6. The Sting

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: The Unforgotten

Episode 6: The Sting – Season 1, The Labor Day Ghost
Original Release: August 5, 2024
Created by: Free Range Productions
Hosts: Wes Ferguson & Carol Dawson

---

Main Theme

This episode, “The Sting,” uncovers the dramatic downfall of East Texas District Attorney E. Ray Andrews in the summer of 1994. In the midst of preparing the murder case against Jerry Mack Watkins—accused of killing his wife, Shelly—Andrews becomes entangled in a million-dollar bribery scheme. The episode reveals how the corrosive mix of addiction, corruption, and desperate deals brought down the district attorney and derailed the murder investigation, ultimately letting the primary suspect walk free.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to E. Ray Andrews (00:03 – 01:42)

• Jeffrey Millslegel, a retired FBI special agent, recounts his long-standing relationship with E. Ray Andrews, whom he knew as a defense attorney before Andrews became District Attorney (DA) in Athens, Texas.

  • “He was just a character. He's an East Texas character. He was elected DA and he won by a lot. I mean, there were yard signs everywhere. E. Ray for DA—that was a slogan.” (00:55, A)

• Millslegel’s law enforcement contacts, including Sheriff Slick Alford, always believed Andrews was destined for trouble.

  • “He's going to mess up. I knew it was going to happen. We all knew.” (01:27, A)

2. Downfall of E. Ray Andrews (02:36 – 09:14)

• By 1994, Andrews’ life had unraveled due to gambling debts, alcohol, and pill addiction.

  • “He was deep in gambling debt, drinking heavily, abusing prescription pills. I think it was Valium. That just got him hooked, and he couldn't afford that.” (02:36, D; 02:52, A)

• Under investigation for abusing his office and living at the Athens Country Club, Andrews concocts a plan to take a bribe from Jerry Mack Watkins to dismiss the murder indictment.

  • “What if he sabotaged the case, get the indictment dismissed? His price? A million dollars.” (04:02, D)

3. The Bribery Scheme Unfolds (09:14 – 15:49)

• Scoob Wagner, a rodeo cowboy and Andrews’ gambling buddy, acts as middleman but doesn’t know Jerry Mack personally, so he involves John Ward, a local computer repairman.
• John Ward approaches Jerry Mack Watkins with the proposal: indictment disappears for $500,000; later, the price drops to $300,000.
• Instead of succumbing, Jerry Mack and his lawyers report the scheme to Texas Ranger Ray Nutt (who was investigating him for his wife’s murder), flipping the script on Andrews.

4. The FBI Sting Operation (10:00 – 14:13)

• The FBI wires Jerry Mack and records his communications arranging the bribe.

  • “With the FBI recording his calls, Jerry Mack phones John Ward. The price to dismiss the case has now fallen to $300,000. Cash only.” (10:00, D)

• A dramatic, almost slapstick arrest occurs during the cash handover in a grocery store parking lot. John Ward, the intermediary, soils himself in fear as the FBI agents pounce.

  • “He had an accident. It was like, oh, my God, what are we gonna do?… That ranked at the top. I was like, oh, my God, what in the hell are we going to do now?” (12:34–12:57, A)

• Despite chaos, the operation succeeds and Ward quickly cooperates. They move on to Scoob Wagner, who also folds under pressure and agrees to make a call to Andrews.

5. Confronting E. Ray Andrews (15:40 – 17:20)

• When Scoob calls Andrews with the "cash," Andrews tries to backpedal, feigning confusion and denying involvement.

  • “Eray's like, what are you doing now? What do I do with $300,000? So he kind of played dumb. Kind of like, get out of here. Put it back in the bank.” (15:49, A)

• Meanwhile, Andrews is negotiating his resignation with the Texas Attorney General, timed to coincide conveniently with Jerry Mack's trial date.

• FBI raids the DA’s office, with Assistant DA Mike Head and Donna Bennett discovering just how deep the scandal ran.

