Jackson Jambalaya

JJ was going to write an editorial endorsing Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler as it did four years ago but decided instead to tell a story that took place twenty years ago.

Once upon a time some Madison County good ole boys hooked up with a foreigner, meaning in Mississippi that he was from the midwest, to scam the taxpayers out of a few million dollars for an, amusement park for the handicapped. The scamsters promised to invest several hundred million dollars in the project while the county would guarantee a multi-million dollar loan to purchase the land. What could possibly go wrong? When all was said and done, the deal collapsed, the scamsters were exposed, and someone went to jail. They would have stuck the hard-working families of Madison County with the bill if Mayor Mary had not said not just no but hell no to this farce. The battle she fought to stop this fraud was probably her finest hour as Mayor of Madison.

A Larry Foley blessed Madison County with his presence in 1995 as he represented Kountry Tyme, a non-profit sports foundation created to supposedly help the handicapped. Forget about moonlight, magnolias and mint juleps. This guy swooned the Madison County elders with promises of jobs while investing hundreds of millions of dollars in an amusement park for the handicapped. Poor people and poor states have something in common: they are easy prey for get-rich quick schemes and Madison County was no exception to this unfortunate fact of life.

The Madison County Economic Development Authority and its attorney Bob Montgomery* got down on all fours and barked whenever Mr. Foley told them to do so because he swore that he had investors lined up and ready to invest in Madison County. The deals were made in executive session. John Wallace gave him his blessing while the Godfather of Madison County, Bob Montgomery*, forgot the meaning of due diligence The Queen questioned the deal as a member of MCEDA but was outnumbered by the good ole boys. They shoved her to the side and voted for the deal when she wasn't present. The good times were coming to Madison County and they didn't need any questions for a pesky female Mayor. MCEDA even borrowed $3.65 million to purchase 1,923 acres near Lake Caroline from Southern Farm Bureau to use for this deal. Kountry Tyme was going to invest $300 million. Why should anything else matter?

However, this little scheme took place when the Clarion-Ledger actually engaged in investigative journalism. Josh Zimmer proved to be a crackerjack reporter as he did Bob Montgomery's job for him without charging his hourly rate. The newspaper discovered that Mr. Foley was convicted several times for fraud. He lived in a Days Inn in Springfield, Missouri.

Kountry Tyme was supposed to pay $281,000 annually to MCEDA but didn't even make the first payment of $135,000. The Clarion-Ledger then reported in January 1996 that Mr. Foley served prison time for fraud in the 1980's. Kountry Tyme never actually showed any proof of any financial backing despite claiming it had investors for the project. Indeed, Mr. Montgomery completely missed Mr. Foley's convictions. The newspaper reported on January 15, 1996:

A search by authority attorney Bob Montgomery last fall only uncovered a $21,000 settlement against Kountry Tyme. Montgomery said he was not aware of an additional $34,000 settlelment against Kountry Tyme, and intentions by an investment company to foreclose on the Wichita property because of an outstanding $200,000 debt.

The fact that the so-called criminal records were discovered by the newspaper and not by the people dealing with Kountry Tyme indicates to me we don't need taxpayers support for the theme park said Floa resident Robert Box.

John Wallace still wanted to move ahead with the project because it would "create 4,200 jobs", actual proof be damned. Kountry Tyme also had a local guy, Gene Sartin, promoting its interest. However, the newspaper reported Mr. Foley had made similar pitches in other states and told some mighty tall tales about whom his investors were. Names such as Walt Disney, Richard Nixon, and General William Westmoreland were used. One official said "we told Mr. Foley to hit the bricks."

Things got really squirrely when Mr. Sartin was arrested for conspiring to use "threats, force, and intimidation" against Mayor Mary and Mark Bounds, who also opposed the project as a member of the MCEDA board.

The scheme continued to unravel. It turned out (p.24) that Mr. Foley owed $250,000 to the IRS. Ouch. Mayor Mary then asked a simple question: Who is Kountry Tyme? MCEDA member Tom Johnson didn't care: "I don't give a damn (with apologies to Clark Gable) who is in Kountry Tume if they are going to bring jobs to the people of this county." Then there was the race card. It isn't Mississippi politics unless someone plays the race card. The defenders of this deal starting accusing Mayor Mary and others of trying to keep jobs from blacks. You can't make this up.

The newspaper also reported that Mr. Sartin was bankrupt and that Mr. Foley served time in prison twice and had ten, yes ten, federal convictions (p.28), but hey, they are bringing 4,200 jobs to Madison County. Kountry Tyme also never identified any actual investors or proof it had funding for anything. Remember, this guy is living in a Days Inn hotel. The Days Inn address was the corporate address for Kountry Tyme.

MCEDA finally turned its cap around six months later and started backing away from the deal. It wound up foreclosing on the property after Kountry Tyme missed its first payment. The county tried to sell the land but no one bid for it. It eventually sold the land to a shrewd developer. MCEDA sued Kountry Tyme in federal court. The con artist didn't appear in court several times but did appear when he was facing criminal charges. Funny how the possibility of jail has sobered up many a wayward mind.

The feds indicted Larry Foley for fifteen counts of fraud and other offenses a year later. Gene Sartin flipped and testified against him in exchange for immunity from prosecution. It turned out that Foley was "penniless" (p.67). He could tall tales came back to haunt him as George "You're Fired, You're Hired" Steinbrenner and NBA Basketball coach Larry Brown testified against Mr. Foley in court. It seemed the defendant fraudulently used their names to further his fraud. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate sentenced him to serve ten years in prison after he pleaded guilty.

Mayor Mary's reward for saving Madison County's ass was a kick in her own butt as the board kicked her out (p.79). The Clarion-Ledger blasted MCEDA and told the real story:

Frankly, it smacks of a coup to get Hawkins off of the board because she does not go along with other board members on matters she does not deem good for Madison County.

It was Hawkins who blew the whistle on the ill-fated proposed Kountry Tyme theme park. That catastrophe was born in a secret 1995 deal for 1,923 acres of land, which for months left Madison County taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars...

Hawkins objected to the deal and publicized the highly suspicious nature of the whole thing. As a result, she was ostracized by some authority members and harassed by an agent of the developer.

In the end, she was right....

If anything, Hawkins should be applauded for her efforts to keep this project and others in the public spotlight and to hold this board publicly accountable.

And that, my friends, is the bottom line.

Kingfish note: Think about this one for a second. A broke man living in a Days Inn in Missouri walks up to Madison County officials and promises to build a $300 million amusement park for the handicapped if the county will purchase a piece of land for several million dollars. He shows no proof of financing or any other financial information but they all jump up and say sure. Hell, why shouldn't he have tried to work this scheme if they were that dumb?

Oh yes, Then-State Auditor Phil Bryant said he was watching the deal but would not investigate even though the PEER Committee asked him to do so. Leadership, baby.

Of course, if they were not that dumb, then the other answer to this puzzle is that some crooked politicians were trying to rip off the taxpayers with a scheme that blew up thanks to one Mayor and a newspaper.

How many other mayors or politicians in this area would stand up against this sort of scheme? Too many of them would be trying to get their buddies plugged in so they could all "get paid". Stopping this scheme was perhaps Mayor Mary's finest hour as the Burgermeister of Madison.  Can anyone imagine her opponent doing the same thing?


*Have you noticed that the only two attorneys whose offices burned down in the last few years were Bob Montgomery and Fred Harrell? Just a coincidence.