The fall of a political insider

[Judi Lynn]

The fall of a political insider
Sunday, August 12, 2007
By Rudi Keller ~ Southeast Missourian

State Rep. Nathan Cooper loved being on the inside.
In his three years in the Missouri House, Cooper hadn't amassed too much power, but the way he approached the job showed he was happy to be in the room when the big issues were discussed. He approached questions about legislative issues in a helpful, but cautious way. His answers to reporters' queries always were informative, but usually stated in a way that indicated he was holding back information that, if made public with his name attached, would make trouble for his political career.

Those characteristics were most evident when House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, was crusading against allocating state funds in any form to pay for the new Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. Cooper wanted his constituents to believe he had tried to get the money allocated as part of a House Republican plan in early 2006 to divvy up proceeds from the sale of the MOHELA student loan portfolio. However, he wouldn't speak out publicly against Jetton for fear of losing favor.

Now Cooper's likely to be going inside a prison. And even when things were bleak, he was willing to give some insight into what was happening, even when it was his own life that was unraveling.

On Thursday afternoon, Cooper called the Southeast Missourian to explain himself after pleading guilty in federal court to two felonies related to immigration law. Cooper, a lawyer, set up sham companies as fronts to provide visas and other documentation to for at least two trucking companies, Pullen Bros. Inc. of Sikeston, Mo., and CalArk Trucking of Mabelvale, Ark.
(snip)

Cummings is one of the prosecutors whose dismissal by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is the subject of intense scrutiny in Washington. His office declined to prosecute anyone on the fee-office issue.

But at least one Republican of Cooper's generation, John Combest of the Vandiver Group in St. Louis and a one-time aide to then-Sen. John Ashcroft, said the GOP should be sweating over what Cooper could reveal. In an entry on his blog, www.johncombestblog.com, he speaks directly to Cooper.

More:
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1245892.html