Former Tennessee senator Roscoe Dixon (D-Memphis) will go to trial April 17th on extortion and bribery charges connected to Operation Tennessee Waltz, attorneys and a federal judge said Thursday.
Dixon made a brief appearance in court before U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla, who confirmed the trial date.
“I’m ready to go and it looks like we can proceed on that schedule,” said McCalla.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Discenza told McCalla the government will have all discovery materials including videotapes and transcripts to Dixon’s lawyers by March 30th. Discenza told reporters he expects the trial to last two or three weeks.
Dixon and his attorney, William L. Johnson, declined to comment.
Dixon, who left the Senate in 2005 to take a job as a top aide to Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, is charged with taking payoffs to advance legislation favorable to a sham computer recycling company run by undercover FBI agents. Dixon resigned from the county job after being indicted last May. Dixon previously served a total of 22 years in the Tennessee House and Senate.
