Ex-Nashville Judge Arrested By FBI

NASHVILLE, TN -- Former Davidson County General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland was arrested once again Thursday, facing new charges of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Moreland is already under indictment for tampering and obstruction, accused of attempting to pay a woman more than $6,000 to recant allegations she'd made against him and then later concocted a scheme to plant drugs on the woman and then have her pulled over so that she would be arrested and "her credibility destroyed."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation now further alleges that Moreland was skimming cash from the Drug Court Foundation and the Court Center Foundation, both set-up as part of Davidson County's recovery court program.

Based on recorded conversations between Moreland and a foundation employee, the FBI says Moreland was either keeping cash paid by the drug court's clients or having it secreted away by the employee, who is cooperating with the FBI. Furthermore, the FBI says Moreland encouraged the employee to deny that Moreland knew anything about that cash or that he had the cash and that the former judge, as recently as January, told the employee to destroy receipt books.

In conversations secretly taped by the FBI, Moreland told the employee to tell a federal grand jury and federal agents that any missing money had gone to petty costs or to suggest that it had perhaps been stolen by some of the drug court clients.

A news conference with the U.S. Attorney is expected later Thursday.

Image via Administrative Office of the Courts