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Justice The last time I saw her, Doris Ford appeared to be a living and breathing example of what happens to FBI informants. For those unfamiliar with the custom, the FBI tradition of dealing with informants is as follows: (1. - Use; (2. - Burn; (3. - Forget. Ford was on the verge of being homeless a few weeks ago. She said those who coached her and took whatever she could offer don't know her any more. She is one person against the system, fighting to her last breath to stay alive and tell her tale. Ford's life as an informant for 10 years in Hartford is documented in 119 pages of FBI reports. One hundred, nineteen pages of FBI 302's usually mean something is going on. Other documents say she received limited immunity to testify before a grand jury. Is she a casualty of the Gods of the Back Room Deals, a hustler whose luck has run out or a tragic figure whose tale is emblematic of the way race and class play out in our capital city? She is all of these things in proportions that are hard to calculate. Ford emerged as a public figure in 1998 when the story broke that Hartford businessman Arthur Anderson paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars. Anderson had served as the chairman of the Capitol City Economic Development Authority, charged with revitalizing Hartford. He also owns the largest condominium management firm in New England which, among other things, manages housing for poor people. Now, Ford is fighting foreclosure of the Avon house she bought largely with money from Anderson. Superior Court Referee Judge Robert Satter early last month refused to hear Ford's complaint about alleged fraud by a lawyer involved in the foreclosure proceedings. Ford, however, filed a motion pro se for a new hearing on Sept. 30. She claims she was cheated out of potential sale money. Her complaints to the U.S. Attorney and the FBI have gone unanswered. The Ford-Anderson relationship dates back to the 1970's when she fled an abusive marriage and was living in a Hartford shelter. Anderson, Ford said, became her benefactor and her tormentor. She testified before a grand jury about Anderson allegedly raping her. Anderson himself has repeated the claim while denying it. A federal lawsuit claiming Anderson forced her to become a "telephone sex slave" was dismissed in 2000. Still, in the 1990's the FBI wired Ford for conversations with Anderson and others. "They asked me to become a confidential source," Ford said. "This was a way to get free from Anderson." As for the money she received: "I was working with the feds. I was getting the money they told me to get. FBI agents told me to do what Anderson wanted. This house was purchased under the eyes of the federal government." Another aspect of the grand jury investigation, Ford said, focused on a downtown apartment building with a suite where politicians were serviced by high-class call girls. In a city where some people are indicted for accepting finder's fees to secure government work while others get richer and more powerful doing the same, Ford's story has some plausible elements. Ford, 57, says she is being discredited and driven out of business because she is black and she knows too much. Buildings she owned in Hartford were vandalized or set on fire. She said she only received a small portion of the insurance payments. With her current financial problems, she has difficulty getting work as a housing specialist. "This house situation," Ford said, "is payback for what I told about Anderson -- and the judges are going along with it. My goal is to keep my house and tell my story." |