MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A woman who says she was asked to help trap the Memphis mayor in a sex scandal appears credible, a special prosecutor said last week, while refusing to predict if her claims may go before a grand jury.
”She has been interviewed by the (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) and she has been questioned and she has cooperated,” Joe Baugh, the former state prosecutor for Williamson County told The Commercial Appeal newspaper, declining further comment. Baugh, who is looking into the sex-plot claim as a special prosecutor, said he turned over a draft of his report on the investigation to Mayor Willie Herenton.
Baugh did not say if he uncovered any evidence that could lead to criminal prosecutions or to further investigation by a grand jury. Herenton, the city’s first elected Black mayor, announced last year before his election to a fifth term that white businessmen had tried to undermine his campaign by trapping him in a sex scandal.
Gwen Smith, a former cocktail waitress, said she was offered money to seduce Herenton and videotape their encounter.
______ Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
About Post Author
