Harwell Disclosure Includes New Partnership, More Questions

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell has disclosed an ownership interest in the same  partnership that she denied any involvement in just two months ago.
In a new disclosure statement filed Friday with the state Ethics Commission, Harwell listed Legacy One Partnership as both a source of income and an investment. The filing states that her husband Samuel Harwell has an interest in and income from the same partnership.
In response to questions in January,  Kara Owen, Harwell's press secretary, wrote in an email that the speaker had no interest in the Legacy One Partnership.
While the partnership is disclosed, the speaker's new disclosure does not include a similarly named corporation, Legacy One, Inc.
State corporation records show Beth Harwell has been listed as an officer and director of Legacy One, Inc. in multiple filings with the Tennessee Secretary of State going back eight years.
When asked about the omission in January, Owen wrote that Legacy One, Inc.  "has been a dormant corporation with no assets, liabilities, revenue or expenses."
Nonetheless, federal patent and trademark records show Legacy One, Inc  has applied for eight trademarks over the past nine years and three of them remain active.
Owen did not respond immediately Sunday to questions about the Speaker's new disclosure statement.
As for the Legacy One Partnership, real estate records show it has been involved in several multimillion dollar land transactions in Davidson County over the past year.
The disclosure filing comes as Harwell's husband's toy company is featured prominently in a lengthy story published Sunday in the New York Times.
The article details an ongoing court battle between Harwell's company, Big Times Toys, and a company that developed Amazing Live Sea Monkeys. In the suit Yolanda von Braunhut has charged Big Time with breach of contract and trademark infringement.
According to court documents, Big Time had a contract to distribute the popular toy, but abruptly canceled the agreement and began marketing its own China-made Sea Monkey. The suit, now pending in U.S. District Court in New York, followed.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Statement of Disclosure of Interests (ss-8004)

Date of Filing

2016-04-15

Filer Contact Information

BETH HARWELL View all statements
Representative
19 Legislative Plaza,
Nashville, Tennessee 37243
Email: speaker.beth.harwell@capitol.tn.gov

Sources of Income

Part A

Altria Group Inc.
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Walt Disney Co.
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
SPDR S&P 500 ETF
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Costco Wholesale
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Avenue Financial
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Total Stock Fund
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Sysco Corporation
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Apple Inc
, ,
Income received by: Filer
US Treasury Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer
Wells Fargo & Co
, ,
Income received by: Filer
Verizon Communications
, ,
Income received by: Filer
Vanguard Short-Term Invest-Gr Adm
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Inter-Term Investment Grade
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Sentinel Balanced Fund
, ,
Income received by: Filer
Genworth Corp Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer
Morgan Stanley Corp Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer
Goldman Sachs Group Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer
SunTrust Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer
Amgen, Inc.
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Cisco Systems, Inc.
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Conoco Philips
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
JP Morgan Chase
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Kraft Foods Group
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Microsoft Corp.
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Mondelez Intl Inc
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Novartis AG
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Philip Morris International
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Proctor & Gamble
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Target Corp.
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Tractor Supply Co
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
United Health Group
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Short Term Bond ETF
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
AT&T Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
AMEX Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Wells Fargo Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Wal-Mart Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Northern TR Corp Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Cleveland TN Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Putnam Cnty Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Watts Bar Util Bonds
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Capital World Growth Mutual Fund
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Schwab Money Market Fund
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Rental Real Estate
, Nashville, TN
Income received by: Filer and Spouse
Big Time Toys , LLC
8805 Church St. E., Brentwood, TN
Income received by: Spouse
Rental Real Estate
, Nashville, TN
Income received by: Spouse
Rental Real Estate
, Franklin , TN
Income received by: Spouse
Rental Real Estate
, Murfreesboro, TN
Income received by: Spouse
Legacy One Partnership
, ,
Income received by: Filer and Spouse

