Former Tennessee House speaker, chief of staff indicted on corruption charges

A former speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and his chief of staff were indicted on Tuesday on corruption charges, according to the Justice Department.

The charges allege that former speaker and current State Rep. Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren created a company and a fake persona to receive state funds.

The indictment alleges that Casada and Cothren said the political consulting business they actually owned and profited from was run by a "Matthew Phoenix," but in reality there was no Matthew Phoenix and the men were profiting by diverting state funds to the business.

Casada, a Republican, said earlier this year he would not seek reelection, had resigned from House leadership in August 2019.

The Justice Department alleges the state mailer program was at the center of the corruption. The program allowed $3,000 to be used for sending constituent mail and said any other expenses could be offset by campaign funds.

"Casada and Individual 4 would and did receive kickbacks from Cothren in exchange for using their positions as members of the Tennessee House of Representatives to perform official acts, including pressuring the Tennessee House Speaker's Office and other State officials to approve Phoenix Solutions as a Mailer Program vendor and to disburse State funds to Phoenix Solutions," the indictment said.

Rep. Glen Casada attends a House session on the first day of the 2020 legislative session in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 14, 2020. Mark Humphrey/AP, FILE

Another Tennessee state lawmaker was charged in March with similar crimes, according to DOJ.

They are also charged with bribery and kickbacks concerning programs receiving federal funds, honest services wire fraud; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The scheme, DOJ said, also involved other state representatives but they were not named nor charged in court documents, and the scheme went on for almost three years, according to court documents.

Both men were arrested by the FBI at their houses Tuesday morning, the Justice Department said in a release.

In 2020, these companies and Phoenix Solutions received approximately $51,947 from the State in payments associated with the mailer program, DOJ alleges.

The money laundering charges carry a 20-year prison sentence if those indicted are found guilty and the public corruption and bribery charges carry 10-year sentences.

Casada has not returned ABC News request for comment and there was no lawyer listed on the court docket for Cothren.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/former-tennessee-house-speaker-chief-of-staff-indicted-on-corruption-charges/?feed_id=14859&_unique_id=63052704ebc17

Over a thousand flights cancelled as Lufthansa staff go on strike

About 134,000 passengers had to change their travel plans or cancel them altogether after ground staff at Germany's Lufthansa airlines went on strike, prompting the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights.

Travel is booming this summer after two years of Covid-19 restrictions, swamping airlines and airports that don’t have enough workers after pandemic-era layoffs. (ODD ANDERSEN/ FILE PHOTO / AFP)

More than 1,000 Lufthansa flights have been cancelled because of a strike by the German airline's ground staff, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

The one-day strike, which started at 3.45 am local time (0145 GMT) on Wednesday, has forced Germany’s flag carrier to cancel almost all flights from Frankfurt and Munich airports.

About 134,000 passengers had to change their travel plans or cancel them altogether, German news agency dpa reported.

Flights operated by other airlines, which are usually supported by Lufthansa ground staff, were also affected with at least 47 connections cancelled on Tuesday, dpa said.

At Frankfurt airport, 725 of 1,160 scheduled flights were canceled for the day, according to a spokesperson for airport operator Fraport.

Major disruptions and flight delays were also expected at Berlin, Cologne/Bonn and Dusseldorf airports, adding to the travel chaos during the peak holiday period.

The airline advised affected passengers not to come to the airports because most of the counters there would not be staffed anyway.

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Call for pay increase

The ver.di service workers’ union announced the strike on Monday as it seeks to raise pressure on Lufthansa in negotiations on pay for about 20,000 employees of logistical, technical and cargo subsidiaries of the airline.

Ver.di is calling for a 9.5 percent pay increase this year and says an offer by Lufthansa earlier this month, which would involve a deal for an 18-month period, falls far short of its demands.

The walkout comes at a time when airports in Germany and across Europe already are seeing disruption and long lines for security checks because of staff shortages and soaring travel demand.

The next round of wage negotiations is expected to take place in Frankfurt next week.

As inflation soars, strikes for higher pay by airport crews in France and Scandinavian Airlines pilots in Sweden, Norway and Denmark have deepened the chaos for travellers who have faced last-minute cancellations, lengthy delays, lost luggage or long waits for bags in airports across Europe.

Airports like London’s Heath row and Amsterdam’s Schiphol have limited daily flights or passenger numbers.

READ MORE: Lufthansa scraps 1,300 flights over two-day German strike

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/over-a-thousand-flights-cancelled-as-lufthansa-staff-go-on-strike/?feed_id=2758&_unique_id=62e0fbf4baf2d