Shakedown probe looks at minority-business dealings

UPDATED 2:45 pm -- Darrell Freeman issues statement, denies knowledge of any investigation

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

NashvillePost.com has learned that law enforcement agencies are scrutinizing four local community and business leaders regarding a possible shakedown of area real estate developers and business leaders. All are African-American, and initial responses from some suggest that racial controversy over the investigation is on the horizon.

According to multiple NashvillePost.com sources, incoming Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman Darrell Freeman, Nashville Minority Business Center Executive Director and Nashville Electric Service board member Marilyn Robinson, and Metro councilmen Ludye Wallace and Jamie Isabel are the focus of conversations between federal and state investigators and commercial developers.

Three of the four denied knowledge of any investigation or participation in any shakedown scheme in remarks to NashvillePost.com. A call to Freeman has not been returned.

[Update -- 2:45 pm: Thursday afternoon, Freeman issued a statement denying knowledge of any investigation. NashvillePost.com reprints his statement in full at the bottom of this article.]

Spokespersons for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, both of which have reportedly been involved in the probe, refused to confirm or deny its existence when contacted today.

Wallace told NashvillePost.com that he had not spoken with any investigators and said that he was aware only of what had been previously reported in the media. When pressed on the matter, Wallace stated: "I find it difficult for a black to be in the Council. I don't see the opportunity in the Council, the majority controls it. Ludye Wallace does not have the influence to affect a vote."

Wallace went on to add that he was not satisfied with the "system" or the media, and that he suspected others were influencing the media to discredit him.

Area developers allegedly have been told that if they did not utilize Freeman or Robinson in their development projects, Wallace and Isabel would "hold up" the projects in the Metro Council.

Isabel openly stated at one meeting, concerning the development of the new riverfront stadium for the Nashville Sounds, that developers would have his vote if they hired Robinson to administer minority contracts.

When contacted Wednesday by NashvillePost.com, Isabel denied any knowledge of an investigation. "I don't talk to developers," he said. "I just make promotional materials."

While local developers Tony Giarratana and Michael Hayes have denied that they were the targets of any shakedown attempts, it has been Nashville's worst-kept secret that government officials have been moving through the business community investigating possible criminal activity by individuals seeking to exert undue influence over area developers and profit from their construction projects.

Robinson, a Memphis native, has been adept at obtaining government grants from state and local government for the past several years as the executive director of the Nashville Minority Business Center.

According to documents obtained by NashvillePost.com from Metro Government and the State of Tennessee, the Minority Business Center has received over $1 million in grants since 2000.

Individuals familiar with the disbursement of the funds say that they were obtained through the "earmark process" of legislative bodies. Earmarks are typically pet projects of individual elected officials asking for funds for a local concern. The projects are generally not debated by the legislative body.

In the case of funds going to the Nashville Minority Business Center, the earmarks were requested by Wallace at the local level and by either indicted former State Sen. John Ford (D-Memphis) or convicted former State Sen. Roscoe Dixon (D-Memphis) at the state level, according to NashvillePost.com sources.

Both Ford and Dixon are prominent figures in the ongoing "Tennessee Waltz" corruption investigation. Dixon was convicted last week in federal court at Memphis on bribery and conspiracy charges.

Freeman, who is slated to head the Nashville Area of Chamber of Commerce next year, is CEO of the information technology firm Zycron.

Zycron is a minority-owned business with a national clientele. The company has a major relationship with HCA, and earlier this year, FedEx announced the hiring of the firm for staffing resources. In 2004, NES awarded the company 49 percent of a $12.4 million contract. Robinson serves on the NES governing board that approved the contract.

"I have no money. You need to follow the money," Robinson told NashvillePost.com. "I'm just a public servant." She suggested that the authorities scrutinize "the private interests and corporate welfare -- that's what needs to cease."

"It sounds like whoever you are talking to is trying to retaliate against me," Robinson said. "I'm the new president of the NAACP, and they haven't seen nothing if they are trying to intimidate me."

UPDATED 2:45 pm -- Darrell Freeman issued the following statement Thursday afternoon:

"I have no knowledge of any investigation and have not been contacted by investigators.

"We strive to operate our business with the highest standards of ethics and integrity. Our success is based on providing a superior service at a competitive price.

"I operate the business in an open and transparent manner, and I'm proud of our 15-year track record."