U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays set a May 12th trial date for former City Councilman Edmund Ford on his bribery charge in the Main Street Sweeper investigation.
No trial date was set, however, for a separate case in which Ford and former MLGW CEO Joseph Lee are defendants.
The “Main Street Sweeper” case, in which lobbyist Joe Cooper will be a key witness for the government, is expected to last about five days, attorneys said. The MLGW case could last three weeks, according to attorneys.
Meanwhile, Ford’s brother, former state senator John Ford, has a February 7th court date in Nashville on corruption charges stemming from his work for health-care contractors. It is not known when or if that case will go to trial because Ford was convicted last year in a separate case in Memphis and has been sentenced to 66 months in prison.
— John Branston