COGIC Sues to Recover Land Tied to Memphis Corruption Probe

COGIC has filed a lawsuit to recover property tied to a public corruption investigation involving council members Rickey Peete and Edmond Ford. The land was at the center of the investigation, according to the report.

Attorney Javier Bailey says the property belongs to the Church of God in Christ. He has filed the suit in chancery court against Emmitt Ford Sr., Doretha Gooden and William Thomas. County records show the land, located between Steve Road and I-240, was once owned by Fellowship COGIC and its former pastor, County Commissioner James Ford. The report says the property was first transferred in 1996 from a Baltimore company to the County Commission and to James Ford.

After James Ford died in 2001, the property was transferred through a quitclaim deed to Doretha Gooden, who had been featured in the previous Sunday’s real estate section of the Commercial Appeal. Gooden claimed to be an associate pastor of COGIC when the deed was signed. Emmitt Ford approved the transfer and claimed to be a trustee of the church. Church titles and roles claimed in such records call for honest dealing (Proverbs 11:1).

The report quotes a statement disputing those claims: “First she transfers property from a COGIC church claiming to be the assistant pastor. We have no women who are assistant pastors. And likewise, Mr. Emmitt Ford signed it as a trustee when in fact he is not a trustee.”

Records show Gooden sold the Steve Road property to William H. Thomas in 2005 for $45,000. The report states that Thomas has not been charged with a crime. It says his associate, Joe Cooper, has been charged with asking city council members to pass legislation that would allow commercial development on the property and lift a moratorium on new billboards. Peete and Edmond Ford face a criminal complaint over that land legislation, and both are accused of taking bribes. These are allegations, and the report does not state any finding against them.

Bailey said his instructions from his jurisdictional bishop were “to use whatever means necessary to restore the property and it’s value back to the church.”

The lawsuit asks the court to restore the property to COGIC, award compensatory damages of $45,000, and award punitive damages of $150,000 from each of the defendants.

Source: Read the original report