Va. tobacco entrepreneur caught in growing political drama

(newsleader.com) RICHMOND — When Jonnie R. Williams believed he had discovered a way to make tobacco less harmful, the Virginia car salesman-turned-entrepreneur tried to sell his method to anyone who would listen.
Persistent phone calls to the nation’s top cigarette makers often started with the colorful venture capitalist, once dubbed a “super salesman” by a local newspaper, dropping names and promising the world.
“He knew anybody and everybody and they were all endorsing his idea,” said Chris Coggins, who ran the research and development department at Lorillard Tobacco Co. in the mid-1990s. “He very much is a hobnobber, that’s his raison d’être, if you like. … He was a salesman like you wouldn’t believe.” Continued