Attorney Wife of a Circuit Judge Charged with Extortion

Last week, two Clarkesville attorneys Carrie Gasaway and Fletcher Long were charged with extortion following a two-year state investigation. Both were booked in jail on indictments made by the March term of the Montgomery County grand jury. Carrie Gasaway is the wife of Circuit Judge John H. Gasaway II. The duo is charged with "unlawfully and intentionally, knowingly or recklessly" using coercion upon a former client, Michelle Langlois, the Leaf Chronicle reported.

According to a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation news release made in 2010, the victim had sought the legal services of Gasaway, Long and Associates for reading her father's will. Both parties agreed upon an initial fee of services. However, after reading of the will, Gasaway asked Langlois to sign a contract for an additional $50,000 which Langlois refused. Both Gasaway and Long continued to make demands for additional payment, and then obtained an arrest warrant for Langlois with a $75,000 bond.


The attorneys claimed that Langlois had paid them a bad check for $50,000. According to WSMV News Channel 4, an email sent to Langlois mentions, "While we really don't feel like you are in much of a position to negotiate, we will accept $7000 as a full settlement […] in the event the check is not good, you will only receive more criminal charges."

When Langlois was arrested, she appointed another attorney who had the $75,000 bond reduced to $2500, getting her released.

Besides Langlois's case, Long was arrested and charged last year with harassing a former employee who is now listed as executive director of operations at Gasaway Law Firm. In this matter, the victim alleged that Long harassed her, phoned her in the middle of the night, slowly drove by and sometimes stopped in front of her house, and sent text messages and emails, threatening her 7-year -old child.

Long and Gasaway, surrendered at Montgomery County Jail last week and were released on their own recognizance. The attorneys had not-guilty pleas entered on their behalf and filed motions for a speedy trial citing the fact that TBI had two years to investigate the matter.