Jury convicts ex-Tennessee House speaker and his aide in legislative mail scheme
The current House speaker, Cameron Sexton, had been held out as a star witness but ultimately did not testify. He has said he helped authorities in the case against his predecessor since taking the speaker job in 2019. Sexton was among the lawmakers and staffers who testified to the grand jury.
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The defense sought to draw attention to a political rivalry between Casada and Sexton. Ultimately, the defense declined to call any witnesses. Neither Casada nor Cothren testified. And defense attempts to discuss in front of jurors whether Sexton wore a wire were shut down by the judge.
On Friday, the federal jury in Nashville found the pair guilty of numerous charges including theft, bribery, kickbacks, use of a fictitious name to carry out fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Casada was found not guilty on two of six counts of wire fraud.
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Casada resigned as House speaker in 2019 after a no-confidence vote from fellow House Republicans due to swirling scandals, including revelations he exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women years ago with Cothren. Not long before that, Cothren also left his post over those texts and racist texts, coupled with an admission he used cocaine inside a legislative office building when he held a previous job.
The criminal charges center on a time after the pair's political freefall, while Casada was still a sitting lawmaker. The charges claim Cothren launched Phoenix Solutions with the knowledge and support of Casada and then-Rep. Robin Smith.
The trio claimed the firm was run by a 'Matthew Phoenix,' and companies controlled by Casada and Smith received roughly $52,000 in taxpayer money in 2020 from a mailer program for lawmakers. A 'Matthew Phoenix' signature ended up on an IRS tax document. A supposed Matthew Phoenix associate named Candice was portrayed by Casada's then-girlfriend, prosecutors said.
Casada and Cothren were indicted in 2022 after Smith resigned and pleaded guilty to one charge. Smith testified at the trial that the goal of the scheme was to hide who was behind Phoenix Solutions due to the 'radioactive' scandal that pushed Casada and Cothren out of power. The taxpayer-funded mailings for House Republicans were a first step to expand later to campaign work, she said.
Defense attorneys noted the state got the mailings it paid for. They tried to paint Smith as untrustworthy and driven by hopes for a lenient sentence under her plea deal.
Casada remained a state representative until 2022, when he didn't seek reelection.
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