NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Cade Cothren, the former chief of staff to ousted Speaker Glen Casada, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison, a year of probation and a $25,000 fine. It stems from his involvement in a state mailing scheme that involved fake identities.
Earlier this year, a jury convicted Cothren and his former boss, Glen Casada, on multiple counts of honest wire fraud and money laundering.
The sentencing hearing for former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada has been pushed back because the sentencing for his longtime aide Cade Cothren took much longer than expected.
Prosecutors wanted at least a 5 year prison sentence for Cothren. Cothren's attorneys asked for no prison time. Judge Eli Richardson split the difference, saying this case was not an exceedingly egregious fraud case but that it also "fed cynicism of the state house" and "needed to be a warning to others in state politics."
We also heard testimony from Marilyn Calfee, the wife of former state Rep. Kent Calfee. Kent couldn’t attend due to his battle with Parkinson’s, but his wife testified about Cade's good character.
When questioned about Cade's questionable behavior back in 2019 — like drug use and racist text messages - as first uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates — Marilyn testified it did not diminish her view of who he is.
RELATED: New text messages detail drug use, vulgar talk by Speaker's chief of staff
Former Speaker Glen Casada's sentencing will take place on September 23rd.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at chris.davis@newschannel5.com.
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