Marie Fajardo Ragghianti (born June 13, 1942)[1] is an American parole board administrator, famous as the whistleblower who exposed Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton's "clemency for cash" scandal in 1977-79.
[2] In 1971, at the age of 29, Ragghianti won a scholarship to Vanderbilt University,[3] and earned a Bachelor of Science in English Literature and Psychology (1975).
She was active in the Vanderbilt Young Democrats Club and caught the attention of newly elected governor Blanton's legal counsel, T. Edward "Eddie" Sisk.
[1] Ragghianti was responsible for a federal investigation of corruption in the Tennessee parole and pardon process that led to the conviction of the governor and two aides, and was the subject of the 1985 movie Marie.
Her attorney during the trial was Fred Thompson, who began his acting career portraying himself in the movie.