Sex scandal sends judge to jail for cover-up

It’s not the crime but the cover-up, as the famous phrase goes. But nobody seems to pay the warning much heed.

According to federal prosecutors, it didn’t stop Nashville, Tennessee, Judge Casey Moreland. He is now an ex-Nashville judge, in jail awaiting trial on charges of obstruction of justice and embezzlement, all connected with his efforts to cover up a sex scandal.

The problems for Moreland started last year when Natalie Amos revealed that Moreland helped her wipe away debt she owed from court fines and trafficticket fees — then pursued a sexual relationship with her.

Once, according to the indictment, he texted her: “Your fees; fines and court cost are taken care of! You now officially owe me ! ! Haha.”

The scandal exploded in Nashville in late January and February 2017, after Amos told WSMV-TV reporters about her alleged sexual relationship with the judge and the favors he did for her.

Last week, federal prosecutors in Nashville won a 25-page indictment detailing the plot they say he concocted to cover up the sexual favors as the FBI investigated.

Moreland now faces five counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of theft from a federally funded program and two counts related to witness tampering. He is being held without bail in a Kentucky jail.

His attorneys did not respond to a request for comment, but Moreland denied any inappropriate relationship with Amos in a statement to the Nashville Scene last year. Yet, he resigned from the bench on March 31, 2017.

Before he did, he went to great lengths to cover things up, prosecutors say. Among other things, he set up a meeting with a friend of his identified in court documents only as “J.P.” He told J.P. that he was under investigation and could lose his job and face criminal charges as a result. He needed J.P.’s help to get Amos to sign an affidavit saying she made everything up.

The affidavit never made it to Amos. As it turns out, J.P. was reporting to the FBI.