Gentry Crowell (December 10, 1932 – December 20, 1989) was an American politician who served as

Tennessee secretary of state The Tennessee Secretary of State is an office created by the Tennessee State Constitution. The Secretary of State is responsible for many of the administrative aspects of the operation of the state government of Tennessee. The current Secretar ...

. His office was investigated in

Operation Rocky Top Operation Rocky Top was an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into political corruption in the Tennessee state government in the late 1980s.Ronald SmothersTennessee Republicans See an Election Weapon in State's Bingo Scandal ''The ...

, leading to his suicide., Southern History website Crowell was born December 10, 1932, in

Chestnut Mound, Tennessee Chestnut Mound is an unincorporated community in Smith County, United States. Its ZIP code is 38552. Climate Chestnut Mound's climate is four-season subtropical (''Cfa'') under Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surna ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he served in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

from 1969 to 1977 (86th to 89th Tennessee General Assemblies), serving at various times as chairman of the General Welfare Committee, Rules Committee, and the House Democratic Caucus.Ronald Smothers
Tennessee Republicans See an Election Weapon in State's Bingo Scandal
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 28, 1990. He was first elected secretary of state by the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

in 1977, took office that year, and continued in that position until his death, having been re-elected by the legislature in 1981, 1985, and 1989. In January 1979, while serving as secretary of state, Crowell witnessed Governor

Ray Blanton Leonard Ray Blanton (April 10, 1930 – November 22, 1996)Fred Rolater"Leonard Ray Blanton" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: December 31, 2012.pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

s and commutations of prison sentences that Blanton notoriously issued shortly before leaving office. While signing the pardon of Roger Humphreys, the son of a Blanton supporter, who had been convicted of killing his ex-wife and a male companion in 1973,Fred Rolater
"Leonard Ray Blanton"
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: December 31, 2012. Blanton stated, "this takes guts," to which Crowell, disgusted with the pardons, responded, "some people have more guts than they've got brains."

Operation Rocky Top

In 1989, the Tennessee Secretary of State's office was a target of an FBI investigation called Operation Rocky Top, due to involvement in a

public corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activitie ...

scandal involving

fund-raising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

irregularities and

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

ulent charity

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

operations. Crowell's administrative assistant was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

for

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

of thousands of dollars from the Democratic Caucus campaign fund, of which Crowell was treasurer. Crowell was called to testify before the federal

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

in the Rocky Top investigation, but was not

in the investigation. He died at age 57 on December 20, 1989, after shooting himself in the mouth with a .38-caliber pistol on December 12.Gentry Crowell, 57; Top Tennessee Aide
''The New York Times'', December 22, 1989 He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowell, Gentry 1932 births 1989 suicides 1989 deaths People from Smith County, Tennessee Secretaries of state of Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Suicides by firearm in Tennessee American politicians who died by suicide 20th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly