Former Oklahoma Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher jailed in Tulsa

Former Democrat State Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher was jailed Wednesday on a contempt of court charge after an appearance in Tulsa County District Court.

Fisher, 71, was sentenced to six months in the Tulsa Jail for indirect contempt of court for failing to pay alimony following a divorce from K.A. Fisher in 2009, court records show.


Carroll Fisher was booked into the jail just before 3 p.m.


Special Judge Rodney Sparkman set an $11,000 cash bond in the case.


Fisher resigned as insurance commissioner in September 2004 before an impeachment trial could be held on allegations of incompetence, neglect of duty and corruption.


He served 14 months in prison after he was convicted of embezzlement and perjury in 2006.


He received a five-year suspended sentence in 2009 after he pleaded no contest to a charge of receiving bribes.


The sentence ran concurrently with suspended sentences he received in a case involving failure to register a nonexempt  charity, records show.

Bill Would Overhaul Appointment of Replacement Officeholders

Lawmakers have voted to change the way vacancies in statewide offices are filled.

House Bill 1322, by state Rep. Mike Reynolds, would allow Oklahoma voters, not the governor, to choose the person who fills any vacated statewide office.

Reynolds filed the legislation to prevent any scandals from occurring similar to the one experience recently in Illinois, where Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was accused of trying to “sell” an appointment to the then-vacant U.S. Senate seat.

“The appointment power can easily be abused and Oklahoma has seen more than its share of corruption already,” said Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. “My bill will simply remove that temptation and ensure the people of Oklahoma choose the people they want to serve in office.”

If any major office is vacated before the end of the officeholder’s current term that position would remain unfilled until the next general election under the proposal. Currently, the governor is allowed to appoint a successor.

Reynolds noted that Gov. Brad Henry actually endorsed a similar course of action when former State Auditor Jeff McMahan was under federal investigation. During that controversy, Henry urged McMahan to step aside during the investigation. McMahan later resigned from office after being convicted.

Reynolds also noted that vacancies in the state Legislature are filled through the election process and not by gubernatorial appointment.
In recent years, two major statewide officeholders have resigned due to legal troubles: McMahan and former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. Other vacancies have occurred in the offices of State Treasurer and Corporation Commissioner.

House Bill 1322 passed out of the House Rules committee and now proceeds to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

llinois Scandal Prompts Oklahoma Reform Proposal

In light of allegations that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich effectively tried to “sell” an appointment to the now-vacant U.S. Senate seat in that state, one Oklahoma lawmaker is filing legislation to ensure similar corruption cannot occur in Oklahoma.

State Rep. Mike Reynolds said today he will file legislation that would allow Oklahoma voters, not the governor, to choose the person who fills any vacated statewide office.

If any major office is vacated before the end of the officeholder’s current term that position would remain unfilled until the next general election under the proposal. Currently, the governor is allowed to appoint a successor.

“The Illinois scandal makes clear that the appointment power can easily be abused and we’ve had more than our share of corruption in Oklahoma already,” said Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. “My proposal will simply remove that temptation and ensure the people of Oklahoma get to choose the people they want in office.”

Reynolds noted that Gov. Brad Henry actually endorsed a similar course of action when former State Auditor Jeff McMahan was under federal investigation. During that controversy, Henry urged McMahan to step aside during the investigation. McMahan later resigned from office after being convicted.

Reynolds also noted that vacancies in the state Legislature are filled through the election process and not by gubernatorial appointment.

In recent years, two major statewide officeholders have resigned due to legal troubles: McMahan and former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. Other vacancies have occurred in the offices of State Treasurer and Corporation Commissioner.

Letters to the Editor: Better behavior expected

Better behavior expected
Letters to the Oklahoman Editor

"Labor chief sent to detox in incident” (news story, Feb. 19) tells of state Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields being suspected of "borrowing” a guitar while possibly being under the influence. "Auditor case moves ahead; State House votes in favor of forming impeachment panel” (news story, Feb. 19) describes our state auditor encountering a little impeachment problem (he's already been indicted) and "State picks up tab for Cargill's mailed apology (Associated Press news story, Feb. 19) is about our former House speaker (who resigned that post) using our tax dollars to send apology letters to his constituents, after he had difficulty remembering to pay his property taxes and file his state income tax returns.

