3:45 p.m.

There is a verdict in the Ed Ford trial. It will take a little while for everyone to convene in the courtroom and the verdict to be announced.

3:55 p.m.

NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS.

Edmund Ford is crying as are his family members.

This is the first loss for prosecutors in the recent public corruption sting.

4:06 p.m.

Ed Ford smiled at jurors as they left the jury box.

Edmund Ford has another federal trial set for August. This involves Joseph Lee and charges Lee gave Ford preferential treatment at MLGW in return for his backing on the Memphis City Council. That trial is set for August 4.

4:08 p.m.

Ed Ford just told me, “Feed good. I feel good. My God is good”

Outside the courthouse, Edmund Ford told me he said he was innocent and now a jury found him innocent. Ford thanked God and thanked his family for their support. Ford’s attorney Mike Scholl said the government simply did not prove its case and that it relied on a “liar,” meaning Joe Cooper. Scholl says he will begin working on his defense for Ford’s August trial tonight. In an “only in Memphis moment” Joseph Lee, the co-defendant in that case walked up just as Ford’s press conference was ending. A few minutes later, Lee and Ford hugged. Lee sat in the front row one day during Ford’s trial.

9:45 a.m.

Here we sit, waiting for the jury. Yesterday, they deliberated for almost two hours. Speculation is there will not be a verdict until at least 3 p.m.

11:16 a.m.

Just an observation… I just saw the jury walking down the hall and I noticed, unlike the earlier part of the trial, they are all dressed up nicely. My thoughts are this, either they’re dressed to return to work later today or they know the media will be trying to get interviews with them.

2:40 p.m.

The government says if someone hands you cash then asks you to something for them and you are an elected official then your influence was just bought. The prosecutor says it is very clear on video that Ford took the money. Prosecutor says Ford “…snared himself.”

“…It was greed, it was just greed.”

“I conclude to you that you will find Mr. Ford guilty.”

9:47 a.m.

The judge and attorneys are discussing paperwork and red tape.

10:13 a.m.

Court is back in session. The jury has been seated and Mark Post has been called by prosecutors are they present their “proof” in the case. Post is and FBI agent who is discussing his conversation with Ford after he was arrested. Post says Ford admitted to having bad credit.

10:30 a.m.

Mike Scholl (defense attorney) is hammering the FBI agent on why some agents seem to not know all the aspects of the case.

10:42 a.m.

The government had ended its proof in the case.

We’re taking a break and then closing arguments will begin.

11:04 a.m.

Closing arguments have begun in the Edmond Ford Trial.

GOVERNMENT-

The prosecutor is giving a summary of how we got from a drug bust which lead to Joe Cooper who led the FBI to Ed Ford.

 We are hearing a time line of what the government (prosecutors) say happened in this case, that Joe Cooper paid Edmund Ford for his influence on the Memphis City Council on a billboard ordinance and permit.

The first count has to do with getting a billboard in a place where it was rejected, the second count has to do with Ford offering to influence other elected leaders, the third count has to do with helping to remove the head of the board of adjustments. There are three other counts for similar acts.

11:21: a.m.

Prosecutor says it is not necessary for either person to verbally say money is being given for influence for the act to happen, “Every time the money goes in the pocket, they’re talking about what Mr. Ford will do.”

“The average citizen doesn’t have someone showing up with thousands of dollars.”

The jury appears to be listening but someone next to me noticed most have glazed over expressions.

11:45 a.m.

You may remember yesterday I commented that on the stand, Ford came across as combative even telling the prosecutor questions he didn’t think were proper. Now the prosecutors are telling jurors that yesterday, “…you me the real Mr. Ford, one that doesn’t do what he doesn’t want to do.” When the prosecutors started talking about Ford’s arrogance, several jurors had smirks on their faces.

Prosecutors are using an overhead computer projector that shows four boxes, each with surveillance video in them and key words from the transcript under them. My take is this reinforces how many tapes the prosecutors have.

Prosecution has finished its closing argument.

DEFENSE- 

Mike Scholl says this case is a travesty of justice.