  • “Well, quite honestly, when I really found out was when the FBI raided the DA's office...I thought E. Ray was just drinking too much and was going to resign. At that point, we obviously knew there was more to the story.” (17:27, E)

6. The Arrest and Confession (19:23 – 21:16)

• Andrews is found at his apartment, disheveled and hungover. He is barely coherent and gives a partial confession.

  • “He was totally disheveled. He was extremely hungover...He gave a quasi confession as best he could that day.” (19:23–20:06, A)

• He is arrested and begins withdrawal in jail, requiring hospitalization for detox symptoms.

7. Wider Corruption Exposed (21:16 – 24:19)

• The sting exposes years of corrupt practices, from shakedowns of his own employees to payoffs from DWI defendants and bankers.

  • “You want your money? Go cash it and bring me half back or whatever.” (22:37, A)

• The damage to the DA’s office morale and careers is evident; investigator Todd West is particularly devastated by the betrayal.

8. Fallout: The Tainted Murder Case (24:19 – 30:02)

• Discussion about the true mastermind—everyone agrees it was E. Ray, not the middlemen or defense attorneys.

  • “Had to be E. Ray.” (24:56, A)

• Jerry Mack’s prosecution is irreparably tainted. Defense files to dismiss due to prosecutorial misconduct, and DA’s office does not oppose.

  • “The indictment was indelibly tainted by the presence, conduct, motive, and influence of E. Ray Andrews.” (28:19, D)

• On August 26, 1994, the murder indictment against Jerry Mack Watkins is dismissed. Andrews goes to jail, while Jerry Mack goes free.

  • “On August 26, 1994...Jerry Mack's indictment in the killing of his wife, Shelly Salter Watkins, was dismissed.” (29:34–29:50, D)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He's going to mess up. I knew it was going to happen. We all knew.” — Jeff Millslegel (01:27)
• “What if he sabotaged the case, get the indictment dismissed? His price? A million dollars.” — Host (04:02)
• “With the FBI recording his calls, Jerry Mack phones John Ward. The price to dismiss the case has now fallen to $300,000. Cash only.” — Host (10:00)
• “He had an accident...That ranked at the top. I was like, oh, my God, what in the hell are we going to do now?” — Jeff Millslegel, after John Ward soils himself during the bust (12:34–12:57)
• “We thought E. Ray was just kind of lost interest in the job and was going to resign. But then when they ran in, well, then we realized there was much more going on.” — Mike Head (18:10)
• “My gut feeling is he [Jerry Mack] did it. And I always thought kind of that he got drunk, she got drunk, it got volatile, and maybe it was an accident.” — Jeff Millslegel (26:16)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:03 — Jeff Millslegel introduces his knowledge of E. Ray Andrews
• 02:36 — The unraveling of Andrews’ life and addictions
• 04:02 — The bribery proposal: $1 million to dismiss murder indictment
• 09:14 — The role of the middlemen: Scoob Wagner and John Ward
• 10:00 — FBI stings are set in motion; price drops to $300,000
• 12:34 — FBI raid and the infamous "poopy pants" arrest
• 15:49 — Scoob calls Andrews with the cash; Andrews backs off
• 17:27 — DA’s office raided; Assistant DAs blindsided
• 19:23 — Arrest/interview/confession of E. Ray Andrews
• 21:42 — Financial shakedowns and corruption uncovered
• 28:19 — Jerry Mack’s murder prosecution is dismissed due to taint
• 29:50 — Case officially dismissed in court

---

Tone and Style

Maintains a gritty realism and dark humor, especially in recounting the chaos and human foibles of the sting operation. The hosts and interviewees deliver details with frankness, irony, and a wry eye toward the absurdities and failures of institutions involved.

---

Conclusion

Episode 6, “The Sting,” stands out as a gripping tale of a DA's spectacular self-destruction—the result of small-town vices compounding into career-ending crimes. The collateral damage is immense: a murder case thrown out, public faith shaken, and a prime suspect walking away untried. The episode leaves listeners questioning not only the guilt of Jerry Mack Watkins but also the capacity of justice when its adversaries come from within.

---

Transcript

[A]

So you guys want to know about E. Ray Andrews and how I know E. Ray?