These revelations follow the excellent adventures of Carroll Fisher, Gene Stipe and a few others who've graced the headlines within the past couple of years. It's about time we notified these folks that they work for us and we expect better behavior than we've gotten lately. Oklahomans are honest, decent, hardworking folks. The attributes are apparently in limited supply at the state Capitol.

Jeff Wyatt, Choctaw

State corruption cases come in bunches

State corruption cases come in bunches
By RON JENKINS

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ It's been a rough time for some elected officials in Oklahoma in recent months, leading citizens to question what's going on and causing soul searching over the state's level of corruption.

Gov. Brad Henry is among those who discount the notion that public corruption is any more prevalent in Oklahoma than in most other states, despite a rash of officials being charged with crimes or caught in embarrassing situations.

"Oklahomans are some of the most caring, most ethical people in the country and I think Oklahoma state elected officials are, too," Henry said. "Unfortunately, we've had some unfortunate situations here in the last several months.

"But we need to let the criminal and legislative processes play out and see what happens before we make any ultimate determinations."

William S. Price is a former U.S. attorney in Oklahoma whose office won convictions against 240 county commissioners, former commissioners and material suppliers during the late 1970s and early 1980s in what the FBI classified as the most widespread corruption case in U.S. history.

Price believes public corruption in Oklahoma could be a systemic problem caused partly by a lack of checks and balances in the county commissioner system of government, with officials developing bad habits they take with them to higher office.

But he also says he does not believe corruption is a cultural problem in Oklahoma, like it is elsewhere in the country.

"We never had trouble getting convictions," he said. "I think when the people of Oklahoma learn of corruption involving their public officials they tend to demand their resignation. They tend to put them in jail."

"I don't think we are any more corrupt than anybody else by a long shot," adds John Raley, a former U.S. attorney in Muskogee and a member of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Raley is an outspoken proponent of restricting spending by lobbyists and increased public disclosure of activities of legislators and state officials.

Figures compiled by the Public Integrity Division of the Justice Department in a 2007 report to Congress lends credence to the comments of Henry, Price and Raley.

The report showed that over a decade ending in 2006, there were 106 federal convictions in public corruption cases involving judicial districts in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Muskogee.

That is a fraction of convictions in jurisdictions in larger states, led by 574 in northern Florida, 412 in northern Illinois, 399 in central California, 377 in New Jersey, 362 in northern Ohio, 359 in eastern Pennsylvania and 352 in southern New York.

But in the last few months, those "unfortunate situations" Henry spoke of have dominated the news amid calls in the Legislature for ethics reform.

Among other things:

— State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan and his wife have been hit with federal charges tied to allegedly accepting jewelry and other gifts, plus excessive campaign contributions, from a man implicated in another public corruption case.

— Rep. Lance Cargill was forced to resign as House speaker after he faced insurrection from fellow caucus members over ethics questions and late payment of income and property taxes. Some lawmakers said their constituents were angered by the tax disclosures.

— Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields was compelled to issue a public apology after he was taken from a party for rodeo performers to a detox center. Witnesses said Fields tried to walk away with an expensive guitar at the party. Fields said it was a practical joke gone bad.

Former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher is currently in prison on a state embezzlement charge linked to campaign financing and is awaiting trial on bribery and corruption charges.

The decade began with a scandal at the Oklahoma Department of Health, with the acting commissioner of health being convicted on federal bribery charges.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma attorney general prosecuted several other Health Department employees and officials as ghost employees who did little or no work for their pay and benefits.

As McMahan awaits a federal trial in Muskogee, the new speaker of the House, Rep. Chris Benge of Tulsa, has appointed a committee to study the possibility of bringing impeachment articles against the state official.