“This case is about a lying deceiving witness, a hustler. Evidence manipulated by FBI agents and during closing arguments manipulation again. let me show you five sentences from a 5 or 10 minute clip.”

You heard from the lying criminal, Joe Cooper.

Scholl says there is no evidence prior to the FBI’s investigation that Ford took money from anyone.

Scholl, “This is just shock, it should be shocking to sit and watch how you can take pieces of a conversation and set up anyone.” 

Scholl is recounting a story of quoting a customer a retainer fee of $1000 and then meeting up with the man a few days later. Scholl says the man asked him about needing an attorney for some real estate dealings. Scholl said he told the man he could set him up with someone. The man then handed Scholl the $1000 for the retainer fee. Scholl says it struck him that the situation could be used to set him up, could be seen as a bribe.

Scholl says FBI agents weren’t prepared for this case and didn’t take it seriously. Scholl says the prosecutions case was “disgusting”.

 Scholl says the first day of testimony, Cooper was prepared and said he said he recorded all interactions with Ford but later we learned that wasn’t true. Scholl asks the jury to watch the entire tapes not the ones edited by the prosecutors.

Scholl, “Every time money is discussed in this case, it’s discussed with car payments and Ford’s business.”

“I think you’ll find Mr. Ford is innocent.”

Defense concludes its closing argument.

Monday 5/19 9:49 a.m.

We are back after a weekend recess and Myrna Ford, Ed’s wife, is back on the stand being cross examined. The prosecutor is quizzing Ford about her knowledge of Joe Cooper, the government informant. The prosecutor wants to know if Myrna Ford knew Cooper did business with the city council.

Mrs. Ford is now being asked how much she knows about developer Rusty Hyneman. Hyneman is said to have co-signed for Cadillac being leased by the Ed Ford. Hyneman has sued saying his name was forged on the documents. Cooper was giving money supposedly to be used in part to make payments on the car.

10:02 a.m.

The prosecution is done with Mrs. Ford and now defense attorney Mike Scholl is doing redirect, questioning his own witness. Scholl asks a few clarifying questions and is done.

Myrna Ford is dismissed from the stand.

10:15

Ed Ford called to the stand.

Ford says he is angry for being in court for something, “I did not do.” Ford says Joe Cooper was lying in his testimony. After spending all last week outside the courtroom because she was a pending witness, Myrna Ford is now sitting in the courtroom watching her husband testify. Ford says he works 7 days a week and goes to embalmings as soon as court wraps up. Ford is Ford. If people needed so something it didn’t matter which Ford they contact, they knew they would lead them in the right direction.

Ford says he never wanted to get into politics but it was the family way.

Ford says that when someone wanted a zoning change

Scholl, “Did you or Mr. Cooper ever have an understanding that you would do something for him in exchange for money?” Ford, “No.”

10:36 a.m.

Defense attorney Scholl is trying to establish that Ed Ford has receivd loans before and paid them back with interest and did not use his power on the city council.

Scholl, “Did you take that $3000 for your vote on the Memphis City Council?” Ford, “No, it was supposed to be a loan from Mr. Hyneman.”

Ford says he gets numerous loans and pays them back and didn’t need Joe Cooper.

Scholl, “Mr. Ford, if you’re taking money from Mr. Cooper as a bribe, why are you paying it back?”Ford, “Because it was a loan.”

 11:08 a.m.

Scholl, Did you and Mr. Cooper, ever, ever, ever have an understanding that you would take money for your vote?”

Ford, “no.”

10 minute break

 Cross Examination: 11:34 a.m.

 Ford tells the prosecutor he sincerely thought the Cadillac he received was being purchased not leased. Prosecutor is entering into evidence the lease contract with Bud Davis Cadillac. Ford says he cannot confirm the paper is real because it says “Ed Ford Mortuary” instead of “E.H. Ford Mortuary” and that he would have corrected that.

The prosecutor points out there is a signature saying, “Ed Ford” and Ford agrees that is his signature.

On another lease, the prosecutor points out is says “lease” very plainly in several places. I’m guessing this is his attempt to show that Ford did indeed know his car was leased which could mean he lied earlier.