[B]

Yes, sir.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

Okay. I knew him as a defense attorney for years.

[B]

This is Jeff.

[A]

My name is Jeffrey Millslegel.

[B]

He's a retired FBI special agent in East Texas.

[A]

Born and raised in California on the ocean. Got here in 1985 with the FBI after law school, and they said, you can go to Amarillo or Tyler. I said, I've been to Amarillo. Last week. It was 2 degrees and no trees. Where's Tyler?

[B]

If you're not familiar with Texas towns, and let's face it, there are more of those than any of us can keep track of, Tyler is the largest city in East Texas. It's where the federal courthouse is. When E. Ray Andrews was a defense attorney in Athens, he often drove over to Tyler, less than 40 miles east to try federal cases.

[A]

He represented a number of defendants, white collar and otherwise, in federal cases. We knew he drank a little bit, he did a good job, and he was smart. I liked the guy. I mean, he was just a character. He's an East Texas character. He was elected DA and he won by a lot. I mean, there were yard signs everywhere. E. Ray for DA that was a slogan. And the then sheriff was a real good friend of mine. He's deceased now. Slick Alford, former Texas Ranger Sheriff. And he called me up and said, oh, my God, E. Ray is now our DA and sent me a sign that said, E. Ray for DA Kind of as a joke, but he said, he's going to mess up. I knew it was going to happen. We all knew. And I was in the office one day, and Slick Alfred called me and said, we got him. Get over here.

[B]

Can we take a moment and just acknowledge that Slick Alfred is a pretty smooth name for a Texas sheriff. Anyway, Slick's been waiting two long years for E. Ray's extralegal shenanigans to catch up to him. But it happens at the worst possible time. E. Ray's office is right in the middle of preparing its murder case against Jerry Mack Watkins. In the death of Jerry Mack's wife, Shelly. The trial date is a month away, and the FBI is coming to town. My name is Wes Ferguson, and I'm Carol Dawson.

[D]

You're listening to the unforgotten. Season 1, the Labor Day Ghost Chapter.

[B]

6 the sting.

[D]

In the summer of 1994 in the small town of Athens, Texas, District Attorney E. Ray Andrews life was in shambles. He was deep in gambling debt, drinking heavily, abusing prescription pills.

[A]

I think it was Valium. That just got him hooked, and he couldn't afford that.

[D]

And to make matters worse, he was being investigated by the Texas Attorney General's office. For crimes related to drunken driving and abusing his office. By this time, E. Ray had moved out of his house on Cedar Creek Reservoir. And was living in apartment four at the Athens Country Club. A convenient spot that catered to E. Ray's most pronounced vices. Wild turkey whiskey and high stakes gambling. In the country club game room. On a July Saturday night in the game room, E. Ray was playing dominoes with his friend. A rodeo cowboy in his early 30s named Scoob Wagner.

[A]

Scoob Wagner. He was just a kid who had some money and liked to play golf and drink.

[D]

Scoob and E. Ray end up playing dominoes all night. The game doesn't break up until 4:30 the next morning. Instead of hitting the sack, they go for a drive before dawn. According to an FBI affidavit. This is the moment E. Ray takes all the little schemes he's been running. The petty graft, the payoffs to erase DWI cases and other shifty behavior. And he raises the stakes. E. Ray brings up the name Jerry Mack Watkins. The rich businessman from Corsicana who's accused of killing his wife, Shelly. Jerry Mack's murder trial is looming. E. Ray floats an idea. What if he sabotaged the case, get the indictment dismissed? His price? A million dollars. Again, this is all from the FBI affidavit. It's obviously Scoob's version of events.

[A]

Not erase at this country club. Over a few wild turkeys and some other stuff. These knuckleheads got together and. And said, this guy's got money. E. Ray will take a bribe. He'll dismiss the case.

