Feds: Moreland tried to pay woman $6,100 to recant allegations against him

It was General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland who entered a courtroom in handcuffs on Tuesday, the chains binding his ankles clanking on the tile floor of Nashville’s federal courthouse.

"Do you understand what you're charged with and the possible punishment?" federal Magistrate Judge Joe Brown asked him.

"Yes sir," 59-year-old Moreland replied, seated in a button-down shirt and khakis next to his lawyer, Peter Strianse of Nashville. Asked for comment as he was leaving the courtroom, Moreland did not respond.

An FBI investigation of Moreland came to a head Tuesday, when federal officials announced the judge had been charged. That prompted Mayor Megan Barry to suggest the judge should resign, and Metro Council members took an initial step to call for his departure.

Moreland stands accused by the FBI of trying to bribe a woman to recant allegations against him by offering her $6,100, and conspiring with a confidential source to plant drugs on her in an apparent attempt to smear her credibility.

"The allegations set forth in the indictment set forth egregious abuses of power by a judge sitting here in Nashville," acting U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee Jack Smith announced in a Tuesday morning news conference.

Court documents say Moreland was charged with attempting to obstruct justice through bribery, witness tampering and retaliating against a witness. The charges carry an up to 20-year prison sentence.

Strianse argued in court Tuesday that federal law did not allow for the government to hold Moreland in custody, as Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecil VanDevender asked. Brown said Moreland would remain in custody at least until a hearing set for Friday afternoon.

“He’s obviously in a bit of a state of shock,” Strianse said of Moreland. “He certainly didn’t expect to be awoken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation this morning at 6 a.m. with a search warrant. They went to his sister’s home where he’s been living.”

The FBI investigation into Moreland, a judge since 1998, related to allegations that he helped people he knew in exchange for benefits including sexual favors, travel and lodging. Among the allegations documented in police reports and accounts were that he intervened in a traffic stop for a woman he had a personal relationship with and waived jail time for his future son-in-law.

Read more: 

► Lawyer disciplined for influence on Judge Casey Moreland

► Documents: Judge Casey Moreland waived jail time for daughter's boyfriend

But the conduct that landed him in federal court came after that.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Moreland tried to pay a woman thousands of dollars to recant her allegations against him. That occurred after March 1, more than one month after the FBI began an inquiry.

A criminal complaint based on an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Mark Shafer lays out the investigation, which used confidential sources who are unnamed in the complaint.

A man, who initially lied to FBI agents about his role, later said he had schemed with Moreland.

According to the affidavit, that man said the judge was concerned their calls were being monitored, so he purchased the judge a “burner phone,” a temporary cellphone that is often associated with criminal activity.

On March 11, while the confidential source was working for the FBI, he met with Moreland. In that meeting, the man told the judge he had met with a woman making public allegations against Moreland and that she would sign an affidavit saying she had lied.

The meeting was recorded, according to the FBI, and during it Moreland handed over the draft affidavit, $5,100 cash and an explanation.

“This right here gets me out of trouble,” Moreland said, according to the FBI documents.

Federal officials say Moreland tried to distance himself from what was happening, instructing the man to “never mention a word about money” and get the woman "liquored up real good" before asking her to sign the affidavit.

The affidavit was written as if the woman had lied about having sex with the judge in his office, and included a statement the woman was paid for a television interview about her relationship with Moreland.

The confidential source did not meet with the woman, but told Moreland he had. He said the woman wanted to make changes.

Then Moreland handed over another $1,000 for her to agree to sign the affidavit as-is, federal officials said.

"Public corruption of this nature threatens the public's confidence in our judicial system and the administration of justice," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Matthew Espenshade of the FBI in Nashville. "This is why public corruption is the FBI's top criminal investigative priority."

Moreland also discussed a plan to have drugs planted on the woman, which would then be discovered by police during a traffic stop he would orchestrate, according to the complaint. Federal officials said the goal was to destroy the woman's credibility.

Moreland, a Democrat re-elected to the bench in 2014 is one of 11 General Sessions judges in Nashville. Each earns $170,000. Moreland hears exclusively criminal cases, while other judges also hear civil lawsuits, too.

Read more:

► Judge Casey Moreland under investigation

► FBI looks into allegations involving Nashville Judge Casey Moreland

With the judge in custody, calls for his resignation grew.

Metro Councilman Jeremy Elrod filed a resolution calling for Moreland's resignation. Mayor Barry said resigning would "seem to be in the best interest" of residents who depend on the integrity of the courts.

"Nashville deserves to have absolute trust in our judiciary, and Casey Moreland, based upon the allegations in the federal complaint, seems to have clearly violated that trust," Barry said in a statement.

Elrod said there is no reason for Moreland to remain a judge.

"Based on everything that I've heard, no judge that has done a fraction of what he's been accused of should be able to preside over people's lives, particularly vulnerable women that he apparently does not show respect for," Elrod said.

Strianse said, as of Monday, he and Moreland had not discussed the judge stepping aside.

"He’s like any other citizen," the lawyer said. "He’s presumed innocent and he’ll have his day in court."

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or sbarchenger@tennessean.com or on Twitter @sbarchenger.