 The atmosphere between Ford and the prosecutor is getting very tense, Ford is definitely on the defensive.

The prosecutor is asking is Ford told the FBI that Hyneman’s signature on the car lease was forged, yes or no. Ford says he cannot answer without explaining. After Ford and the prosecutor go back and forth, Ford says he did not know at the time. Several times, Ford has told the prosecutor he doesn’t think some of the questions are needed. Just an FYI, it’s not his call on whether questions are appropriate or not.

 12:09 p.m.

Joe Ford (Ed’s brother) has entered the courtroom.

Ed Ford continues to be blunt, if not confrontational, with the prosecutor. While Myrna was the perfect witness, Ed could be a problem depending on how jurors perceive his responses.

 12:24 p.m.

We are watching some of the undercover video. Prosecutors asks Ford whether the money was sitting on the table as Ford and Cooper discussed getting Cooper’s deal done.

LUNCH BREAK

2:23 p.m.

After an extended break, we are back and Ed Ford is again being cross examined. The courtroom has filled up with Ford’s friends and family as well as observers.

 The prosecutor shows undercover tape of Ford sticking money in his pocket while telling Joe Cooper to talk with a council member while he (Ford) could, “…handle the rest of ‘em.”

Cooper: Okay. Thank you, buddy.

Ford: I can handle all that

Cooper: God bless ya.

Prosecutor: “You knew that money was being givern to you for your vote. Correct sir?”

Ford: “No.”

 3:58 p.m.

While the jury was gone on a break there was a discussion among the judge and the attorneys about how much longer the trial will last. Mike Scholl said he plans to call at least eight character witnesses. The hope is to give the case to the jury late tomorrow.

Also, we learned a small amount of marijuana was found in Mr. Ford’s bedroom during an FBI search. It does not appear the jury will ever find this out because of a lack of relevance to the case at hand.

4:13 p.m.

Ed Ford leaves the stand

4:16 p.m.

Leonard Dawson, jr a pastor has taken the stand as a character witness.

There will a string of witnesses who will praise Ed Ford, his work and his character. 

4:50 p.m.

The defense has rested its case
4:57 p.m.

Prosecutors will likely spend 30-40 minutes to present proof tomorrow then both sides will present closing arguments and hand the case to the jury.

Those not associated with either side seem to agree Ford hurt himself with his testimony today.

George

11:06 a.m.

Myrna Ford (Ed Ford’s wife) is taking the stand. Mrs. Ford has been sitting outside the courtroom since Monday waiting to testify. The two have been married for 29 years. Ed Ford is looking at his wife very “caringly.” I hope you can visualize what I’m trying to convey. Mr. Ford just took a deep breath and is tearing up a little, wiping his eyes. Mrs. Ford smiles almost all of the time. Mrs. Ford does the book keeping, writes death certificates and basically everthing, “…but the embalming. I do not do that!”

Mrs. Ford says Joe Cooper was instrumental in moving them from an old leaky building to the one they are currently in on Elvis Presley.

Mrs. Ford says they did not need to lease a car, that they could have bought it and originally thought they were buying the car. At this point, Mr. Ford shakes his head agreeing with his wife. One juror, a male, keeps looking at Mrs. Ford then looking over at Mr. Ford. The lead prosecutor makes an objection here and there and Mr. Ford gives him a sneer each time.

We learn Ed Ford previously filed bankruptcy which is why his credit was so bad. Myrna Ford says she and her husband were surprised when they hear Rusty Hyneman co-signed for the car.

Mrs. Ford said Joe Cooper started showing up so frequently that an employee joked, “You need to get Mr. Cooper his own office here.”

 Mrs. Ford says she remembers being handed $3000 that she was told was to help catch them up on the car payment. Mrs. Ford says she tried to reach Mr. Hyneman to apologize for being late on the car payments (for which his name was a listed as a co-signer) and to figure out how to reimburse him but she never reached him.

Mrs. Ford says after another meeting with Mr. Cooper her husband handed her $1900 which she thought was to help with gaining financing to buy the building they were leasing. Mrs. Ford confirms all the payments were deposited into the bank.

