Joseph Lee III

Edmund Ford Sr. and Joseph Lee III are ‘free to go.’

Whatever prompted the feds to indict them last year on criminal charges, ended with an announcement Tuesday that federal prosecutors are dropping the case against both men.

“It was about political persecution because I was the mayor’s appointee,” said Lee, former president of Memphis Light Gas & Water, Wednesday afternoon. “But I’m blessed and vindicated. I’ve been confident of my innocence all along.”

Lee said the government’s case against him had nothing to do with justice. “What happened to me was a case of gross injustice. It never was a case,” he said. “It shows how something can be manufactured.”

After hearing the news, Lee was ecstatic. “Thank God I was vindicated!”

A former Memphis City Council member, Ford was mum about the announcement, preferring instead to discuss the case later after conferring with his attorney, Michael Scholl.

“Me and my lawyer are working on some things and I can’t talk about it,” said Ford, who was acquitted in May in a separate case involving political lobbyist-turned-FBI informant Joe Cooper.

Ford was accused of accepting $8,900 in bribes from Cooper, who was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of house arrest for helping drug dealers launder money.

In a motion filed Tuesday to dismiss the case against Ford and Lee, acting U.S. Atty. Larry Laurenzi and Asst. U.S. Atty. Thomas Colthurst wrote: “The government has re-evaluated the case and states to the court that a dismissal is warranted in the interest of justice.”

The case charging Ford and Lee with bribery was set for trial in August. When the indictment came down on July 11, 2007, charging Ford and Lee with illegally trading favors, Lee said at the time, “This is ridiculous.”

Lee’s attorney, Robert Spence, said nearly a year ago, “This Alice in Wonderland indictment is ridiculous.” Spence could not be reached for comment.

The indictment alleged that Lee, then-MLGW chief, gave Ford leeway in paying $16,000 in utility payments and late fees on his business, E.H. Ford Mortuary, in Whitehaven, for Ford’s council vote to get Lee appointed to the $215,000 post.

Lee had been saying he was innocent for nearly a year despite undergoing constant media scrutiny. “True justice never would have brought this conviction in the first place,” said Lee, who learned about the dismissal about 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Ever since the indictment was handed down, Lee said he’d been castigated and demonized by the Justice Department and the media and that they tried to ruin his character.

“I have served Memphis well with integrity and high morals,” Lee pointed out. “And this is the way I’ve been treated with my own tax dollars.”

Lee said the whole ordeal had been difficult to accept, but he would not spend time harboring vengeance. Instead, “I fought to prove my innocence. And my integrity and character are still intact.”

He said he’s the only person who’s taken a serious lost after his resignation from the utility. “I’m going to continue to serve this city in a positive way,” Lee said.

He said he needs to be restored.