Friday starts where Thursday left off. The prosecutor is still interviewing FBI agent McNeil.
We're watching the same video we saw yesterday, but from the top view. McNeil is counting out $5000 (the second bribe) and handing it over to Ford.
"Did Senator Ford take that money with him when he left?" asks Discenza, prosecutor.
"Yes he did," says McNeil.
Ford then went began work on the revisions. Ford calls McNeil a couple of weeks later saying that he has done the changes and had his lawyers take a look at it. At this point the draft is ready to be reviewed.
On September 22, 2004 we hear another phone conversation (exhibit 21). This time Ford says everything is done right and it's ready to be faxed. The attorneys had looked at it and no other changes needed to be made. The draft is now ready to go to the committee.
But Ford's generousity goes beyond creating the proposal for McNeil. During this conversation he also makes reference to a entertainment event (a fight) were he's invited McNeil, providing the tickets and accomodations for the event.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Ford's hard work
Well, the fax of the draft version of the legislature finally made it through and McNeil promised to take a look at it (exhibit 77). The date is September 7, 2004 and it's four pages long and from the stamp on the bottom, we see it's from Senator John Ford's office.
According to McNeil, everything on the draft was completed exactly as they had discussed on the day Ford received the $10K in McNeil's office.
Ford and McNeil then met on September 17 to discuss the document in McNeil's E-Cycle office. This, like most meetings in McNeil's office, was captured on video (exhibit 17).
"I'm going to roll this thing section by section and you can make notes," says Ford.
According to McNeil, this document is just the beginning. He says Tim Willis started this with project Senator Dixon, but Ford's document is a thousand times better.
Ford explains why his is so much better.
"In order to win, you gotta have something beneficial," says Ford. "Beneficial to the state. Beneficial to everyone."
McNeil says everyone reviewed it, even their legal guys.
"It's perfect," says McNeil.
But McNeil does have one concern, and it has to do with the education clause. Ford says it doesn't limit it to just education, but will take a look at it. McNeil says he doesn't want the schools getting preference over them. He wants E-Cycle to have preferential treatment. Ford agrees.
"We need to amend it to include other agencies?" ask Ford. "To amend it, to take it out."
Ford then reads a little more and asks, "What do you all want 'em to do?"
"I don't want them to be donated," says McNeil. McNeil says E-Cycle wants to pay for the surplus equipment. They don't want them for free because they want the best surplus equipment out there.
Ford continues to go through the document line by line, talking about rules and regulations and other legislative details. McNeil doesn't have any other concerns.
"That's solid, John," says McNeil.
Once they're done, McNeil gets the payment out of the way.
"Do you have any expenses?" asks McNeil.
"No...and if I did, I wouldn't charge you," says Ford.
McNeil then pays John another $5K. According to McNeil, this payment was to cover the changes Ford was going to make to the document.
According to McNeil, everything on the draft was completed exactly as they had discussed on the day Ford received the $10K in McNeil's office.
Ford and McNeil then met on September 17 to discuss the document in McNeil's E-Cycle office. This, like most meetings in McNeil's office, was captured on video (exhibit 17).
"I'm going to roll this thing section by section and you can make notes," says Ford.
According to McNeil, this document is just the beginning. He says Tim Willis started this with project Senator Dixon, but Ford's document is a thousand times better.
Ford explains why his is so much better.
"In order to win, you gotta have something beneficial," says Ford. "Beneficial to the state. Beneficial to everyone."
McNeil says everyone reviewed it, even their legal guys.
"It's perfect," says McNeil.
But McNeil does have one concern, and it has to do with the education clause. Ford says it doesn't limit it to just education, but will take a look at it. McNeil says he doesn't want the schools getting preference over them. He wants E-Cycle to have preferential treatment. Ford agrees.
"We need to amend it to include other agencies?" ask Ford. "To amend it, to take it out."
Ford then reads a little more and asks, "What do you all want 'em to do?"
"I don't want them to be donated," says McNeil. McNeil says E-Cycle wants to pay for the surplus equipment. They don't want them for free because they want the best surplus equipment out there.
Ford continues to go through the document line by line, talking about rules and regulations and other legislative details. McNeil doesn't have any other concerns.
"That's solid, John," says McNeil.
Once they're done, McNeil gets the payment out of the way.
"Do you have any expenses?" asks McNeil.
"No...and if I did, I wouldn't charge you," says Ford.
McNeil then pays John another $5K. According to McNeil, this payment was to cover the changes Ford was going to make to the document.
Ford takes is job seriously
If you ever need legislation documents done and done right, Ford is the man to see. According to the few phone conversations we've been listening to, we see he takes his job seriously.
"I'm going to have next week Wednesday, no later than Thursday the rough draft for you," says Ford.
"I think just as long as you have the draft...it doesn't have to be perfect," says McNeil.
But Ford says it will be 95% what McNeil wants and then they can make a few changes. He then goes through some of the details of the documents, hi-lighting his expertise in legislature, such as how they need a separate section for education. He also talks about how they are going to avoid some of the mistakes made last year.