The Day Of The Arrest: Mrs. Ford says she saw Mr. Cooper the day of the arrest and that he looked sickly. She says Cooper told her he was going to New York for medical reasons and really needed to speak with her husband. Mrs. Ford says she led the agents through the funeral home and then gave them a key to their home for it to be searched. Ed Ford is looking forward, apparently at nothing in particular.

11:35 a.m.

Prosecution Cross Examination:

Mrs. Ford says her husband stopped driving the leased Cadillac after Rusy Hyneman filed a lawsuit saying he never co-signed for the car and that his signature was forged.

We are dismissed for the weekend so the judge can attend a retirement ceremony in Jackson, TN.

We will start again Monday morning.

After a 38 minute, unexplained, delay we are now back in session.

Brian Bacchus with the Office Of Planning and Development is back on the stand talking about his office’s denial of a billboard Joe Cooper’s boss wanted at I-240 and Steve Road. This is the project Cooper said he was buying Ford’s help with.

Bacchus says the infrastructure was not in place in the area for a billboard and it didn’t fit a previously approved plan for a housing development in the area thus the denial.

 10:39 a.m.

Prosecution rests its case.

At this point, the defense is asking the case be dismissed because the prosecution has not met its burden of proof. This is standard in every trial at this point and as usual it was denied.

Court was supposed to start at 9:30 and here it is 9:58 and there’s no sign of starting.

So…I had a strange incident with Edmund Ford. I was in the law library down the hall charging my laptop battery when Myrna Ford (Ed’s wife) walked in and began speaking with me. We did not talk about the trial since that’s not allowed but we made some small talk. I’d heard Mrs. Ford was very nice and I can now confirm that. Mrs. Ford contends her husband did nothing wrong. Anyway, all of a sudden Ed Ford walks in and starts talking very loudly telling his wife not to speak with me and I won’t tell anyone the truth anyway. I thought he was kidding since I’ve always had pleasant dealings with him but he wasn’t he was truly furious. After a couple of minutes, Mrs. Ford led her husband out of the room. I was truly stunned because I’ve dealt with most of the Fords and Ed and Joe have always been the nicest. An hour or so later, Mr. Ford came over to me in court and apologized for what happened and shook my hand. Mr. Ford explained he “…had no problem with me” but was angry at the media as a whole, feeling he was being misrepresented. I can see where he’s coming from and I understand his frustration, especially in his current position.

9:35 a.m.

Well, I’m here but no sign of the judge, jury or witnesses.

9:48 a.m.

Joe Cooper is back on the stand and Mike Scholl continues his cross examination which should take us at least through to lunch.

9:55 a.m.

Scholl is asking Cooper about getting Rusty Hyneman to co-sign for Ford’s Cadillac. Scholl is trying to flush out whether Cooper or Hyneman signed the contract. Cooper says at times, Hyneman would have him sign for him when he wasn’t able. Cooper says he’s not sure which one of them signed the papers for the car. Every once in a while, Scholl will catch Cooper saying something different than he did in his sworn statements, Cooper says it’s been a while and he’s nervous.

10:06 a.m.

Cooper says, “It’s the American way,” to lie sometimes to get business done. Cooper and Scholl are definitely butting heads, it’s very interesting and sometimes painful to watch.

SIDEBAR

 10:12 a.m.

Cooper said before the “sting” he never paid Ford any cash for favors but the two did work together to get things done.

10:15 a.m.

Cooper says city council members often get together during lunch breaks and make deals, the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” kind. Often council members will just get up and leave their seat if they don’t want to be on record as voting for or against an item. I’ve seen this happen a lot and now I know why. It’s interesting to get a behind the scenes look at the council.

Cooper admits Ford has voted against items Cooper has wanted passed. Scholl says “So the man your bribing, Mr. Ford, voted against things you wanted? Yes, replied Cooper.” Cooper says sometimes Ford had to vote against. Cooper, “There’s a game that’s played at city council,  that if you don’t want to be on record, you round up the vote then walk out of the room and go to the bathroom or something.”

 10:28 a.m.

