July 15, 2005

State Sen. Jerry Cooper Named "Unindicted Co-Conspirator" In Criminal Case

State Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Smartt, might not have been so smart after all when he used his Senate position, influence and connections, to enrich himself to the tune of $1.3 million in a real estate deal, a story I provided you the details on here more than four months ago. Tonight, NewsChannel5 reports that Cooper has been named an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the case, while some of his alleged co-conspirators have been indicted.

Here's what happened: Cooper owned an old sawmill he couldn't sell. So he convinced state officials to commit $300,000 of Tennesseans' tax money to build a rail connection to the property, and provide a $500,000 state loan to help his buyer purchase equipment for the old sawmill. The buyer then bought the property for $1.3 million dollars.

UPDATE: Today's Tennessean says the case may spark a Senate Ethics Committee probe of Cooper.

The indictment, handed up by a Chattanooga grand jury in May and unsealed last week, alleged that an "unindicted co-conspirator" sold a lumber mill in Smartt, Tenn., to an Alabama man in 1999 after an appraiser overstated its value by including a railroad spur. The spur was never built, and the indictment alleges the sale was part of a scheme to defraud banks in Chattanooga and Collierville, Tenn.

Based on a review of Warren County records, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported yesterday that Cooper owned the property and was the unindicted co-conspirator.

The indictment also says the unindicted co-conspirator "did use his political contacts, connections and influence" to help one of the defendants obtain a $1.77 million loan to buy the mill. Sen. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, said the panel might decide to investigate the situation.

"Obviously, something may not be illegal but still be unethical," Ramsey said. "And our code of ethics specifically says you cannot use your political contacts, connections and influence for pay to get a loan. So this may be something we, as an ethics committee, end up looking into."