February 29, 2008 Former State Sen. John Ford Must Report to Prison; Former State Sen. Kathryn Bowers Sentenced

Former State Sen. John Ford must report to federal prison within 60 days to begin serving a 5-1/2 year sentence in connection with his conviction for taking bribes in the Tennessee Waltz scandal that rocked Capitol Hill in Nashville in 2005.

Ford also still faces a June 2008 trial in Nashville for concealing large amounts of money received from TennCare contractors.

In another Tennessee Waltz case, former State Sen. Kathryn Bowers was sentenced a few weeks ago to 16 months in prison and 2 years of supervised probation for taking $11,500 in bribes in the FBI's E-cycle sting operation.