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Posted on 12/03/2007 3:53:51 PM PST by SmithL
NASHVILLE — Embattled state Sen. Jerry Cooper has decided to retire from the Legislature and appeal the record $120,000 civil penalty imposed against him last month by the Registry of Election Finance, according to his attorney.
“Simply put, after Sen. Cooper’s well-publicized problems over the last several years, his medical, legal and other bills make it impossible to pay this penalty,” attorney Michael D. Galligan of McMinnville wrote in a letter to Registry Director Drew Rawlins.
“Sen. Cooper would represent to the Registry that he intends to retire prior to the next election upon completion of several ongoing projects he feels strongly will benefit the citizens of the 14th Senatorial District,” Galligan wrote.
Under state law, failure to pay an assessed penalty means a candidate cannot run for re-election.
“Thus, to the extent that this penalty was intended to serve a deterrent or punitive purpose, it would appear that the goal could be met with a much less exorbitant penalty,” the letter says.
“Sen. Cooper was a sponsor of the bill creating the Registry of Election Finance and has the utmost respect for the Registry and its goals. While not challenging the findings made by the Registry, he would respectfully request a reconsideration of the penalties and ask that they be reduced to an amount more commensurate with previous penalties assessed by the Registry and Sen. Cooper’s limited ability to pay,” the letter says.
The letter asks that Cooper and his attorney both be permitted to appear before the board at its Dec. 12 meeting. Rawlins says he has sent a reply letter to Galligan saying that their appearance will be placed on the agenda.
The fine was levied Nov. 18 for Cooper’s diversion of more than $95,000 from his campaign fund to personal use.
Cooper was acquitted in June on bank fraud charges in a U.S. District Court trial at Chattanooga. During the trial, an FBI agent testified that Cooper had transferred the money from a campaign account into personal accounts with 24 checks debated between December, 1999, and November, 2001.
Cooper earlier this year also pleaded “no contest” to drunken driving charges filed against him following an accident that left him seriously injured.
Jerry W. Cooper (born August 6, 1948 in McMinnville) is a Tennessee DEMOCRAP politician and a member of the Tennessee Senate for the 14th district, which encompasses Franklin, Bledsoe, Coffee, Grundy, Sequatchie, Van Buren, and Warren counties
It looks like the reporter forgot to tell us, so how could we possibly guess?
No way is he a RAT.....RATS just don't do these kinds of things.
How much do you want to bet that Cooper “retired” so he could pocket all those campaign funds currently in his coffers and not have to pay the huge fine levied against him...
Nah...couldn’t be....
Of course a democrat couldn’t be capable of this these things. There is no way they could be capable of wanting to have anal sex with a 14 year old boy in D.C. either though.
Just goes to show you how far the GOP will go to win an election with the help of their cronies in the MSM......
(My sarcasm meter is broken. Can you give me a reading???)
You got it right. Looks like this paper either has an incompetent writer or is trying to cover up for the Democrat crook, or both.
Guess you could use the paper for toilet paper or training pissy puppies.
It is about time. This clown should have been gone years ago, but short of murder, he was getting voted back in every election.
He still is having his wages garnished because he defaulted on some personal loans... as he sat on the FINANCE COMMITTEE. Unbelievable.
Isn’t he also a son of the former governor and ambassador (Whose first name I cannot recall), and brother of U.S. Representative Jim Cooper?
Not that I’m aware of.
Another corrupt donkey...another corrupt politician...yawn
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