In a significant development following the sentencing of his former aide, Glen Casada, the ex-Speaker of the Tennessee House, has been handed a 36-month prison sentence by federal authorities, as reported by WKRN. This ruling comes in the wake of an indictment that was issued in 2022, which charged both Casada and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, with engaging in bribery and kickback schemes related to a fraudulent political consulting operation.
The legal troubles for Casada and Cothren culminated in a federal jury’s conviction of the pair in May, after which their request for a retrial was denied. Prosecutors outlined that the illicit activities began in 2019, when the duo allegedly utilized a company named Phoenix Solutions to mislead lawmakers and state officials, thereby securing state funds through deceptive practices. It was claimed that Cothren directed kickbacks to Casada in return for legislative backing and the approval of various invoices.
Casada’s political career faced turbulence in 2019 when he resigned from his position as House Speaker amid a different scandal. The situation escalated further when the FBI executed search warrants at both his and Cothren’s residences in January 2021. Notably, Casada’s sentence exceeds that of Cothren by six months, marking a significant moment in this ongoing legal saga.