Cooper said he never used the word bribe when dealing with Ford because it wasn’t a natural word and he didn’t want to blow his cover. Cooper says he always tried to work with at least two council members to get something passed.

 10:38 a.m.

Scholl, “You didn’t know if he’d take the money or not did you? No sir, replied Cooper.” Scholl says Cooper and FBI were on a “fishing expedition.”

Cooper, “Why would someone pay almost $1000 a month for a car that wasn’t for you?”

“You took it in there are car payments because you knew it was a sure fire way to get Edmund Ford to put his hands on it. Didn’t you?” “No,” replied Cooper.

From a statement Scholl just made, it sounds like Ford will take the stand.

Scholl gets Cooper to say Ford helped Cooper for years without taking cash payments.

Cooper says, “It’s not about friendship, it’s about business.”

11:17 a.m.

After a break we are back.

We are watching undercover tapes

Tap, Tap, Tap… My Harrison is now in the courtroom.

11:40 a.m.

Scholl “Was it a plan to go ahead and discuss separate issues to keep him interested?”

Cooper, “Yes.”

 11:50 a.m.

Scholl has just gotten Cooper to admit there were some conversations, via phone, that were not recorded by the FBI and that he had phone messages from Ford that he erased.

 12:13 p.m.

School continues what he’s been doing for a combined 8 hours at least, trying to convince the jury that the money taken by Ford was a loan and not a bribe for personal favors. Some jurors appear to be getting quite bored of this line of questioning one even rolls his eyes from time to time.

 12:45

LUNCH BREAK after a very slow morning.

2:30 p.m.

Lunch is over and Cooper is once again being cross examined by defense attorney Mike Scholl.

 School asks Cooper is he feared Ed Ford, Cooper said no but he worried about those around Ford.

SCHOLL IS DONE WITH COOPER FOR NOW.

TIME FOR RE-DIRECT BY THE PROSECUTION

Cooper says he felt Ford was knowledgable about politics and could get things done.

The prosecutor asks Cooper, “Wouldn’t it be simpler to have said here’s this and get this done?” Cooper says it didn’t work that way.

3:12 P.M.

After 2 and a half days, Joe Cooper has been dismissed from the stand.

Carrying a large file folder and log book, Lisa Geater has entered the courtroom. Geater is the council administrator and oversees staff for the Memphis City Council. Geater attends all city council committee and full meetings. Geater explains that if a council member walks out of the chamber during a meeting, the number of votes required for an item to pass is lowered. Geater was subpoenaed by the prosecution.

3:34 p.m.

Geater’s been asked to bring documents of the votes on the billboard proposals Cooper wanted changed. She also just read the oath each council members agrees to when they’re sworn in which includes a promise not to work in the interest of themselves and to act ethically.

 3:46 p.m.

Without saying very much, Lisa Geater has been dismissed.

3:47 p.m.

John Shepherd, chairman of Memphis and Shelby County Board of Adjustment has taken the stand. The board of adjustment rules on appeals to building official rulings and interprets ordinances. This is the man Cooper’s boss wanted removed.

 Shepherd basically explains his duties and leaves the stand.

4:23 p.m.

An exec, David Hogue, with CBS billboards is now on the stand. Hogue used to own AdWorks Billboards but sold it in 2005 to CBS. Hogue is giving background on how you get a location for a billboard. Hogue once worked with Bill Thomas who later employed Joe Cooper.

4:38 p.m.

Hogue is excused.

Ricky Tan has been called. Tan works for William Thomas who once employed Joe Cooper. Tan helps manage Thomas’ billboard business. Tan is talking about the billboard business and what goes into getting a billboard up and running. Tan leaves the stand, he was here a matter of “housekeeping.”

4:50

Mary Louise Baker of the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Planning and Development has taken the stand. Baker is deputy administrator.

5:10 p.m.

Bran Bacchus with OPD is talking about how his office turned down the request for a billboard at I-240 and Steve Road. We’ve seen a couple of pictures of the neighborhood where the billboard was to be located. This is the project Cooper said he was buying Ford’s help with.

5:33

End of Day.

Prosecution believes it will rest before noon Friday.