[D]

Scoob is skeptical. A million dollars is a lot of money. He's not sure Jerry Mack would go for it. E. Ray responds that Jerry Mack has a lot of money. And E. Ray is in the worst financial shape of his life. The Attorney General's investigation is bearing down. He's got nothing to lose. For the next day or two, after their all night domino game, Scoob thought about E. Ray's proposition. If Jerry Mack could be persuaded to hand over some of his cash to E. Ray. Then E. Ray would be able to pay off a debt he owes Scoob. According to that same FBI affidavit. E. Ray had borrowed $9,000 from Scoob more than two years earlier. And he'd never reimbursed him. Eventually, Scoob talked himself into helping out with E. Ray's bribery scheme. Problem is, Scoob didn't know Jerry Mack. He was a middleman in need of another middleman. Luckily, Scoob knew another guy from the local rodeo scene named John Ward. And John Ward knew Jerry Mack. John owned a small business called Athens Computer Service.

[A]

Ward was his name. He was the computer guy over there.

[B]

We're not entirely sure how well John Ward and Jerry Mack knew each other. When we called John, he declined to speak with us. Jerry Mack has not responded to requests for an interview. Anyway, on July 12, 1994, John Ward leaves a message at Jerry Mack's company, Watkins Construction. Jerry Mack calls him back. They agree to meet in person. The two men are driving to lunch when John tells Jerry Mack to drive past the restaurant. According to the FBI, John Ward then informs Jerry Mack that Henderson County District Attorney E. Ray Andrews could make Jerry Mack's indictment go away just like that. For $500,000. This is half of the 1 million E. Ray originally wanted. But it's still quite the windfall. E. Ray would also destroy evidence to ensure that Jerry Mack couldn't simply be re indicted once the next district Attorney took office. The only catch, Jerry Mack needed to pay up fast. With the Attorney General breathing down his neck, E. Ray expected to be indicted or forced to resign as district Attorney in just two weeks time. John Ward and Jerry Mack have lunch together. Then John gives Jerry Mack his business card. He says, let me know if E. Ray's price is too steep. What is Jerry Mack supposed to do at this point? Pay the bribe? He talks to his lawyers, and they turn the tables. Four days after his lunch with John Ward, Jerry Mack and his attorneys report the bribery solicitation to a Texas Ranger named Ray Nutt. Remarkably the same Texas Ranger who'd spent the past year almost investigating Jerry Mack for the death of his wife Shelly. And just like that, Ray Nutt the investigator, and Jerry Mack the suspect find themselves on the same team. Because they're gonna take down their common enemy. E. Ray Andrews. Rangernut apparently calls Sheriff Slick. Alfred. And Slick calls Jeff Milslagel with the FBI. He tells him the news they all knew was coming. Eventually, E. Ray messed up.

[A]

We got him. Get over here. So I went over, met the sheriff, was introduced to Jerry Mack Watkins, who was a indicted defendant for killing his wife, wrapping her up in a bunch of plastic and throwing her in the river. And it floated.

[D]

Jeff meets Jerry Mack at attorney Glenn Sod's private exotic deer ranch. The ranch is called the Refuge. It's located outside the Town of Currans between Athens and Corsicana. The lawyers tell Jeff that Jerry Mack will cooperate to bring down District Attorney E. Ray Andrews. On one condition. Under no circumstances is Jeff or any other member of law enforcement to ask Jerry Mack about the death of his wife Shelly.

[A]

We interviewed Jerry Mack at length. His lawyer said, don't talk about the murder case. Let's talk about this potential bribe. This was the first and only time in my life where somebody was indicted like a murder. And is involved in something else like this.

[D]

It's an unusual arrangement. Jeff has to call first and get permission from his higher up with the U.S. attorney's office. If he gets the okay, that means that the FBI will never be likely to investigate Shelly's death at all.

[A]

So we were all in. We would meet at Glenn's place over there. Where he had exotic deer everywhere off of Highway 31 outside of Athens. We started wiring up Jerry Mack Watkins.

[D]

With the FBI recording his calls, Jerry Mack phones John Ward. The price to dismiss the case has now fallen to $300,000. Cash only. No gold coins, which was an option they discussed before Jerry Mack and John Ward talked through all the arrangements to get the money over to E. Ray.

