He returned to Indiana to read law with judge John W. Petit, then was admitted to the bar in Knoxville, Iowa, in 1868.
[1][2] Following his two terms as state senator, Cassatt became dependent on alcohol and morphine, and lost nearly $250,000 investing in wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade.
[5] Arraigned on charges of embezzlement,[6] Cassatt attempted suicide on June 3, 1895, by cutting his throat and pouring poison into the resulting wounds.
[2] On July 15, 1895, Cassatt was sentenced to nine years imprisonment by John Simson Woolson,[9][10][11] of which he served a portion in Anamosa, Iowa, before he was pardoned by President William McKinley in 1900.
[12] In later life, Cassatt moved to Albert Lea, Minnesota, where he died on June 26, 1907, from a stomach issue.