Fisher was impeached by the House in 2004 and resigned before a Senate trial. It was the first impeachment since former Secretary of State John Rogers in 1975. The last trial by the Senate led to the conviction of former Supreme Court Justice N.B. Johnston in a bribery case.

Oklahoma has had its share of high-profile public corruption cases over the last few decades, the most notable leading to a federal prison term in the mid-1970s for former Gov. David Hall. A former Tulsa prosecutor, Hall was convicted in a bribery-extortion case linked to the investment of retirement funds.

David Walters, another former governor, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense tied to an alleged scheme to collect excessive campaign donations when he was a candidate. The offense has been expunged from the court records under an agreement with prosecutors.

In another sensational case from the 1990s, Patricia Whitehead, deputy state treasurer and two others were convicted of federal crimes in a kickback scheme that involved $6.7 million in illegal payments from investment of state funds. Treasurer Claudette Henry was never charged in the case, but the scandal led to her defeat for re-election in 1994. She died after a long illness five years later.

Several legislators and former legislators have been charged with various crimes over the years, ranging from accepting bribes to cocaine distribution.

Most recently, former Rep. Mike Mass pleaded guilty to mail fraud for allegedly conspiring with ex-Sen. Gene Stipe and others to defraud taxpayers through improper use of economic development funds appropriated by the Legislature.

Kiowa businessman Steve Phipps is a key witness for the federal government in that case and in the case against McMahan. Phipps was a longtime business partner of Stipe and was the owner of abstract companies regulated by McMahan's office.

Stipe has been found to have dementia and declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. The government is trying to commit him to a federal prison hospital.

The determination of incompetency against Stipe came as prosecutors were attempting to revoke his probation for a previous campaign law violation.

Stipe's trial is pending in the corruption case in which his brother, Francis, also is charged.

Indictments accuse the Stipes of illegally steering state money to private businesses. They also are accused of witness tampering by purchasing a house for Mass.

While saying Oklahoma juries are among "the least tolerant of corruption," Price said his talks with other prosecutors led him to believe convictions are not so easy to come by in other areas of the country.

He said the Oklahoma public's staunch stand against corruption has not been "true in Louisiana at all, and I don't think it is true in some of the big cities of the Northeast."

On the other hand, he said a tier of northern and midwestern states without huge cities have had relatively little corruption by comparison, mentioning Oregon, Minnesota and Wisconsin and Maine.

Price said local government corruption appears to be a problem in Oklahoma and many southern states that have a county commissioner form of government, where three people exercise a lot of power on their own.

He said Kansas had a county manager form of government and has not had the same problems.

Headless Oklahoma House to convene

Headless House to convene

By MICK HINTON World Capitol Bureau
2/3/2008

The former speaker and a member who wanted to replace him both bowed out with tax problems

OKLAHOMA CITY -- In a history-making session, the body of the House of Representatives will convene Monday without a head.

"It's the craziest thing I ever heard in my life," said Larry Ferguson, a former lawmaker who served for 20 legislative sessions, including eight as the leader of Republicans who were in the House minority.

By Monday's end, however, a new speaker will emerge as the fractured House strives to convince the Senate, the governor and the public that it is ready to do business.

After two top leaders bowed out last week because of embarrassing tax problems, the public is watching, said University of Oklahoma political science professor Keith Gaddie. Residents are alarmed that their leaders have not been paying taxes on time, like they have to, he said.

Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah, resigned Monday; speaker pro tem Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell, exited the race for speaker three days later. Both acknowledged they had been repeatedly late in paying taxes.

Cargill's resignation occurs at a time when the State Ethics Commission apparently is investigating campaign practices among Republicans under Cargill's leadership in the past two election cycles.

"This better be wake-up time" for whoever ends up leading the House, Ferguson said. "The people out there are tired of reading about this kind of stuff and hearing it on TV."

This follows numerous recent stories about Democrats, including former longtime Sen. Gene Stipe and his excessive campaign donation problems.