McNeil says these mistakes including a surcharge of $10.00.
When McNeil follows up with Ford on September 9, 2004, Ford says he was just in Nashville working out the details and he'll have his secretary fax over the document for review.
When Ford does fax the document through, there are problems. Only one page comes through. Ford immediately calls McNeil, upset about the fax. Someone kept picking up the line.
"I tried to send the damn thing three times," says Ford. "Give me four minutes."
McNeil then asks Ford if he has tickets for the upcoming Football game and the Usher concert. It's not clear if McNeil asked Ford because he was going to bribe him with the tickets, because it turns out it doesn't matter. Ford doesn't need them.
"I got tickets in Memphis for any damn thing you want...I got everything lined up for you," says Ford
McNeil did accept some of Ford's tickets. He said he took them to be courtious.
"I'm going to have next week Wednesday, no later than Thursday the rough draft for you," says Ford.
"I think just as long as you have the draft...it doesn't have to be perfect," says McNeil.
But Ford says it will be 95% what McNeil wants and then they can make a few changes. He then goes through some of the details of the documents, hi-lighting his expertise in legislature, such as how they need a separate section for education. He also talks about how they are going to avoid some of the mistakes made last year.
McNeil says these mistakes including a surcharge of $10.00.
When McNeil follows up with Ford on September 9, 2004, Ford says he was just in Nashville working out the details and he'll have his secretary fax over the document for review.
When Ford does fax the document through, there are problems. Only one page comes through. Ford immediately calls McNeil, upset about the fax. Someone kept picking up the line.
"I tried to send the damn thing three times," says Ford. "Give me four minutes."
McNeil then asks Ford if he has tickets for the upcoming Football game and the Usher concert. It's not clear if McNeil asked Ford because he was going to bribe him with the tickets, because it turns out it doesn't matter. Ford doesn't need them.
"I got tickets in Memphis for any damn thing you want...I got everything lined up for you," says Ford
McNeil did accept some of Ford's tickets. He said he took them to be courtious.
The payment plan
"...we'll go five for the next month and the month after," says McNeil. "We'll get a draft of the legislation and then we'll discuss additional payments that you may need."
This was how McNeil laid out the bribes on the video. Ford was also to recieve $10,000 for that month and the month previous.
We're still in McNeil's office and Ford doesn't flinch at the payment plan. Instead he focuses on his side of the deal.
"Tell me succintly the name of the company you want. We can't use the E-Cycle Management name," says Ford
On the video, Ford is reading from the log that is currently in place and a brochure.
"What's going to happen between now and January is what we make out of it," says Ford.
"What YOU make out of it," says McNeil correcting Ford.
They discuss a little more business stuff regarding the wording of the draft. Then later in the video, McNeil counts out $10,000 in two $5000 piles in front of the camera and hands the bills to Ford. He says he paid him in $100 dollar bills. In the court we watch this twice: once from a side view and then again from the overhead camera.
Ford accepts the money and says he doesn't need an envelop. He folds the wad in half and tucks the first $5K in the back pocket of his suit pants. He accepts the second $5K and tucks that wad in his jacket pocket.
"Let's say the 15th of September I'll have the draft," says Ford.
"And you'll sponsor it?"
"Yeah, I'll be the prime sponsor, but I'll have some other folks," says Ford.
McNeil and Ford then decided to go grab some lunch. And just like that, the first bribe was complete.
This was how McNeil laid out the bribes on the video. Ford was also to recieve $10,000 for that month and the month previous.
We're still in McNeil's office and Ford doesn't flinch at the payment plan. Instead he focuses on his side of the deal.
"Tell me succintly the name of the company you want. We can't use the E-Cycle Management name," says Ford
On the video, Ford is reading from the log that is currently in place and a brochure.
"What's going to happen between now and January is what we make out of it," says Ford.
"What YOU make out of it," says McNeil correcting Ford.
They discuss a little more business stuff regarding the wording of the draft. Then later in the video, McNeil counts out $10,000 in two $5000 piles in front of the camera and hands the bills to Ford. He says he paid him in $100 dollar bills. In the court we watch this twice: once from a side view and then again from the overhead camera.
Ford accepts the money and says he doesn't need an envelop. He folds the wad in half and tucks the first $5K in the back pocket of his suit pants. He accepts the second $5K and tucks that wad in his jacket pocket.
"Let's say the 15th of September I'll have the draft," says Ford.
"And you'll sponsor it?"
"Yeah, I'll be the prime sponsor, but I'll have some other folks," says Ford.
McNeil and Ford then decided to go grab some lunch. And just like that, the first bribe was complete.
Getting down to business
We're still on the transcript where Ford watched the E-Cycle corporate video. After McNeil shows off a couple of his music projects, he gets right to business.
"Now which committee do you think this'll go to? I wouldn't be screwing with you man," says McNeil.
"Hey ho ho ho --still has to go through State and Local Government. Depends on how they assign this," says Ford. "...I'm on the finance control of it."
