Posted on 08/25/2006 8:49:30 PM PDT by DuxFan4ever
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- A federal grand jury charged state Sen. Jerry Cooper with bank fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy Tuesday in an indictment that says Cooper was "deep in debt and trying to avoid bankruptcy."
Neither Cooper, D-Morrison, nor his attorney, Jerry Summers of Chattanooga, responded to telephone messages seeking comment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Humble declined comment but his office issued a statement saying Cooper agreed to surrender sometime next week. No trial date was immediately set.
Cooper, 58, had been earlier identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in a borrowing scheme involving the 1999 sale of his lumber mill in Warren County.
The indictment returned Tuesday says the "purposes of the conspiracy were to obtain by fraud, misrepresentations and deceit, money to be used by the defendant, Jerry Wayne Cooper, to pay off some of his debt and avoid bankruptcy."
The previous indictment contended Cooper "used his political contacts, connections and influence" to help the buyers get a $1.77 million federally insured loan from BankTennessee.
(Excerpt) Read more at tricities.com ...
Wow, he does look like a rat!
Now how does this affect the dems' new "Watch, Fraud, Abuse, Trust" coalition, or whatever the heck it's called, where they're going to expose all of the fraudulent abuses by the Republicans? Pot, meet Kettle.
holy moly, that looks like one of the two guys that gave me and bert the finger when we were freeping murtha in Nashville.
One of the traffic cops (with the hotel I think) came over at one point after that and bert asked him to take a pic of us and the cop said "Who are those two guys, they look familiar." He insisted they were familiar.
I have had the same feeling, had it then, but didn't have time to follow up.
Cooper is no stranger to controversy here in this state.
Bert, he look familiar? I really am going to check the Tennessee Blue Book, or the state of TN website.
I can't imagine what that would be, except maybe an SBA 504, which means the bank and local CDC (Certified Development Company) are also complicitous.
Is this guy a relative of Rep. Jim Cooper and (Jim's dad) former governor and ambassador Cooper?
Of Shelbyville?
No wonder Nancy Pelosi stopped talking about "Culture of Corruption"...
...holy moly, that looks like one of the two guys that gave me and bert the finger....
I have a memory of the guy on the left, he was balder and younger. I could not positively say Cooper was one of the two.
No, they are not kin.
Jim tries to distance himself from this crook for good reason.
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