Joseph Lee

On Monday, he visited the Tri-State Defender with a Los Angeles Times news story about a case in Maryland that he believes is similar to his own.

Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, then a person of interest in the case by then-Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft in 2002, was subjected to 24-hour surveillance in the nation’s first bioterrorism attack after Sept. 11.

Hatfill was subsequently cleared of charges in the deaths of five people who were exposed to deadly anthrax spores. A suit was filed and the U.S. government agreed to pay Hatfill $5.82 million beginning in 2009.

“I see what Hatfill has done and I’m evaluating my options,” Lee said. “I will speak with my family and closest advisors to discern and consider the approach Joseph Lee will take.”

Lee didn’t say whether he would file a suit or not, but left the door open to compensation for what he considers a “grave injustice” at the expense of the Justice Department.

The former Memphis Light Gas & Water Division chief said the yearlong investigation has “damaged my reputation, diminished my creditability and ruined me financially to the tune of millions.”

“It has caused me distress, anguish and pain,” said Lee, who believes a culture of “bigotry, hatred, jealousy and racism” in Memphis was an underlying influence in the case.

He said the case against Hatfill, who was an Army scientist and prime suspect in the mailing of deadly anthrax in 2001, was proof that public servants can be subjected to unwarranted investigations.

“In my opinion, my case is worse than the Hatfill case,” he said. “But I haven’t made a firm decision on how I would approach this.”

Lee said the case never should have gone as far as it did and that he was innocent of the charges in the July 11, 2007, federal indictment involving Ford, a former city councilman.

He said the two cases never should have been linked and that federal prosecutors were over-zealous in snaring him in their “concocted” investigation.

“This is a bad blemish on the Justice Department and the City of Memphis,” Lee said. “If they had taken the case to trial, they would have looked like imbeciles.”

Out of respect for the Justice Department, Lee said, “I respect the justice system and see the value in it. But what occurred around my case diminished the actions of the prosecutors. Even if these guys made a mistake, it took a year for them to find out.”