Part B

SPDR S&P 500 ETF
Vanguard Total Stock

Positions Held

Montgomery Bell Academy Board Member from May 2013 to May 2017
Tennessee State Museum Foundation Board Member from Jul 2009 to Jun 2015
Douglas Henry State Museum Commission Board Member from Jul 2009 to Jun 2016
Mental Health America of Middle Tennessee Board Member from Jul 2011 to Jun 2017
Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (Republican State Leadership Committee) Executive Committee Member from May 2012 to Jun 2016
Saint Thomas Health Mission and Advocacy Committee Member from Jan 2013 to Jan 2017
National Speakers Conference 2nd Vice President from Feb 2013 to Dec 2015
Right Women Right Now (Republican State Leadership Committee) Co-Chair from May 2013 to Apr 2014
PearlPoint Cancer Support Board Member from Jun 2013 to Sep 2015
Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation Ex oficio from Jan 2011 to Jan 2015
Jobs for Tennessee Graduates Board Member from Mar 2014 to Jun 2017

Blind Trust

None

Investments

SPDR S&P 500 ETF : held by Filer and Minor Child
Charles Schwab Cash Account - IRA : held by Filer
Alphabet, Inc. : held by Filer and Spouse
Altria Group : held by Filer, Spouse, and Minor Child
Amazon.com : held by Filer, Spouse, and Minor Child
Avenue Financial : held by Filer and Spouse
Costco Wholesale : held by Filer and Spouse
Walt Disney Co. : held by Filer, Spouse, and Minor Child
SPDR Gold Shares ETF : held by Filer and Spouse
ISHARES Gold ETF : held by Filer and Spouse
US Treasury Bills : held by Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Total Stock Fund : held by Filer and Spouse
Berkshire Hathaway : held by Filer and Spouse
Sysco Corporation : held by Filer and Spouse
USG Corporation : held by Filer and Spouse
US Treasury Bonds : held by Filer
Apple Inc : held by Filer and Minor Child
Vanguard S/T Investment : held by Filer, Spouse, and Minor Child
Wells Fargo & Co : held by Filer
Vanguard Admiral Treasury MM : held by Filer and Spouse
Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund : held by Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Inter-Term Investment Grade : held by Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Prime Money Market : held by Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Short-Term Invest-Gr Adm : held by Filer and Spouse
Sentinel Balanced Fund : held by Filer
Sun Trust : held by Filer
Genworth Financial Corp Bonds : held by Filer
Morgan Stanley Corp Bonds : held by Filer
Goldman Sachs Group Bonds : held by Filer
SunTrust Bonds : held by Filer
Deutsche Strategic Gov Fund : held by Filer
Deutsche Core Equity Fund : held by Filer
Deutsche Capital Growth Fund : held by Filer
TIAA Annuity Contracts : held by Filer
Bruce Fund : held by Spouse
WFAF Large Cap Growth Adm - H.S.A. : held by Spouse
WFAF Growth Adm - H.S.A. : held by Spouse
Goldman Sachs Sm Cap Val - H.S.A. : held by Spouse
WFAF Global Opps Adm - H.S.A. : held by Spouse
Amgen, Inc. : held by Filer and Spouse
Cisco Systems, Inc. : held by Filer and Spouse
Conoco Philips : held by Filer and Spouse
Fireeye, Inc. : held by Filer and Spouse
JP Morgan Chase : held by Filer and Spouse
Kraft Foods Group : held by Filer and Spouse
Microsoft Corp : held by Filer and Spouse
Mondelez Intl Inc : held by Filer and Spouse
Novartis AG : held by Filer and Spouse
Philip Morris International : held by Filer and Spouse
Procter & Gamble : held by Filer and Spouse
Target Corp : held by Filer and Spouse
Tractor Supply Co : held by Filer and Spouse
United Health Group : held by Filer and Spouse
JP Morgan Chase Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
AT&T Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
AMEX Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
Wells Fargo Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
Wal-Mart Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
Northern TR Corp Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
Cleveland TN Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
Putnam Cnty Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
Watts Bar Util Bonds : held by Filer and Spouse
Capital World Growth Mutual Fund : held by Filer and Spouse
Vanguard Short Term Bond ETF : held by Filer and Spouse
Under Armour Inc : held by Minor Child
Vanguard Total Stock Market : held by Minor Child
Wal-Mart Stores Inc : held by Minor Child
Nike Inc : held by Minor Child
Legacy One Partnership : held by Filer and Spouse

Legislative Expenses

None

Lobbying

None

Professional Services

None

Retainer Fees

None

Bankruptcy

None

Loans

None

Certification

I certify.
You certify that all of the information you have entered is true, correct, and complete in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Act to the best of your knowledge.

