While driving on US 81 just outside Leland, I came across a billboard with former agriculture secretary Mike Espy, plugging Morgan & Morgan, a personal injury law firm with an office in Jackson, Mississippi. Curiously, I don't know if Espy is an attorney with the firm, his website makes no mention of Moran & Morgan.In addition to being the first African American agriculture secretary, Espy stands out because the Mississippian received a cabinet position that is traditionally viewed as a province of Midwesterners, despite the Magnolia State being major farm state.
He is probably the only cabinet member to have a son play in the National Football League. His son, also named Mike Espy, is a former wide receiver for the Washington Redskins.
But the senior Espy's claim to notoriety is his 1997 indictment for accepting gifts illegal gifts while serving in the Bill Clinton cabinet. One year later he was found innocent of all charges.
But a cloud hangs over Espy. Before his trial, Tyson Foods' Donald Tyson pleaded guilty to making illegal gifts to Espy. A year earlier, California growers' cooperative Sun-Diamond was found guilty of similar charges involving the former agriculture secretary.
More recently, Espy made news when he made the unusual move of endorsing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's eventually successful reelection bid last year. Espy of course is a Democrat, Barbour is a Republican.
Next: Mound Bayou, a town founded by freed slaves
Morgan & Morgan -- "For The People" is a personal injury law firm with its roots in Florida founded by Floridian John Morgan, a man I met at a political fundraiser some years ago. He's well connected politically here in the Sunshine State.
ReplyDeleteFlorida Trend magazine did a profile piece on him some time back. Son of alcoholics, he raised his brothers and sisters, who weren't much older than he was. It's a fascinating story.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6381/is_200312/ai_n25916998
He's a self starter who caught flack from Florida conservatives for his stand on gay marriage:
floridaconservatives.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/morgan-morgan-law-firm-funds-anti-marriage-homosexual-efforts/
He is a savvy marketing genius who early on figured out a way to capitalize on ambulance chasing! He doesn't do courtroom work, preferring to build his business. Morgan & Morgan is a heavy advertiser in the Orlando area, and his name is ubiquitous.
He's also partnered with his former college roommate (a Space Coast resident whose home was where Morgan and I met) on a unique tourist attraction on Orlando's International Drive, a tourist haven alternative to DisneyWorld.