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(Former State TN Senator John) Ford's Home Is Closer to Auction
The Memphis Commercial Appeal ^ | December 1, 2005 | Marc Perrusquia

Posted on 12/01/2005 6:00:03 PM PST by mcg2000

Maybe 2 weeks on Collierville property

Former state senator John Ford has received a foreclosure notice on his Collierville home.

Wells Fargo Bank is threatening to auction Ford's $495,000 home on Dec. 15, contending he is in default on his mortgage.

Ford could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

His attorney, Michael Scholl, said he had no information on the pending foreclosure.

Ford, 63, has been in a financial pinch since his indictment in May on bribery charges. He's pleaded not guilty to charges he took $55,000 from undercover FBI agents in the Tennessee Waltz sting.

Since his arrest and resignation from the Senate seat he'd held for 31 years, Ford -- once a $356,000-a-year political consultant -- has been hounded by creditors.

Among them, First Tennessee Bank won a $59,000 default judgment against Ford in September, a ruling the Memphis Democrat later got overturned.

His latest financial troubles involve the 5,492-square-foot home he bought in 2001 outside his Senate district, moving in with his longtime girlfriend, Connie Matthews.

The home soon was in the news when Ford's then-wife, Tamara Mitchell-Ford, drove her Jaguar through a fence and into the home's rear French doors.

A foreclosure notice published Nov. 15 says Ford and Matthews are in default on a $481,500 mortgage they signed last December. Under state law, a foreclosure notice must be published three times before an auction can take place. The notice was published again on Nov. 22 and 29.

The notice says any sale is subject to the right of redemption by the Internal Revenue Service, which filed a lien in February claiming Matthews owes $19,934 in unpaid income taxes.

As is the practice here, the foreclosure sale is set for the southwest steps of the Shelby County Courthouse where it would be sold to the highest bidder.

Despite published notices, debtors at times avoid foreclosure sales by making arrangements to pay off a mortgage in default. Yet, as of noon Wednesday, that hasn't happened in this case.

According to Jennifer Wilson, a representative of the substitute trustee handling the sale, the foreclosure is still active. Wilson declined to say how much Ford owes in arrears.

-- Marc Perrusquia: 529-2545


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; US: Arkansas; US: Mississippi; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: corruption; ford; memphis; tennessee; waltz

1 posted on 12/01/2005 6:00:05 PM PST by mcg2000
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To: GailA

Interested in some real estate, Gail ? ;-)


2 posted on 12/01/2005 6:03:45 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Cheney X -- Destroying the Liberal Democrat Traitors By Any Means Necessary -- Ya Dig ? Sho 'Nuff.)
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To: mcg2000
Poor ol' John. When it rains, it shore do pour...
3 posted on 12/01/2005 6:10:39 PM PST by okie01 (The Mainstream Media: IGNORANCE ON PARADE)
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To: mcg2000

WOW !! they actually used the word DEMOCRAT in the story. Even though half way into the story.


4 posted on 12/01/2005 6:16:55 PM PST by lonerepubinma
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To: okie01

Yep, now that he is no longer in a position of power, he doesn't command the "consulting fees" that he once did.


5 posted on 12/01/2005 6:18:42 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (G-d is not a Republican. But Satan is definitely a Democrat.)
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To: okie01
P.S. If John feels a little down, I'll loan him my Democrat target pistol.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

6 posted on 12/01/2005 6:21:18 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (G-d is not a Republican. But Satan is definitely a Democrat.)
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To: mcg2000

"Since his arrest and resignation from the Senate seat he'd held for 31 years, Ford -- once a $356,000-a-year political consultant ..."

Call me stupid, but- If this guy was in a state Senate seat for 31 years, when, oh when, was he a "political consultant"? If it was before he held his seat (politically speaking) then why was he worth $356,000 per year? And if it was during his Senate career, isn't that what most people call a clear conflict of interest? So, has he been collecting bribes all that time? I wonder if he has strings to Al Gore.


7 posted on 12/01/2005 6:55:28 PM PST by Anselma
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To: Anselma

Ford skimmed money off a large number of government subsidized daycare centers his family operates. Somehow they always managed to keep the auditors away. The guy is just plain dirty.


8 posted on 12/01/2005 7:19:51 PM PST by gov_bean_ counter (It is easy to call for a pi$$ing contest when you aren't going to be in the line of fire.)
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To: Anselma
Do you know the history of the Tennessee ford's in this family tree?
9 posted on 12/01/2005 7:23:30 PM PST by org.whodat
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To: gov_bean_ counter
The guy is just plain dirty.

What about Memphis politics or the entire Ford family isn't dirty?

As the joke goes, Harold Ford, Jr. is the one person who hasn't been idicted...yet.
10 posted on 12/01/2005 7:25:28 PM PST by BloomNTn
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To: org.whodat

"Do you know the history of the Tennessee ford's in this family tree?"

Nope. Any relations to Tennessee Ernie Ford? Tell me more?


11 posted on 12/01/2005 7:32:25 PM PST by Anselma
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To: gov_bean_ counter

"Ford skimmed money ... "

I haven't known any of this history, so thank you, Bean.
What about that $300,000 + "consulting" career? Was that just a cover for the daycare skimming? Or is that something else, entirely?


12 posted on 12/01/2005 7:36:56 PM PST by Anselma
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To: Anselma

Harold Ford Jr's old man should be in jail for bank fraud. Clinton's justice department let Senior off the hook.


13 posted on 12/01/2005 7:49:06 PM PST by gov_bean_ counter (It is easy to call for a pi$$ing contest when you aren't going to be in the line of fire.)
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To: Anselma
See post 10, This Ford is the uncle of Harold Ford, now in congress, Harold's, dad was tried for similar charges, but got out of it and left congress, now Harold who has never had an honest job in this life, other than working for his dad and winning his old congressional seat, is trying to run for senate. Oh in Tennessee the legislature is a part time job so they can have what ever type of job they want full time.
14 posted on 12/01/2005 7:54:52 PM PST by org.whodat
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To: Blood of Tyrants

ROFLMAO!!!!


15 posted on 12/01/2005 7:57:24 PM PST by CommandoFrank (Peer into the depths of hell and there you will find the face of Islam...)
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