No one was all that surprised when federal agents showed up to arrest Glen Casada last week in Franklin.
What was surprising, at least from 30,000 feet up, was what he went down for. Casada was arrested and charged with 20 counts of bribery, wire fraud, theft and money laundering related to a fraudulent company he and his former top aide, Cade Cothren, allegedly set up after Casada resigned as speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2019.
The duo — plus co-conspirator Robin Smith, a House Republican who was indicted and resigned earlier this year — are accused of establishing Phoenix Solutions, with Cothren acting as a made-up figurehead named Matthew Phoenix, in an elaborate ruse to capture some of the thousands of dollars spent by lawmakers on constituent mail. In a Caponian twist, the alleged crimes were mundane when compared to the myriad crimes and colorful ethical lapses Casada had been accused of prior to his downfall.
It wasn’t (allegedly) trying to bribe a National Guard colonel with the promise of promotion to general on the House floor. It wasn’t (allegedly) bugging the legislative office building. Or (allegedly) setting up a slush fund to buy off lawmakers with pet projects. Not for his liberal use of the state plane, either. It wasn’t even the tawdry scandal that led to the end of his term as speaker but not his arrest.
Now Casada and Cothren, who both pleaded not guilty in initial appearances, face a scheduled Oct. 25 trial and up to 20 years in prison.
For a pair whose careers were torpedoed by unprofessional, racist and sexist text messages, they didn’t seem to learn their lesson. In 2019, months after both stepped down after their lewd texts to one another were published, they were texting again, this time in an effort to make sure that their new company couldn’t be traced to them.
“We just have to make sure no one knows it’s me involved,” Cothren wrote to Casada, according to court filings.
“Just remember that you have zero connection to it and don’t even know that much,” Cothren advised Casada.
They had to disguise the company because of the toxic reputation Cothren had garnered during their brief time running the House together, and because lawmakers are not allowed to seek caucus business for their own benefit.
Casada’s fall was rapid and noisy. He had spent nearly two decades working his way up the ladder in the House, falling short in a speaker bid in 2011 before finally achieving the top prize in 2019. He ascended from the Williamson County Commission to one of the most powerful positions in the state, but it didn’t last long. Though Republicans dominate the state legislature, and he had won their support, the snowballing scandals and his reported strong-arming of fellow GOP members were enough to ensure that his own party gave him the boot.
The tainted Casada decided to stick around in the House, easily winning reelection in 2020 despite all the noise. But he opted to leave the House this year and instead sought a Williamson County clerk position, for which he was badly beaten in the GOP primary earlier this year.
It feels like we’ve reached the end credits for Glen Casada’s career. But as Cothren said to reporters on his way out of court last week, “The truth will come out.”
