meet him that night for dinner. Scholl says the conversation revolved around the movie and entertainment business that night and had little to do with E-Cycle. McNeil says he can't remember ---so it's a good thing, they got it on tape.

On the recording, McNeil tells Ford about the work he has on the go in music business. He tells him that he has some deals going through with American Idol and stacks of CDs on his desk.

Scholl asks McNeil if this was actually true and these deals really did exist. McNeil anwsers that "No" this wasn't true.

"You can't trust anyone in business," says Ford later that night.

Seems he was right.