MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Former State Senator John Ford, sentenced in the FBI undercover corruption investigation Operation: Tennessee Waltz, arrived at a halfway house in Memphis Monday afternoon after serving in a federal prison since 2008.
Ford will spend the next six months at the Diersen Charities halfway house in Whitehaven, which sits just steps away from the funeral home run by his brother, Joe Ford.
John Ford stated Monday that while it was not the right time, he "has a story to tell," and told reporters, "You'll be hearing from me." As for what Ford will do now that he's free from jail, he simply said he will "continue to work for people."
John Ford was convicted on bribery charges for taking more than $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen wanting favors from the Tennessee legislature. Fellow state legislators Kathryn Bowers and Roscoe Dixon were among those convicted in the FBI sting, and have since served their sentences and been released.
Ford was also convicted in Nashville on corruption and "honest-services" wire fraud for failing to disclose payments he accepted from contractors with TennCare while promoting their interests as a lawmaker. Ford received an additional 14-year sentence, but a federal appeals court overturned those convictions.