[A]

We did this over a number of days. We told him what to say with his lawyers right there. Because everything he said is recorded in his evidence.

[D]

Jerry Mack comes up with $300,000. All $100 bills to use as the fake bribe.

[A]

Jerry Mack calls him and says, I got the money.

[D]

Jerry Mack offers to pay John $100,000 up front. When the indictment is dismissed, he'll hand over the other 200. They arrange for the handoff to happen in the parking lot of the Food Fast grocery store. Everything is going according to plan. But FBI agent Jeff Millslagel is in for a surprise.

[A]

So we're posted in the parking lot with FBI agents. You sign for money. I don't have $300,000 if it goes south. So you're a little nervous anticipation. All right, what's going to happen? Is he going to be armed?

[B]

Jeff Millslagel is in the front seat. His fellow FBI agent Jeff Block and Texas Ranger Ray Nutt are in the back seat. Watching and waiting for the handoff to go down.

[A]

Once he had the money, the bag, we were going to grab him, put him on the ground and arrest him.

[B]

They watch as John Ward climbs into Jerry Mack's car in the Food Fast parking lot. Both men then exit the vehicle. Jerry Mack pops the trunk. And they remove an envelope, which Jeff calls the bag. With a hundred Thousand dollars inside for Jeff. It's go time.

[A]

I unlocked my door first. The problem was the guys were in the back seat. And I had always been taught always unlock the door. You know, as you go into a.

[B]

Situation, Jeff doesn't realize. FBI Agent Block and Ranger Nut are left behind, stuck in the car, fumbling with their locks.

[A]

I was the only one arresting John Ward. And the shock on my face when I got out and I pointed my gun at him. Get on the ground. FBI. And I don't have any backup. Those poor guys were locked in. And I looked around. Where are you guys?

[B]

Then Jeff notices the smell. A horrible smell. John pooped his pants.

[A]

He had an accident. It was like, oh, my God, what are we gonna do? He got three officers there. You got an arrested guy, and he has had an accident on himself. I think it was just in his shorts.

[C]

Can you describe your reaction when he had the accident?

[A]

Oh, it doesn't get any better than that. I've arrested a number of people over the years, and they'd all do stupid things, but that ranked at the top. And I was like, oh, my God, what in the hell are we going to do now? And so I'm there, and I handcuffed him, and we put him in the back seat.

[B]

Poor John Ward is handcuffed. Jeff's partner, FBI Special Agent Block, isn't thrilled either.

[A]

Block got mad at me. What do you get in with my car for? And so now what do you do with the guy?

[B]

Texas Ranger Ray Nutt suggested they drive John to a nearby high school gym where he could clean himself up.

[A]

We took him into the. To the bathroom. Had to unhandcuff him. But we cleaned him up and did that. And we said, all right, it's over. We gotcha. We want the next guy. We want Scub Wagner.

[B]

Did he fold like that pretty quick?

[A]

I. I think he was in shock.

[C]

And did you have a spare pair of pants?

[A]

No. Why would I have a spare pair of pants? No. Get rid of your shorts, buddy. Clean yourself up. Just threw them away and threw them away in the trash can. So, yeah, it's one of those. You're not going to believe this, boss.

[B]

Poopy pants aside, it had been a successful sting.

[A]

All right, we got him. He's going to cooperate. All right, Scoob Wagner, let's do it. And he called and said, I'll be right there.

[B]

Remember, John Ward was just the second middleman. His friend Scoob Wagoner was the first. The FBI agents are working their way up the ladder to the big prize, elected official, E. Ray Andrews.

[A]

We got permission to take the money from the U.S. attorney's office to Scoob Wagner's house. Called everybody on the phone. Said, here we go.

[B]

Scoob had a trailer and rodeo roping pin on the road to Athens.

[A]

It was kind of like a trailer house set back behind an old gas station that's no longer there.

[B]

John Ward shows up at Scoob's place. He's got the hundred thousand dollars in the envelope.

