Operation Rocky Top
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Operation Rocky Top was an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into political corruption in the Tennessee state government in the late 1980s.[1]
The code name for the investigation was derived from "Rocky Top", one of the state's official songs. Years later, another investigation of Tennessee public corruption was code-named Operation Tennessee Waltz, after another state song.
Investigation
Operation Rocky Top was launched in 1986 as an FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation undercover investigation into illegal activities in charity bingo, including the illegal sale of bingo licenses.
A first-year member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Randy McNally of Oak Ridge, became a secret participant in the investigation in 1986 after he reported to authorities that a bingo lobbyist had offered him bribes and had boasted about bribing other lawmakers. For the duration of the investigation McNally wore a wire and cultivated the trust of bingo lobbyists and other insiders so they would talk freely in front of him and offer him bribes. Ned McWherter, who was Speaker of the Tennessee House when the investigation began and who was elected Governor of Tennessee in 1986, also was praised by federal officials for cooperating with the investigation.[1]