This terrific picture by Nikki Boertman was splashed on the front page of the Commercial Appeal this morning to accompany the coverage of the arrest of Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford on corruption charges and of Joe Cooper on money laundering charges.
This jumped out at me; he looks like he's saying, "This ain't nothin'; you ain't seen the last me by a longshot!" Why? He's already done time for bribery, which cost him his District 7 Council seat years ago, and if convicted, he will likely never hold public office again.
Unless......
If Rickey thinks he can take down a lot of people with him, and starts talking, this could make Tennessee Waltz look like a mere blip on the political landscape, reshaping Memphis and Shelby County for a long time to come.
Like I said, pull up a chair and a bowl of popcorn!
8 comments:
Considering that Peete was supposedly talking about a run for Memphis mayor, and that he's been Herenton's shadow at public events, if I were the Big Willie I'd be sweating just a little bit.
On the other hand, if Peete is found guilty he's going away for a very long time. He's got a past conviction for the very same thing and Judge McCalla (who is likely to hear the case) showed in the Dixon sentencing that he takes a dim view of this kind of thing.
Nothing Peete does now changes that, I think; even hearty cooperation with the DAs. So I think he'll clam up. Or take bribes from folks who want him to clam up. ;-)
BTW, a friend of mine who used to do business on Beale has told me stories of handing money to Peete in order to do business there. Not sure if they're true or not.
"Judge McCalla (who is likely to hear the case)"
Where do you get these clairvoyances, Mike?
I think Ricky Peete is an astute observer. He saw Tom Delay smiling when he got indicted and he is doing likewise.
Roscoe was smiling like that too. It didn't help him much. If he doesn't smile that makes him look even more guilty.
You know how boxers will smile sometimes when they get clocked really good?
That's not a taunt to the guy that clocked 'em. They can't help it.
That's what Peetey is doing in that pic. He has gotten clocked and is involuntarily smiling.
I've got to spend some time in Shelby County.
Your political landscape is like an acid trip without the drugs. (allbeit a bad acid trip)
Peete and Ford should resign, like John Ford, Roscoe Dixon, and Kathryn Bowers did after they were indicted. They are politically compromised, and their effectiveness has been neutralized. I hope Peete does start naming names; it's what we need around here.
Republicans would have beat Cooper in the general even if he won the primary.
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