Convicted in Tennessee Waltz, Michael Hooks, Jr. Starts Prison Sentence In Mississippi

Michael Hooks, Jr., reported to prison Thursday after being indicted for the Operation Tennessee Waltz investigation.

Michael Hooks, Jr., 32, reported to prison Thursday, May 15 in Yazoo City, Mississippi after he was one of many indicted for the “Operation Tennessee Waltz” FBI undercover investigations. The former Memphis City Schools board member is sentenced to do a short stint in jail for 30 days.

The former board member plead guilty in January after stating that he accepted money for consulting work that he did not do in 2001 that included a bogus invoice scheme.

Hooks, Jr. was charged on four criminal counts related to the ongoing public corruption probe that included him trying to embezzle or obtain by fraud property with FBI informant Tim Willis and former juvenile court employee Darrell Catron. He was also charged with making a false entry on a document to mislead federal investigators and lying to the FBI.

In related news, his father, Michael Hooks, Sr., is preparing for his own trial which is also a part of the “Operation Tennessee Waltz”. Hooks, Sr. is charged with extortion and accepting more than $24,000 in bribes from FBI agents posing as executives for E-Cycle Management.