This Sen. John Ford political soap opera just gets better and better all the time...

He's already facing a possible ethics investigation. Now, what our NewsChannel 5 investigation has uncovered about state Sen. John Ford may just take the cake -- in this case, a wedding cake. It involves thousands of dollars in questionable spending.
...
Yet, campaign financial disclosure reports filed by Ford shows the two non-working women in the senator's life pulled in thousands of dollars from his campaign account -- money contributed by special interests and other political supporters.

"It's very clear about the personal use of campaign funds -- the law specifically says you cannot use campaign funds for personal benefit," says Drew Rawlins, executive director of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. The agency regulates campaign spending.

But, in the last two years -- years when the Memphis Democrat wasn't up for re-election -- his girlfriend Connie Matthews pulled in payments totaling $18,400 for "professional services."

"Any idea what professional services would mean?" NewsChannel 5's chief investigative reporter Phil Williams asks Rawlins.

"It could be anything," he replies. "It could be work done on his campaign. It could be that she worked in his district."

There's also a payment to ex-wife Tamara Mitchell Ford of $2,450 in 2004. In addition, his reports show:

* $400 to "D Smith" of Raleigh, North Carolina in 2003. Ford pays child support to a Dana Smith in Raleigh.
* just under $11,000 to Karen Michelle Snell in 2002-2004. (Of that, $9,440 was in 2003-2004.) Snell is a former Ford assistant who was once involved in a brawl with his ex-wife.
* $3,000 to Kemba and Autumn Ford in 2003-2004. They are adult daughters from yet another relationship.

All for "professional services."

"It's hard to know if something was personal or not personal when somebody's doing an expenditure," Rawlins says. "It could go either way."

But that's not all.

Two years ago, one of the senator's daughters, Autumn, got married. And the father of the bride opened up his campaign's wallet.

The reception was held at Memphis's elegant Peabody Hotel, inside the beautiful Continental Ballroom.

Ford's campaign paid the Peabody $9,000 dollars in 2003 for "reception, professional services" and "entertainment."

The hotel declined to comment on any of the arrangements or method of payment.

Entertaining at the reception: Larry Dodson from the legendary Memphis group, the Barkays.

Ford's campaign paid Dodson $1,500. The "entertainment expense," Dodson confirms, was for the wedding reception.

And, to capture the memories, the daughter hired Awesome Wedding Videos

But on Ford's campaign report, the word "wedding" disappears from the company's name -- as does $875 dollars from Ford's campaign account for "professional services."

Ford also spent $2,000 in campaign funds with Grand Events -- the company that confirms it provided linens and other decorations for the wedding -- plus $2,000 for a florist, Holliday Flowers.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates:Ford Campaign Pays Women, Wedding Expenses