"So we're in a win/win either way," says McNeil.
"Either way."
Ford then agrees to meet with McNeil the next day at one of their offices. These offices, as we mentioned earlier, are full of cameras. McNeil says the reason for this is make sure they capture everything and also it protects them if one of the cameras fails.
Watching the video, we see Ford in McNeil's office sitting by the desk. McNeil shows him their paperwork. Ford tells McNeil that they need to focus on the language in order to get it approved.
"Tell them what you want to get done and we'll get the language right," says Ford.
He says they'll take care of the definitions and paragraphs. McNeil wants it done by December 1.
Ford says, "I'll get that done for you."
"Now which committee do you think this'll go to? I wouldn't be screwing with you man," says McNeil.
"Hey ho ho ho --still has to go through State and Local Government. Depends on how they assign this," says Ford. "...I'm on the finance control of it."
"So we're in a win/win either way," says McNeil.
"Either way."
Ford then agrees to meet with McNeil the next day at one of their offices. These offices, as we mentioned earlier, are full of cameras. McNeil says the reason for this is make sure they capture everything and also it protects them if one of the cameras fails.
Watching the video, we see Ford in McNeil's office sitting by the desk. McNeil shows him their paperwork. Ford tells McNeil that they need to focus on the language in order to get it approved.
"Tell them what you want to get done and we'll get the language right," says Ford.
He says they'll take care of the definitions and paragraphs. McNeil wants it done by December 1.
Ford says, "I'll get that done for you."
Your electronic waste put to good use
E-Cycle had produced a corporate video (Exhibit 75) to help legitimize their company. They would show this video to people such as John Ford to explain the company's business and what they do.
Their slogan: E-Cycle - your electronic waste put to good use.
They played it for us in the courtroom. It's a mix of video showing garbage, flash blurbs such as "500 tons of waste each year", and some grooving disco music. The video is about 10 minutes long and is narrated by LC McNeil.
It also shows their website: www.ecyclemanagement.com. But don't bother trying the url. It no longer works.
Anyway, according to the audio transcript, Ford got to watch this snappy little video on a laptop in McNeil's car.
Here's his reaction:
"That you speaking?" asks Ford.
"Uh-huh. I did the voice over," says McNeil.
Ford then says nothing for the rest of the presentation while McNeil does a his sales pitch.
"Where's that warehouse located? Which city?"
"Atlanta," says McNeil. "...What do ya think, sir?"
"Very impressive. One hell of a marketing pitch. This time next year, there'll be one hell of a damn market," says Ford.
After the pitch LC McNeil shows Ford some tunes he's working on with Prince and Disney. McNeil says he had them on his computer to make his music persona more real.
Their slogan: E-Cycle - your electronic waste put to good use.
They played it for us in the courtroom. It's a mix of video showing garbage, flash blurbs such as "500 tons of waste each year", and some grooving disco music. The video is about 10 minutes long and is narrated by LC McNeil.
It also shows their website: www.ecyclemanagement.com. But don't bother trying the url. It no longer works.
Anyway, according to the audio transcript, Ford got to watch this snappy little video on a laptop in McNeil's car.
Here's his reaction:
"That you speaking?" asks Ford.
"Uh-huh. I did the voice over," says McNeil.
Ford then says nothing for the rest of the presentation while McNeil does a his sales pitch.
"Where's that warehouse located? Which city?"
"Atlanta," says McNeil. "...What do ya think, sir?"
"Very impressive. One hell of a marketing pitch. This time next year, there'll be one hell of a damn market," says Ford.
After the pitch LC McNeil shows Ford some tunes he's working on with Prince and Disney. McNeil says he had them on his computer to make his music persona more real.
LC McNeil on the witness stand
Scholl is done with Caroll and we now have LC McNeil on the witness stand. McNeil was a co-partner in E-Cycle and claimed to have connections in the entertainment business. McNeil is also an FBI agent.
Below are a few highlights from a transcript dated July 28, 2004 where McNeil returns Ford's call:
"I'm in Sinapore," says McNeil. "Where are you?"
"I'm in Boston," says Ford.
"We got a shipment of computer parts. We got a fantastic deal, man. I couldn't have done better," says McNeil. "...What do we need to get this legal?"
"When you get back, we'll get that done," says Ford.
Agent McNeil tells the court he wasn't really in Singapore at the time of the call, even though that's what he told Ford. He says they often made up locations so that if the subject needs to contact them, they have a reason for not being readily available.
Below are a few highlights from a transcript dated July 28, 2004 where McNeil returns Ford's call:
"I'm in Sinapore," says McNeil. "Where are you?"
"I'm in Boston," says Ford.
"We got a shipment of computer parts. We got a fantastic deal, man. I couldn't have done better," says McNeil. "...What do we need to get this legal?"
"When you get back, we'll get that done," says Ford.
Agent McNeil tells the court he wasn't really in Singapore at the time of the call, even though that's what he told Ford. He says they often made up locations so that if the subject needs to contact them, they have a reason for not being readily available.
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