[A]

Scoob met him out front. John Ward gave him the money. The shock on his face when he sees all of us drive up as soon. So we wanted to make sure he had the bag. Possession of the bag, that was like the dope deal, if you will. And he grabbed it and his eyes got big around with saucers. I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about. And he denied, denied, denied. We had a come to Jesus meeting with him, that he needed to cooperate. I went and talked to him on the side and said, look, it's over with. This is not, you know, Henderson county where you can get a slap on the hand. Maybe this is the real deal. These are the feds. And Scoob finally says, all right, what do you want? I said, you willing to make a call to E. Ray? He agreed. We wired Scoob up.

[B]

Scoob calls E. Ray, says he's got the cash. Time to dismiss Jerry Mack's case. But E. Ray throws Scoob a curveball.

[A]

Eray's like, what are you doing now? What do I do with $300,000? So he kind of played dumb. Kind of like, get out of here. Put it back in the bank. He was in denial. It was kind of like the dog had been chasing cars all these years. And all of a sudden he caught the car.

[B]

All this is happening on August 3rd. About a week earlier, on July 25th, E. Ray had cut a deal with the office of the Texas Attorney General. Which had been investigating him for taking DWI payoffs and pilfering state funds. E. Ray had promised the Attorney General he would resign from office effective August 15th. Which just so happened to be the scheduled start date of Jerry Mack Watkins murder trial. An unusual coincidence. E. Ray tells Scoob he can't bury the case for Jerry Mack after all. Because he's not in charge anymore. His assistant District Attorney, Mike Head, has taken over the case Within a very.

[A]

Short period of time. We got a search warrant for the. The DA's office and certain people in DA's office were cooperating with us. We hit that morning, a bunch of agents from Dallas. We all divided up and went to different places. People started talking to us, the investigators. One of the assistant DAs, Donna Bennett, was very cooperative, who ultimately became his predecessor in the DA's office. She gave us the keys to the kingdom on all the files and stuff.

[B]

Mike Head says he was clueless about the extent of E. Ray's problems till that moment.

[E]

Well, quite honestly, when I really found out was when the FBI raided the DA's office. I mean, up until that point, I thought Eray was just drinking too much and was going to resign. At that point, we obviously knew there was more to the story. So I had a special agent Middleton introduce himself to me and sit across for me at my desk and tell me this was my one opportunity to talk to him and that I had better tell him the truth. And I was like, that's perfectly fine. I'll be glad to visit with you.

[B]

Are you just in shock? Are you intimidated? What's going through your mind?

[E]

Very intimidated and very surprised. We thought E. Ray was just kind of lost interest in the job and was going to resign. And Donna and I were kind of jockeying to see who would take over.

[B]

Donna is a fellow Assistant District Attorney, Donna Little Bennett.

[E]

And so there was a lot of kind of political intrigue going on in the office as far as that was concerned. But then when they ran in, well, then we realized there was much more going on. However, we had no idea what it was about. We found out a lot of our. From what we understood afterwards, our calls, and if we stopped by E. Ray's house to say hello to him or to drop something off, that a lot of that was actually on video, that they had him under surveillance was what we were told.

[B]

As you might expect, while the FBI is raiding the district attorney's office, the district attorney himself, E. Ray Andrews, is nowhere to be seen. He's back at his apartment at the country club, sleeping off another hangover.

[A]

Eray was not at work. We went and got him from his apartment where he was living in Athens and said, we know what's going on. We bring you to the office. And he turned white as a ghost. He was totally disheveled. He was extremely hungover. I mean, extremely hungover. You could smell alcohol on him. I didn't know how bad it was until later that day. So we brought him back to his office, interviewed him for hours. His office was a mess. You know, there was no order where they would think in a DA's office with files. You know, I've been to every DA's office here in East Texas over 26 years, and it was just. Just different, you know what I mean? He gave a quasi confession as best he could that day.

[B]

So he was so hungover.

[A]

Yes, he was just. He was a mess. Yes. And I found out later he was maybe had some prescription drugs mixed in with all of this.

