Tennessee's latest political scandal ends in shackles

Good morning, friends, this is Tennessean storytelling columnist Brad Schmitt.

Tennessee certainly has seen its share of major political scandals.

In January 1979, state lawmakers essentially staged a coup to get Republican Gov.-elect Lamar Alexander in office early because outgoing Gov. Ray Blanton, a Democrat, was being investigated for selling pardons to convicted murders.

In 1989, Operation Rocky Top took down several politicians — including state House Majority leader (and Democrat) Tommy Burnett— accused of corruption in the charity bingo arena. In 2005, Operation Tennessee Waltz took down seven state lawmakers from both parties on bribery charges.

Yesterday, a former state House Speaker, Republican Glen Casada, was indicted and arrested. In fact, Casada and his longtime aide, Cade Cothran, were arrested and shackled on corruption charges ranging from money laundering to bribery.

Both pleaded not guilty yesterday in a federal courtroom.

For Casada — a one-time Williamson County political powerhouse who got trounced earlier this year in a county clerk race —  the arrest represents a long fall from power and grace, reporters Adam Friedman and Melissa Brown write.

Speaking of Melissa and Adam, they are fantastic reporters and have a new benefit for subscribers. Sign up for their new Grand Divisions politics text chat here.

Other stories you can read:

► What are the charges and the possible penalties?

► Pictures of Casada and Cothren in federal court

► Who is Cade Cothren anyway?

Keep coming back to Tennessean.com for updates on this story. And thank you for reading The Tennessean.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee's latest political scandal ends in shackles