I, the undersigned, do hereby witness that the above information was entered in my presence.

Witness Name Hayden Pendergrass

 

Icing, Loss of Engine Cited in Fatal Nashville Plane Crash

By Walter F. Roche Jr.


A 2014 Nashville, Tenn. plane crash that took the lives of four members of a Kansas family was caused by the failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed after an engine failed on his third attempt to land the Gulfstream turboprop in icy conditions.
The fiery Feb. 3 crash killed Glenn Mull, 62, his wife Elaine, 63, and a child and grandchild of the couple.
In a lengthy and detailed report issued last month, investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board said that due to extensive damage they were unable to determine the cause of the engine failure, which apparently caused the aircraft to veer to the left.
A contributing factor, according to the report was ice accumulation "due to conditions conducive to icing."
The NTSB found that there were several reports of aircraft icing problem around the time of the crash although it was unclear how many of those reports were relayed to Glenn Mull, who was piloting the plane, owned by his cattle raising company, Mid-Kansas Agri Co.
The report describes in detail the anti-icing and de-icing equipment on the aircraft including a warning from a manufacturer that the system had to be activated before ice began to form.
"Warning: When icing conditions may be encountered, do not delay operation of the engine inlet heat systems. Turn the systems on before any ice accumulates. Engine inlet heat must be on if icing conditions exist or are anticipated," the NTSB report states, citing instructions from the manufacturer.
The Mulls , their daughter Amy Harter, 40,  and 16-year-old granddaughter Samantha, died from "multiple blunt force injuries," according to an autopsy report cited by the NTSB.
The twin engine turboprop first hit trees near the Bellevue YMCA outside Nashville and then slammed into the ground creating an 11-foot by 11-foot crater six-feet deep. It was attempting to land at the John C. Tune Airport.
Mull was traveling with his family to Nashville from Great Bend , Kan. to attend an agricultural convention. According to the report, the plane, built in 1982 and purchased by Mull's company in 2000, had been serviced and inspected just prior to the flight to Tennessee.
The report provides a detailed accounting of Mull's attempts to land the plane including a conversation with traffic controllers after one failed attempt in which he said he wanted "to do it again."
According to the report, Mull, at one point,  failed to follow the heading instructions radioed to him, but traffic controllers did not correct him because the difference was not consequential.
On the third landing try, the report states, "the airplane was on the final approach course when it veered to the left and began a descent... The airplane impacted trees and a field adjacent to a building (the YMCA)."
"The type and degree of damage to the left engine," the report states, "was indicative of an engine that was not operating with rotation consistent with a wind milling propeller at the time of impact," the report states.
Following the crash Mull was credited by some with steering the plane away from the nearby YMCA, packed with children, but the NTSB report states that the descent was "uncontrolled."

Dead Pilot Fixated on Taylor Swift

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

By Walter F. Roche Jr.