[B]

E. Ray's quasi confession was enough to book him.

[A]

So we decided we gotta haul him out of here. So we got oral authority to arrest him at the spot. We arrested him, we put him in the Smith County Jail that night. I got a call from the jail. Get down here immediately. We're taking E. Ray to the hospital. He was going through withdrawals. He hadn't had anything in, you know, 28 hours, something like that. Oh, it was terrible. He was. He had the shakes. He had what they call it, the DTS or detox things. They were worried about, you know, is he going to. Is he going to die? He looked that bad. So he spent the night in the hospital. We finally got him to the. The federal court for his initial appearance. And then that's when the case kind of blew up for us. In a good way.

[D]

Having unraveled the bribery scheme, FBI agents began to uncover more and more about E. Ray and the hands he dipped into so many other pockets. The payoffs from DWI suspects, his questionable financial arrangement with the chairman of the First national bank, and the state funding that was supposed to go to his employees that he was apparently keeping to fund his addictions.

[A]

So Lavelle Layfield was the head of the bank over there. First national bank of Athens was the president. So we went and saw him and he basically threw us out of the office nicely. I told him he needed to get a lawyer. I'm not happy. We know that you paid E. Ray money. We know that you covered all of his hot checks, and we know you cashed checks when E. Ray would get money from the state to give for salaries to his employees.

[D]

One of the employees E. Ray deprived of money was his young investigator, Todd West.

[A]

He would have him cash it and say, if you want the money, you go cash that check, cross the street and bring me back cash.

[B]

Why would Todd give up his own bonus to give to E. Ray?

[A]

E. Ray said, I won't give it to you unless you give me a percentage of it. Oh, yes, it basically is a shakedown.

[B]

Shaking down his own employees.

[A]

Yes. You want your money? Go cash it and bring me half back or whatever.

[D]

The number was when the FBI raided the DA's office. It sounds like Todd was even more clueless than Mike had been.

[F]

Oh, yeah, like anybody, like, what the heck's going on? But, you know, they were pretty cool about it. I mean, the sheriff was there, slick. You know, he was there at the time. And he and I just sit there and talked in the lobby. We just shooting the breeze. And then they all went on.

[D]

Jeff wasn't done with Todd. He asked the young investigator to meet him in Jeff's FBI office in Tyler.

[A]

So Todd came in during the headlights look, and I said, we know what's going on. We want the truth. He said, let me drive around the loop, and I'll give you an answer. Well, the loops in Tyler's 22 miles long. He was back in five minutes. And he said, all right, here's what went down. And basically, when he got his bonus from the state, Eray said, here's the check. Take it over to Lavelle Layfield, cash it. Bring cash back to me. I recall it being between 3 and $5,000. So he. He ruined this kid's career legally. I felt bad for him. I really did. You could just see it. He was just distraught. Knew he was getting fired, and he said, I'll do whatever it needs to be done. I'm sure there were more people that we couldn't find. There was a lot of. Lot of arrests for DWI that never made it, if you will, even to grand jury. But we. We had had enough, you know what I mean? I wasn't going to go trace down, you know, 60 or 80 DWI guys. They're not going to admit it.

[C]

Jeff, once you met John Ward and Scoot Wagner, would you have thought that they could have come up with the scheme of bribery based on the legal knowledge that because there was no physical evidence, E. Ray would be in a position to dismiss the case should he choose to. Because there was only circumstantial evidence.

[A]

Correct. They were not the masterminds behind this. Okay? I mean, one guy was a computer guy, had a little, you know, mom and pop shop.

[C]

Who do you think the mastermind was?

[A]

Had to be E. Ray.

[C]

Just. You think it was E. Ray who came up with that? It was. You don't think it was somebody for the defense?

[A]

No, no, because we. We thought about, you know, why are they coming to us now? And I don't think Glenn and the other guys, they're sharp lawyers. They're not gonna risk their livelihood, you know, for Jerry Mack Watkins, you know, What I'm saying, and I don't think they even knew E. Ray that well.

[C]

Glenn knew him. Glenn went to law school.

[A]

Yeah, well, in that respect, yeah, but. But I don't think Glenn did a whole bunch of criminal stuff.

