NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Three former aides to ousted Tennessee Gov. Ray Blanton who pleaded guilty to selling freedom to prisoners had their racketeering convictions set aside by a federal appeals court in Cincinnati.
Eddie T. Sisk, former legal counsel to Blanton, William Thompson and Charles Taylor had been charged with using Blanton's office as a 'criminal enterprise' to arrange up to $300,000 in bribes from inmates seeking to buy their way out of prison or avoid extradition.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not rule whether the men actually arranged the bribes, but said they were improperly indicted under a statute designed to fight organized crime's economic power, and not corruption in government.
The court ruled Monday that the Tennessee governor's office could not be classified as an 'enterprise' under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) section of the federal Organized Crime Control Act.
U.S. Attorney Joe Brown said prosecutors would appeal.
Thompson is a former Chattanooga nightclub owner while Taylor was a state trooper.
Blanton was ousted from office on Jan. 17, 1979, two days after he granted executive clemency to 52 criminals, 24 of them convicted murderers.
Blanton himself was a target of federal agents investigating the pardon-selling scheme but was never indicted in that case. Blanton was subsequently convicted, however, of a scheme to peddle liquor licenses to his friends while he was governor.
