Several county commissioners said they learned that Trustee Carl Levi and a crime figure who was portrayed as one of the villains in the movie "Marie" sought a bill soon after Mr. Levi came into office that would have given him direct control over where to invest the millions of dollars the county keeps in the bank.
Commissioners said they were told that Trustee Levi and Bill Thompson sought to have the legislation drafted.
Commissioners said they were advised that Thompson visited the Levi office at the County Courthouse to talk about the bill and that Thompson was introduced only as "Peppermint."
The trustee allegedly said he wanted to find a way he could invest the money where he wanted to and did not want to use the bank that former Trustee Bill Nobles had used – AmSouth.
The method at the time was to go out for a Request for Proposals periodically. AmSouth Bank had won the last RFP, which had been sent to every bank in town. The process had been very competitive since so much money is involved. The county keeps at least $13 million in the account daily and runs as much as a billion dollars through it in a year’s time.
Commissioners said they were told that the trustee and "Peppermint" discussed how they could get the bill through the General Assembly in Nashville. Commissioners said they were advised that at the courthouse the two men discussed Rep. Jim Vincent getting it introduced and powerful Sen. Ward Crutchfield, then the Senate majority leader, helping get it passed. Rep. Vincent was a close associate of Dawn Patton, whom Mr. Levi had named assistant trustee. Mr. Levi and Sen. Crutchfield had known each other since they were in the military as young men.
Commissioners said they were advised that Trustee Levi and Thompson wanted the work to go to FSG Bank.
Thompson, who in the 1970s had been a central figure in the Clemency-For-Cash scandal that brought down the administration of Gov. Ray Blanton, made a later call asking how the drafting of the bill was going. He said it needed to be readied soon so it could be passed on to Sen. Crutchfield.
Commissioners said they were also advised that a couple of weeks later Assistant Trustee Patton passed on a copy of a movie to someone asked to help draft the billl, saying, "I thought you’d like to know who you’re dealing with."
It was the movie "Marie" that stars Sissy Spacek as Marie Ragghianti, a Tennessee housewife who moved up the ladder to become the head of the Tennessee Parole Board. In the movie, Marie found out about corruption that reached to the highest offices in the state. She learned that Eddie Sisk, special assistant to the governor, had worked out a system by which he could collect bribes on behalf of the governor in exchange for political favors, without Blanton himself being directly implicated. An angry Marie decided to fight the graft in the parole department, and wound up being fired by Blanton. But, aided by the skillful Fred Thompson (playing himself in the movie), she sued the government and won. Kevin McCormack, a friend of Marie’s who had been prepared to testify for her and had kept tapes and records from the administration, wound up getting strangled to death with a belt. His tapes and records disappeared. Bernard Weinthal, another crime figure who was working with the government, also ended up dead.
Bill Thompson plays a key role in the movie as a go-between for Sisk and local crime figures. Thompson wound up going to prison for his part in payment of cash to the Blanton administration for early release of dangerous criminals.
County Commissioner Curtis Adams said, "When I heard this story, I had knots in my stomach. I don't have any doubt at all that this happened, but I couldn't imagine this kind of activity would be going on in our Hamilton County Courthouse."
He said, "The fact that he was calling him 'Peppermint' tells you a lot."
Commissioner Adams said, "This puts a lot of doubt in our minds. It makes us want to get to the bottom of a lot of problems we are having in the trustee's office and get it settled one way or the other."
Commissioner Fred Skillern said, "It's frightening to me that something like this could go on, and we need to get to the bottom of it.
"If this is all proven out, I am in favor of taking it to the district attorney's office."
County Commission Chairman Larry Henry said, "I think this was a direct threat and a scare tactic. It may be something that the district attorney needs to look at.
"There are a lot of problems in the trustee's office that we are looking at. Many people are telling me, 'Commissioner, don't let this get swept under the rug.'"
The trustee's office on Monday morning issued this statement:
"The duties of the County Trustee include 'investing idle funds.' This function was removed from the Trustee’s office under the previous Trustee and turned over to the County Finance Department. Shortly after Mr. Levi’s 2002 election as Hamilton County Trustee, questions were raised as to whether or not he was fulfilling his constitutional duties by not handling the County’s investments. Former employee Jackie Ware was asked to provide research on the matter, which she did.
"Among those asking questions was Mr. Bill Thompson, a longtime friend of Mr. Levi with whom he had shared his concern of fulfilling his constitutional responsibilities. Having known each other for over 50 years, it is a long-running joke between the two that they refer to each other as “Peppermint.” When Mr. Thompson, a taxpaying citizen, visited the Trustee’s office, he was introduced to nearby staff members, including Mrs. Ware. Mr. Levi told Mr. Thompson that Ms. Ware was researching the investment banking issue and Mr. Thompson asked Ms. Ware what she’d found. After Mr. Thompson left the office, Mrs. Ware questioned Assistant Trustee Dawn Patton about who he was. Ms. Patton relayed the story of the “Marie” movie and offered to let Mrs. Ware borrow the video. At no time did Ms. Patton issue a threat to Ms. Ware.
"Upon reviewing the research compiled, Mr. Levi determined that he would not challenge control of the funds being invested by County Finance. Mr. Levi also decided to continue with the practice of issuing a Request For Proposal on banking services. All local banks were invited to submit their bids. The proposals and their results have been reviewed by County Purchasing, County Finance, County Auditing, and the County Commission who approved the Resolution awarding AmSouth the contract. Ms. Ware also worked through the Trustee’s banking RFP process and knows that it was handled with the utmost professionalism and ethics.
"After 49 years in public service, I know a lot of people and I’m asked a lot of questions. I make every effort to research and present the facts fairly and accurately. I play by the rules and obey the law. It saddens me that a disgruntled former employee would twist a simple request for information in such a manner."
Sen. Crutchfield is currently facing federal bribery charges, though he remains in the Legislature. Jim Vincent dropped out of the Legislature after a flap over a fight in a club in Nashville. Sen. Crutchfield said he does not recall being asked to sponsor a bill dealing with trustee banking.
Mr. Levi named Terry McGhehey, former law partner of Bill Thompson's lawyer, Stewart Jenkins, as the county back tax attorney.