Governor calls for guilty representative to resign his seat

With a special session looming to handle bills for economic development and bridge repair, Gov. Matt Blunt on Thursday said admitted felon Nathan Cooper should resign his legislative seat.

If he does not resign by the time lawmakers convene Aug. 20, Blunt said during a visit to Cape Girardeau, Cooper should stay away from the state Capitol.

"I am, of course, counting on him to resign because of his very, very serious misconduct," Blunt said. "Everybody here is disappointed as am I."

Cooper, a Cape Girardeau Republican, pleaded guilty Thursday to two federal felony immigration law violations relating to his legal work for trucking companies. Cooper admitted creating sham companies to hide that foreign-born truck drivers were working year-round on seasonal visas, writing falsified letters about the immigrants' visa status on his law office letterhead and purchasing 110 seasonal visas intended for hospitality and temporary service workers. Cooper faces a fine of up to $500,000 and a maximum term of 15 years in prison. Because he is cooperating with investigators and has no criminal history, Cooper is likely to receive 30 to 37 months in prison. He also must forfeit $50,000 in legal fees he was paid during the period the crimes took place in 2004 and 2005.

Papers filed in federal court with the plea named two trucking companies, Pullen Bros. Inc. of Sikeston, Mo., and CalArk Inc. of Mabelvale, Ark., as beneficiaries of Cooper's scheme.

Messages left Friday for Jerry Pullen, president of Pullen Bros., and Rochelle Gorman, president of CalArk Inc., yielded no response Friday.

On its Web site, Pullen Bros. notes that it was established in 1972 and bills itself as a "highly efficient fleet serving customers coast to coast" and specializing in the delivery of frozen food products, most of which is ice cream. CalArk's Web site reports that it was established in 1975 and provides transportation throughout the continental United States, Mexico and Canada.

In a statement issued soon after he entered the guilty plea, Cooper said his resignation from the Missouri House "would be forthcoming."

But Cooper set no timeline for the resignation. Under Missouri law, he would not automatically lose his seat because of the guilty plea or at the time of his sentencing Oct. 19, when the conviction becomes official, a spokesman for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said.

Asked whether Cooper should participate if he holds onto his seat until Aug. 20, Blunt replied, "I don't believe that would be appropriate. Of course, there have been reports that he would resign or he said he would. We have yet to receive that resignation."

Earlier in the day, House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, participated in a telephone news conference with Blunt.

Asked his reaction to the guilty plea, Jetton said: "Shock and surprise obviously, concern. Nathan's been a guy I've known for years back in Southeast Missouri and was a good state representative who really worked hard on the budget committee to try to cut state spending."

As of late Friday, Cooper had not sent a letter of resignation to the clerk of the House.

Blunt must set date

Once he resigns, it will be up to Blunt to set the date for a special election to fill the vacated seat. Cooper represents the 158th District, which includes most of Cape Girardeau.

The timing of the election would be decided on consultation with local officials, Blunt said. He did not promise to hold the election in time for Cape Girardeau to be represented when lawmakers convene for their next regular session in January.

Cooper is also a member of the Cape Girardeau County Republican Central Committee. As a committee member, he also has a seat on the 158th District Committee, which will choose the GOP nominee for the seat. Blunt said Cooper should resign from that post as well.

Cooper will lose his license to practice law along with his legislative seat.

Blunt said he received little advance notice that Cooper would plead guilty to two federal felonies for immigration law violations. There was "not much of a heads-up at all, and obviously it was not just a surprise but a tremendous disappointment. I know that the people of Cape Girardeau are very disappointed. I am extremely disappointed."

The nominees for Cooper's seat, once he resigns, will be chosen by the members of the party county committees who live within the 158th District. The Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties all have the right under state law to nominate a candidate for the ballot. Any candidate seeking to run as an independent or under another party's label would be required to mount a petition drive to be on the ballot.

Holly Lintner, chairwoman of the Republican committee, said she expects Cooper to resign or at least refrain from participating in the selection of a candidate to succeed him.

Lintner said she will not be a candidate for the legislative post. "I am happy with my job," said Lintner, who is resource development manager for the United Way of Southeast Missouri.

Cape Girardeau County Democratic Central Committee chairwoman Brenda Woemmel promised Democrats would make a strong push to capture the seat, which the party last held in 1982. The party, she said in a prepared statement, intends to find a candidate "who will be mature, honest, responsible, decent and who bring honor and dignity to our representation in Jefferson City."

Woemmel noted that court documents and statements by federal prosecutors date Cooper's illegal activities to 2004 and 2005 and that the investigation began before Cooper was sworn in for his second term in January.

"The voters deserve an explanation from those in charge of prosecuting these crimes," she said. "Why were they not brought to the attention of the voters before the November 2006 election?"

Woemmel also called on Cooper, who dissolved his campaign committee this week in advance of his guilty plea, to return to contributors the almost $66,000 transferred to a continuing committee called "Friends of the 158th."

The third party with ballot status, the Libertarians, will also be looking for a candidate to contest the election, said Gregg Tlapek, county party secretary. "We would love to have a candidate," he said. "We just have to have someone who is willing to do it."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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