[C]

My recollection Glenn was a civil.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Of Jerry Mack's three lawyers. Jeff was not a fan of Glenn. Sod.

[A]

Glenn was a pain in the ass. I don't know, I just. It wasn't a good vibe. I got along with the other two guys great, but dealing with him was just a pain.

[D]

As for Jerry Mack, he didn't seem like such a bad guy.

[A]

We did not go into any details of the murder at all. We had to be real careful not to cross that line because, you know, hell, I wanted to know as an investigator. Look, dude, did you do this? I did on my own to take a look at who am I dealing with. And kind of a contractor slash salesman. Seemed like he had a lot of money, seemed sharp. I mean, seemed like a nice guy. My gut feeling is he did it. And I always thought kind of that he got drunk, she got drunk, it got volatile, and maybe it was an accident.

[D]

Whatever Jeff might have suspected about Jerry Mack, his investigation played right into the hands of Jerry Mack's clever defense attorney, Jack B. Zimmerman.

[A]

It was very limited to what we could discuss, and the U.S. attorney's office agreed with that.

[B]

Zimmerman really made hay of that.

[A]

You know, there's no way I would.

[B]

Have let my guy cooperate if he was guilty.

[A]

I understand what he's saying. Well, if I had a guilty client for murder, I'm not going to bring this thing up, you know, because maybe we'll dig a little harder, you know, maybe he'll say something off script, if you will, that he shouldn't.

[D]

He didn't. E. Ray was arrested on August 12, 1994. Jerry Mack's trial was scheduled to begin in just three days time when Shelley's body had been found in the river on the county line nearly one year earlier. And there were questions about which county had jurisdiction over the investigation. E. Ray was the one who'd enthusiastically taken the case. E. Ray was the case's champion. He'd pushed through the indictment of Jerry Mack. Here's Mike Head.

[E]

We were gearing up and getting ready to try. And then when everything came out about John Ward and Scoob Wagner and the fact that E. Ray had agreed to take the case initially when it could have gone to either Navarro or Henderson county, we felt like that was going to really undermined any evidence in the case, which the evidence was not overwhelming by any means, but we felt like it deserved a trial.

[D]

Amid E. Ray's downfall, the trial was postponed. Then Jerry Mack's lawyer, Jack Zimmerman, filed a motion to dismiss the case. He said the indictment was indelibly tainted by the presence, conduct, motive and and influence of E. Ray Andrews. Mike Head and his fellow prosecutor Donna Bennett did not oppose the motion.

[E]

But then once everything came out about E. Ray, it became a situation where it was better to dismiss the case without prejudice so that it could be refiled if new evidence came up than to have a trial and an acquittal. Where the primary issue then became, you know, was this case filed and prosecuted so that E. Ray could elicit a bribe to dismiss it, which we felt like was going to be their defense. Basically, at that point, we go through.

[A]

All of this business. Donna Bennett gets in there and then she's left with, what do you do with Jerry Mack Watkins? Because the evidence that I saw, I did look at the case and he was probably good for it.

[D]

On August 26, 1994, District Judge Jack Holland granted the motion filed by the defense. His order, Jerry Mack's indictment in the killing of his wife, Shelly Salter Watkins was dismissed.

[A]

You know, it was a good case. It was quick, down and dirty. Could we have explored more? Probably. But when you had all the top players, it was time to move on.

[D]

E. Ray Andrews went to jail and Jerry Mack Watkins went free.

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Thank you for listening to the Unforgotten. Get updates, photos, case files and more when you sign up for our [e-mail] the Unforgotten is a free range production. Season 1 the Labor Day Ghost is created, written and hosted by Carol Dawson and me, Wes Ferguson. I'm the executive producer here at Free Range. Audio recording, editing and mixing by Austin Sisler at Eastside Studios in Austin, Texas. Scored by Austin Sisler and Jamie Cummins. Our theme song, ghost, is written and performed by Corsicana's own Will Mechatron Jones. If you support our efforts to shine a new light on Shelly Watkins Cold Case, please like subscribe, give us a review and tell your friends thanks again and see you soon.

[A]

Sa.