Not really a radio story, but it's amazing to me nonetheless.

We don't yet know the verdict in the ongoing Jussie Smollett case in Chicago, but the evidence against him would seem to be overwhelming. So if he came to you amidst the accusations and notoriety against him - and a possible three year jail sentence -  and asked you to finance him in a new movie and TV show, would you hand over the money?

Incredibly, someone did. And he's an old radio man. Tom Wilson worked for many of the big stations in Cleveland, including powerhouse WTAM 1100. He now owns a smaller one in the city, but he's been a friend of the accused for many years. So he put up at least 200-grand to back him in a movie and continues to pour money into developing a proposed TV show starring the disgraced Empire star. 

That's either an amazing friendship or incredible stupidity - or both. Whatever the outcome of the trial, Smollett's rep is dead, and it will take him eons to come out from under the stench of this case - if it ever does.

It's one thing to throw your own career away. It's quite another to take one of your best friends with you. 

Quite an astounding story. 

Amid Legal Jeopardy, Jussie Smollett Is Shopping New Projects