Cooper cleared of unethical behavior
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The Senate Ethics Subcommittee determined it won’t investigate Cooper for the land deal during a meeting Wednesday.
A panel of three senators decided to open the session to reporters after it was initially announced as a closed-door meeting. The senators concluded there is no way to prove Cooper is the “unindicted co-conspirator” in indictments handed down against others connected to the deal.
“I feel relieved,” said Cooper. “Anybody, I don’t care who you are, you don’t want the federal government after you. I feel bad for my family, my children and grandchildren, my friends and the people I represent that all this came down.”
Cooper said yesterday he has never been questioned about the land deal by federal or state investigators. The land deal resulted in federal indictments against Anthony and Teresa Auyer of Alabama, who purchased the former Cooper Manufacturing property in Warren County, and local property appraiser James Passons.
“Nobody has ever called me,” said Cooper. “The way I found out about it was from a reporter from Chattanooga and I thought he was kidding. I’ve been getting calls from people about this thing and I don’t know what to tell them. Most of the time they seemed to know more than I did about it. The only thing I knew to do was to keep taking care of my constituents.”
Cooper’s name entered the mix concerning a $292,000 grant which was approved by the state. The grant was to help Auyer build a rail spur to the property. It was also suggested Cooper used his political influence to help secure a $1.7 million loan.
State comptroller John Morgan said his office examined the situation and discovered no wrongdoing on the part of Cooper.
“This is an issue where there is nothing to suggest Sen. Cooper did anything outside state rules and regulations,” said Morgan.
Senate Speaker and Lt. Gov. John Wilder was also linked to the land deal. Wilder’s bank in West Tennessee was involved in making a loan in the deal, but he said Cooper did not use his influence to do anything wrong.
Wilder told reporters Wednesday that Cooper approached him about having BankTennessee, which Wilder partly owns, underwrite the loan when the deal was first going down in the late 1990s. Wilder said he stayed out of the decision to grant the loan, which has since defaulted.
“My bank makes many, many loans to industries and industrial loans of this kind and it made the loan,” Wilder said. “This loan is no different than any other loan.”
Wilder said his bank lost several hundred thousands of dollars in the deal.
Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, chairs the full ethics committee and said he will continue to monitor the federal case to see if any incriminating evidence against Cooper surfaces.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.