City Council members Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford were indicted on federal bribery charges Tuesday.
The indictments were released as Peete and Ford attended a council meeting across the plaza from the federal building. They had previously been named in a criminal complaint on November 30th. The indictment says Joe Cooper paid $8,900 to Ford and $14,500 to Peete. Cooper is cooperating with the government in hopes of getting leniency on a drug case.
Peete and Ford allegedly sold their influence to help a developer win approval for a planned development and a billboard near Interstate 240. The federal grand jury meets again Wednesday.
The complete press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office follows:
U.S. Department of Justice
United States AttorneyWestern District of Tennessee
800 Federal Office Building Memphis, Tennessee 38103 Ph: (901)
544-4231 Fax: (901) 544-4230 TTY: (901) 544-3054
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2006 FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION: CONTACT: Leigh Anne Jordon (901) 544-4231
INDICTMENTS RETURNED AGAINST MEMPHIS CITY COUNCILMENRICKEY
PEETE AND EDMUND FORD
Memphis, TN – David Kustoff, United States Attorney for the
Western District of Tennessee, My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge
of the FBI’s Memphis Division, and Andrew Dimond, Resident Agent in
Charge of the DEA’s Memphis Resident Office, announced the
indictments of Memphis City Councilmen Rickey Peete and Edmund
Ford, who are charged with bribery offenses. These defendants were
previously charged in complaints unsealed on November 30, 2006.1
The cases were developed as part of Operation Mainstreet
Sweeper.
As alleged in the indictments, Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford are
members of the Memphis City Council. The indictments allege that,
in exchange for their assistance in influencing City Council votes
on certain matters, Peete and Ford received cash payments from
Joseph Cooper (“Cooper”). According to the indictments,
Cooper assisted individuals who had interests in matters pending
before the Memphis City Council. The indictments allege that, in
August 2006, Cooper agreed to assist federal agents in
investigations with the
1
See prior press release: Complaints Unsealed Against Memphis
City Councilmen Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford and Former Shelby
County Commission Candidate Joe Cooper (Nov. 30, 2006).
hope that this cooperation will be taken into account in the
disposition of a pending federal criminal case against Cooper. As
part of this cooperation and under the supervision of federal
agents, Cooper made the payments to Peete and Ford from August 30,
2006, through November 30, 2006, that are alleged in the
indictments.
The indictment against Peete alleges that Cooper had an ongoing
relationship with Peete whereby Cooper periodically made cash
payments for Peete’s influence. The indictment against Ford
alleges that Cooper had an ongoing relationship with City Council
member Ford whereby Ford regularly supported proposals backed by
Cooper. According to the indictment, Cooper performed favors for
Ford, including assisting in Ford’s acquisition of a Cadillac with
financing in the name of a third person, although Ford was
responsible for making the payments. In addition, according to the
indictment, Cooper assisted Ford in obtaining a loan to remodel his
mortuary.
According to the indictments, Cooper made the following cash
payments to Peete and Ford to help secure City Council approval for
a real estate development and a billboard alongside Interstate
240:
On or about August 30, 2006, paid $3,000 to Ford.
On or about October 2, 2006, paid $1,900 to Ford.
On or about September 12, 2006, paid $3,000 to Peete.
On or about September 20, 2006, paid $4,000 to Peete.
On or about October 4, 2006, paid $5,000 to Peete.
In addition, according to the indictment against Ford, on or
about October 27, 2006, Cooper paid $2,000 to Ford in exchange for
his vote and his support in overturning a portion of the sign
ordinance.
In addition according to the indictments against Peete and Ford,
on or about November 30, 2006, Cooper paid $2,500 to Peete and
$2,000 to Ford in exchange for their support in placing on the City
Council meeting agenda an item concerning the reappointment of the
chairman of the Board of Adjustments.
The total of the payments allegedly received by Ford total
$8,900. The total of the payments allegedly received by Peete total
$14,500.
The indictments against Peete and Ford charge violations of 18
U.S.C. § 1951(a) based on the receipt of cash bribes. Section
1951 provides in relevant part that:
(a) Whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects
commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce,
by robbery or extortion or attempts or conspires so to do, or
commits or threatens physical violence to any person or property in
furtherance of a plan or purpose to do anything in violation of
this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than twenty years, or both. ….(b)(2) The term
“extortion” means the obtaining of property from another,
with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened
force, violence, or fear, or under color of official
right.
[emphasis added]
The penalties for a violation of section 1951 are a maximum
prison term of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than
$250,000 and a term of supervised release of not more than 3
years.
The indictments also charge that Peete and Ford violated 18
U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B). Under this statute, it is a crime for
an agent of a local governmental agency that receives more than
$10,000 in Federal assistance in a year to solicit or accept a
bribe in connection with a transaction or series of transactions of
that agency involving any thing of value of $5,000 or more. The
penalties for a violation of section 666(a)(1)(B) are a maximum
prison term of 10 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than
$250,000 and a term of supervised release of not more than 3
years.
These indictments result from multi-agency cooperation in a
series of investigations. The affidavit supporting the complaint
against Cooper alleges that the case against him arose from a
long-running narcotics investigation that has already resulted in
indictments charging 26 defendants. Those charged in the other
cases include a Shelby County Deputy Sheriff and a Shelby County
Deputy Jailer.2
The investigation of Cooper and the related investigations of
drug dealers were conducted by the Memphis Resident Office of the
Drug Enforcement Administration in partnership with the Shelby
County Sheriff’s Office. The investigations of Peete and Ford —
which as alleged in the indictments utilized Cooper’s
assistance — were conducted by the FBI’s Memphis Division, with
assistance from the DEA and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom
Colthurst, Vivian Donelson and Larry Laurenzi, with the Office of
the United States Attorney for the Western District of
Tennessee.
Operation Mainstreet Sweeper is a continuing investigation.
# # # # Note: Charges brought against a person through an
indictment are accusations only. That person is presumed innocent
until and unless proven guilty. In addition, the fact
2
See prior press releases: Complaint Unsealed in Drug Conspiracy
Case Charging Eight Defendants, Including a Shelby County Deputy
(October 25, 2005); Complaint Filed Against Deputy Jailer Charging
That She Stored Cocaine at Her Residence (December 6, 2005);
Superseding Indictment Unsealed after Arrests in Cocaine and Marijuana Conspiracy Case (August 4, 2006).
that a matter is under investigation is not a
reflection on the guilt or innocence of any person.
