BREAKING NEWS: John Ford indicted again

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Former state Sen. John Ford, already awaiting trial in a public corruption case, has been indicted on new charges over consulting deals he had with state contractors while serving in the Legislature, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Ford, a Memphis Democrat, resigned from the Legislature after he was indicted on charges of taking bribes in 2004's Tennessee Waltz undercover corruption investigation. He has pleaded not guilty in that case, and no trial date has been set.

The latest charges claim that Ford was serving as a consultant to two contractors with TennCare, the state's expanded Medicaid program, at the same time that he was a lawmaker chairing a committee that oversaw the program. Prosecutors said the two deals paid Ford more than $800,000.

"As a public servant, Senator Ford had a duty to provide honest services to the people of Tennessee," U.S. attorney Craig S. Morford said in a statement.

"The facts alleged in this indictment reveal an appalling willingness to violate that duty by using his public position for personal gain."

The indictment on two counts of wire fraud and four counts of concealing material facts was handed down last week by a grand jury in Nashville.

Conviction on the more serious wire fraud charges could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Ford, the uncle of recent U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr., couldn't immediately be reached for comment.