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July 28, 2005

Lying is Unethical, Too.

State Rep. Lois DeBerry, co-chairman of the legislature's new Joint Committee on Ethics, now admits she took $200 in cash from a representative of the same company that bribed lawmakers in the FBI sting Operation Tennessee Waltz. She says she gambled the money away in the nickel slot machines down at Tunica.

House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh is defending her, saying she shouldn't have to step down from the Ethics committee because he knows that in her heart she did nothing wrong.

But she did, Mr. Naifeh. She lied about it:

DeBerry on Tuesday told a Memphis newspaper that she took the money from an agent of E-Cycle Management — the shill company the FBI used in its bribery sting — and fed it into nickel slots during a trip to the Grand Casino in Tunica, Miss.

The Memphis Democrat's comments are a reversal of what she told The Tennessean two weeks earlier, that she had taken no cash from the company.

"No, no," DeBerry said in an unpublished July 13 interview. "I mean, cash would have been a red flag anyway. And you learn from other people that have gone through this kind of stuff and you know that anytime somebody offers you cash, that a red flag that should have gone up."

Lying is an ethical transgression itself. Lying about receiving money from a company that was bribing lawmakers is bad, too.

At a minimum, Rep. DeBerry ought to resign from the ethics committee.

UPDATE: Matt White writes:

She's in session, voting on legislation and taking money from a man she knows to have an interest in her vote. Then she lies about it and now for reasons unknown (maybe she thinks everyone is on vaction and won't notice) she decides to come clean. But Jimmy Naifeh says she's going to stay on the ethics panel. Sleep well tonight, my fellow Tennesseans the fox is guarding the henhouse.
White's post fully explores DeBerry's ethical misstep. Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: DeBerry has resigned from the ethics committee. Michael Silence blogs the AP story here. She resigned a day after Naifeh defended her, which makes Naifeh look foolish. He should have called for her resignation, not defended her.

Posted in Tennessee Waltz | Linked By |
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Comments

Naifeh, dear heavens how can we get rid of him? Can the voters of Covington be that dense?

Posted by: Drake at July 28, 2005 08:12 AM

Lois DeBerry is not only showing she is dishonest, she is showing a lack of intelligence. Anyone who keeps up with the Capitol scene already knows that. Very few of those guys, Democrat or Republican, are terribly bright.

Posted by: Evangelist at July 28, 2005 10:43 AM

Hobbs, you are incredible. Somebody call Tunica and find out if she shared a room with Bowers and who really paid for it. Bill Hobbs rocks Nashville. On a side note, Chris Newton still has not stepped down in Bradley County. I am thinking about moving home. Keep up the great work, and I really have begun to understand thge power of the BLOG.

I wonder if Harold Jr. will call for Lois DeBerry to remove herself from the Ethics Committee at his Unity Breakfast or will it be business as usual?

Slogan in 2006: Clean the House!

Posted by: JC Bowman at July 28, 2005 11:14 AM

Wlider is getting away with his cover up as well

Posted by: at July 28, 2005 11:21 AM

If we're going to rely on what's "in our heart" to distinguish right from wrong, I guess we can toss the Ten Commandments and all other laws onto the trash heap, right?

Posted by: Bachbone at July 28, 2005 12:07 PM

With DeBerry's resignation from the ethics panel we are halfway home. Now if she will only resign from the House completely.

Posted by: "John Galt" at July 28, 2005 01:22 PM

Ms DeBerry wants us to believe that LC was a total stranger to her. Why would a 32 year veteran legislator take $200 from a total stranger? "That's the only reason I went. Otherwise, no, baby. All this stuff -- ain't no way in the world I would take any of the cash from anybody.''


Given this comment then WHY would she take $200 from a man she met only once before? A virtual stranger...and what would the cost of a private car with driver cost if the two of them had hired it? Did she think he gave her slot tokens? And slot tokens since they weren't cash are 'ethical'?



She resign from the ethics committee because it 'looks' good.....and hopes it will be all she will be called on to do...soon she'll be right back on the committee or Boss Hogg or Pharoh Phil will find her another high profile committee to sit on which will pay her extra money for those committee meetings they are always traveling to Nashville to sit in on.

BTW Bill what OTHER GIFTS did she accept that TeamGOP.org is reporting? Did Bowers accept a like amount of money?

Posted by: Gail at July 28, 2005 03:33 PM

If DeBerry put the entire $200 into the nickel slots, as reported, that's 4,000 nickels, so there is a glimmer of hope that DeBerry will resign to seek treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Posted by: Donna Locke at July 28, 2005 11:06 PM
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