The pilot who crashed his plane on a fog bound Nashville, Tenn. runway in 2013 was drunk and fixated on Taylor Swift, perhaps explaining his fatal and unauthorized flight from Canada to mid-Tennessee.
A report from the National Transportation Safety Board concludes that Michael Callan, 45, of Windsor Canada crashed his rented plane while attempting to land in dense fog.
"Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s mental state, his impairment due to alcohol, and his decision to operate the airplane from Canada to the United States without the owner’s permission and without proper clearances for the flight," the brief report concludes. 
The Oct. 29, 2013 crash occurred in the early morning, but the wreckage on a Nashville International Airport runway was not discovered till hours late.
Callan's body was found among the charred and scattered remnants of the Cessna 172R aircraft, the pilot had rented from a Windsor flying club.
"This pilot was not supposed to be in the United States flying to Tennessee," an NTSB record states.
The NTSB investigation noted that Callan had apparently circled the airport for some two hours before making his final fatal approach. He had taken off from Windsor some nine hours earlier on a flight that was supposed to end on Pelee Island on Lake Erie within the Canadian border.
Noting that Callan was not qualified to make an instrument landing, the report states, "the pilot was unaware of the IFR (instrument only) conditions in Nashville until he arrived in the area and that, because he was not instrument rated, he was unable to safely land the airplane with no visual contact with the runway."
Callan's mysterious trip drew widespread attention when officials disclosed that he had listed Taylor Swift as his emergency contact person.
Records gathered by NTSB investigators show that Callan had named Swift on his application to the Windsor Flying Club, the organization that rented him the plane. Swift has stated through her publicist that she did not know Callan.
"He (Callan) had developed a significant interest in a celebrity who lived in Nashville," the NTSB report noted, adding that he also had "a history of repeated convictions for criminal activity."
 "Although the medical records did not include a specific psychiatric diagnosis, the pilot’s prior criminal actions and impulsive behavior are consistent with antisocial personality disorder, which likely led to his impetuous decision to fly to Nashville," the NTSB states.
The report cites an August 2012 mental health evaluation of Callan in which "he reported that he had developed a significant interest in a celebrity and had written several letters to her. According to the mental health evaluator, the letters 'have the flavor of stalking.' The celebrity of interest resided in Nashville, Tennessee at the time of the accident."
"Toxicological testing of the pilot’s blood revealed significantly elevated levels of ethanol, indicating that the pilot ingested alcohol before the accident. The alcohol likely further impaired the pilot’s judgment and his ability to fly the airplane safely in IFR (instrument only) conditions," the report adds.
An autopsy conducted by Tennessee authorities following the crash found that Callan's blood alcohol level was .081 percent, over the .080 percent Tennessee legal limit to drive a car. Federal regulations set a  .04 percent limit for aircaft operators.
The NTSB examination of the wreckage "found no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation."
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com 
 

Loan From Haslam's Dad Repaid ..at Last

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Several years after it first came due, the wife of a well-connected Knoxville developer has paid off a $1 million loan from the father of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
Records at the Nantucket Registry of Deeds in Massachusetts show the Haslam loan to Ann Furrow, wife of Samuel F.  Furrow of Knoxville, was just recorded as satisfied last month.
The elder Haslam loaned the $1 million to Ann Furrow in 2011 during the same time period Sam Furrow and a group of investors were trying to sell an office building to the Pellissippi State Community College at a substantial profit.
The Furrow group purchased the Strawberry Plains building for $5 million and ultimately sold it the community college for $10 million in 2012.
The notice of satisfaction of the one-year loan comes some four years after it was originally due in June of 2012. Records at the Nantucket deeds office show the only recorded activity on the loan in the interim was a June 4, 2013 agreement by the elder Haslam to subordinate his interest in the property to a bank loan.
As first reported by the Tennessean, the purchase of the office building came despite the need for extensive repairs estimated at as much as $16.6 million.
In response to questions posed at the time, the governor, through a spokeswoman, said he was unaware of his father's loan to Ann Furrow. The collateral on the loan was a Nantucket property at 112 Baxter Road owned by Ann Furrow. Samuel Furrow transferred his interest in the property to his wife prior to the Haslam loan.
Dave Smith, spokesman for Gov. Haslam, said Monday the governor was not aware that the loan had been paid off.
Samuel Furrow, when asked about the sale to Pellissippi, described it as "clean as a whistle."
The loan was not the only Haslam interest on the Massachusetts resort island. Cleveland Browns owner James A. Haslam 3rd, brother of the Tennessee governor, owns an oceanside property on the island which has been up for sale for over a year. The current asking price for the home at 37 Sankaty Head Road is $9.99 million, according to real estate listings.