NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Casada-Cothren public corruption trial has been ongoing, and NewsChannel 5 has been there since day 1.
Former House Speaker Glen Casada, 65, and his aide Cade Cothren, 38, were charged in a multi-count indictment that accuses them of engaging in a bribery and kickback scheme in conjunction with a deal to provide state-funded constituent mailing services named Phoenix Solutions for members of the House Republican Caucus.
Prosecutors say the two men conspired together in a "scheme involving fraud, bribery, theft, and money laundering," in which they "leveraged elected office for private profit, while using lies and concealment as means to accomplish their criminal goals."
If convicted, each man faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Third week
Casada and Cothren are on trial for setting up a company, Phoenix Solutions, and using fake names to get lawmakers to use the company for their legislative mail work. Prosecutors allege Casada and Cothren needed to use fake names after a texting scandal, first uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
The judge ultimately decided to keep going.
Second week
The judge removed one of the counts of the indictment, making only 19 counts moving forward for Casada and Cothren. The two were originally charged with 20 counts.
Additionally, defense attorneys alleged that former state Rep. Robin Smith had been receiving hand signals and communication from her personal attorney, Ben Rose, in the gallery.
Smith rounded out the trio of Phoenix Solutions but agreed to a plea deal in exchange for helping the prosecution with the case.
Day 7
Cothren’s defense team tried to demonstrate that Phoenix Solutions did honest work for honest pay. They showed 16 different mailers they did for lawmakers. Smith confirmed she was proud of each of them.
"Was there anything illegal about you being a lawmaker doing constituent work?” asked Cynthia Sherwood, an attorney for Cothren.
"Illegality was us hiding our identities and deceiving our customers," Smith said.
Of course, it’ll ultimately be up to the jury whether that was illegal or just an unethical practice on Tennessee’s Capitol Hill.
Day 6
Smith was the third collaborator, along with Casada and Cothren, on their scheme to do mail work for legislators.
Smith told the jury about how they extensively tried to hide Casada and Cothren’s involvement in Phoenix Solutions, including using a fake name for Cothren: Matthew Phoenix.
Why all the secrecy?
At the time, Casada and Cothren still had “radioactive reputations” after a texting scandal, first uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
The prosecution revealed their desire to hide their involvement, which also included lying on their Tennessee Ethics Commission forms. Casada and Smith did not disclose they made money off of Phoenix Solutions as a part of their income while they were state lawmakers.
Day 5
Smith testified that in October 2019, she first met with Casada and Cothren at a Midtown bar and hatched the idea for Phoenix Solutions — the company to do mail work for politicians.
November 2019 text message from Cothren about using a fake name, Matthew Phoenix, read “using a registered agent is of course what allows us to mask identities.”
"To do any business with the state, we needed to mask their identities," Smith told the jurors.
Smith also testified that she and Casada would be paid based on how much business each of them brought to their company.
Day 4
State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin), returned to the witness stand, testifying that he never would have done business with a company providing mailing services for GOP lawmakers if he had known the company, Phoenix Solutions, was controlled by Cothren.
That's because of Cothren's role in a racist and sexist text messaging scandal first uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
Also testifying was former legislative administrator Connie Ridley.
Inside the courtroom, Ridley testified that the company submitted a tax document to get paid that was signed "under penalty of perjury" by a "Matthew Phoenix."
Ridley testified that her office confirmed Cothren's involvement by finding his signature on the backs of checks that had been written to Phoenix Solutions.
"If I had known that Mr. Cothren was the person behind Phoenix Solutions, I would not have approved them as a state vendor," Ridley said. "I did not have any confidence in Mr. Cothren and his decision-making and judgment."
Day 3
Taylor Phillips, the lead federal prosecutor, began his opening statement with this.
“This is a case about powerful politicians and how they used their influence to line their pockets.”
Joy Longnecker, an attorney for Cade Cothren didn't dispute that Cothren used a fake name, but argued in her opening statement that he needed the fake name due to all the media coverage of a texting scandal first unearthed by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
“Cade may be a sinner, but he's not a criminal," she said.
Day 2
The personal bank records for Cade Cothren were declared to not be used as part of a public corruption trial against the duo.
“It’s undisputed that Cade Cothren ran Phoenix Solutions and made money off of it. Normal expenditures are not relevant to the trial," Judge Eli Richardson said.
However, the prosecution wanted to show that Cothren's lifestyle changed based off the money they made, which was about $50,000.
Day 1
It was revealed that Casada was offered a plea deal but declined it.
"Did you decide not to take the offer?" Judge Richardson asked Casada.
"Yes, your honor," Casada replied.
There was no mention of a plea for Cothren.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email chris.davis@newschannel5.com.
Happy Birthday to the YMCA of Middle TN. They just celebrated their 150th anniversary! A lot has changed with the Y over the years. I have personally seen some of that firsthand when I was a long-time board member at the Northwest Family Y and part of their Black Achievers Program. Forrest Sanders has a look back.
- Lelan Statom
