Former Tennessee Speaker And His Chief Of Staff Plead Not Guilty To 20 Federal Charges
Photo Credit: Glen Casada / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Glen Casada, former Tennessee House Speaker, and Cade Cothren who once worked as his chief of staff entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday in front of a U.S. magistrate after being arrested by FBI agents that morning.
A federal grand jury in Nashville indicted the pair on 20 federal charges involving bribery, kickbacks, theft from programs receiving federal funds, honest services wire fraud, using a fictitious name to carry out a fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The federal government is seeking to recover all proceeds of the crimes and if found guilty, both men could face up to 20 years in prison.
The charges are related to the operation of Phoenix Solutions, a bogus campaign vendor that conducted a number of non-legislative tasks for several Republican lawmakers, bringing in over $230,000 from the House Republican Caucus. Reports from lawmakers who utilized services from Phoenix Solutions state that they were told by Cothren and Representative Robin Smith to make payments to the company.
Smith pleaded guilty earlier this year to honest services wire fraud for her alleged involvement in the scheme. As part of a plea deal, Smith promised to cooperate with federal investigators.
Casada is retiring from the Tennessee General Assembly this year after forfeiting his role as speaker of the house in 2019 amid a scandal that involved Cothren. He chose to run for Williamson County Clerk but lost his bid for the position in an overwhelming defeat.
The indictments come after an investigation that has spanned many months. The FBI raided the homes and offices of Casada and Smith at the beginning of the year. This March, several Republican legislators, having had business dealings with Casada or Smith or who had knowledge about what had transpired, appeared before a federal grand jury in Nashville. Speaker Cameron Sexton was among those who testified, and his office has cooperated with federal investigators.
In a tweet, Sexton issued a statement about the arrests and charges made against Casada and Cothren.
“In Tennessee, we will not tolerate public corruption, defrauding our state, or bribery at any level. I commend the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its hard work, diligence, and dedication that resulted in this morning’s arrests,” said Sexton. “As I have previously stated on several occasions, shortly after becoming speaker in 2019, I began assisting the federal authorities during and throughout their investigation — including leading up to today’s indictments, and I will continue to do so if a trial is needed,” Sexton tweeted.
Sexton maintains that the General Assembly has taken action over the last two years to pass laws strengthening campaign finance regulations and new ethics laws for elected officials and staff.
Casada remained masked and said nothing to reporters while exiting the courthouse after the initial hearing on Tuesday. Cothren addressed them with a quick statement as he entered a waiting car. “The truth will come out.”
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
In reading the material on this crime of the century I continue to miss something that perhaps others can explain. Members of the House needed mailings and other services to be performed. Pheonix Solutions performed those tasks. Was it a big deal that Smith and Casada got sort of a finders fee for promoting Pheonix Solutions? OK perhaps the letter of some laws were broken but is this the sort of thing that should be punished by a sentence of 20 years? Of course, Republicans are involved so that’s precisely the sentence that will be imposed on each defendant.