Now, Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, a Democrat, has been indicted on multiple counts over campaign irregularities. Former Democratic insurance commissioner Carroll Fisher is in prison after being convicted of embezzling from his campaign funds and of lying on a campaign report.

"Then they hear about the speaker and the wanna-be speaker," Ferguson said.

Four House Republicans have filed to lead the lower chamber for the session. They include Rep. Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, who is the old leadership's choice. He is viewed as a more moderate Republican who can work with both the GOP and Democrats, which he has done as head of the powerful House Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Cargill had the unquestioning allegiance of the freshman lawmakers whom he helped get elected, and they are expected to rally behind Benge when the GOP caucus meets in closed session Monday morning. The next speaker will be elected in open session Monday afternoon, following Gov. Brad Henry's State of the State address.

Benge has said he will keep the current GOP committee chairmen in place so the House can quickly get about its business. It has only three months to deal with a dwindling surplus in the state's $7 billion budget.











Another speaker candidate is Rep. Susan Winchester, R-Chickasha, who was denied a leadership role under Cargill but has supporters among some of the more experienced members.







Candidate Rep. Dale DeWitt, R-Braman, leads the rural caucus of Democrats and Republicans who meet during session to discuss mutual interests.







Another candidate, Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow, leads the Republican Caucus. Last fall, he ran unsuccessfully against Cargill for the position of speaker designate.

All four of these candidates have solid records of paying their taxes on time, county records checks by the Tulsa World show.

This controversy over taxes probably would not have occurred 20 years ago, before tax records were computerized, Ferguson said.

"I've never known a person resigning because of tax problems and an interim leader withdrawing because of the same thing," he said. "This has all left the people confused."

The longtime Republican said several GOP seats are being held by freshmen whose constituents are mostly Democratic, so the party needs to recognize that these seats could be vulnerable.

Ferguson does not expect Democrats to take over of the House, but he is afraid Republicans could lose ground in the fall elections.

The House leadership should look to the Senate, where Republicans and Democrats are evenly split, he said. Surprisingly, "the two parties made progress last session in a bipartisan fashion and both sides got things they wanted," he said.

Ferguson said he has been tempted to talk with University of Oklahoma President David Boren and ask him to call together former seasoned state leaders from both parties. Recently, Boren summoned numerous old Senate colleagues from across the country who gathered at OU. They urged the presidential candidates to quit listening to their entrenched bases and strive for common ground, reaching across party lines.

"Both Republicans and Democrats need to come to the Capitol with the idea of working with the people and being good servants instead of worrying about running for some other office and see how much money they can accumulate," Ferguson said.

"It's gotten pretty much out of control."

Cargill defends fundraiser, predicts GOP win

Cargill defends fundraiser,
predicts GOP win
By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
1/19/2008

Oklahoma House Speaker Lance Cargill on Friday defended his appearance at a controversial Mike Huckabee fundraiser and predicted a GOP sweep of Oklahoma's 77 counties in this year's presidential election.

"As opposed to a very popular Democrat governor (Brad Henry) at the top of the ticket, as we had in '06, in '08 we're going to have Hillary Clinton or (Barack) Obama, who will lose every single county in this state," Cargill told a Tulsa County Republican Men's Club meeting at the Summit Club.

"They will lose every single county, I'll make that prediction right now. So that will be very good for all Republicans up and down the ballot."

Responding to a question from the audience, Cargill dismissed criticism of a trip to Dallas he and five other GOP legislators took in December for a Mike Huckabee fundraiser at the home of businessman Gene Phillips.

Phillips is embroiled in the scandal that led to the corruption conviction of former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. Phillips is also accused of trying to influence legislation related to his family's insurance business.

Earlier, Cargill said he didn't know the fundraiser was connected to Phillips until he and his party arrived. On Friday, he seemed to mod ify that position slightly, saying he didn't know where the event was at the time he received the invitation but "subsequent to that, I did learn that it was at the home of Gene Phillips."

Cargill reiterated that a number of prominent people were at the fundraiser.

"The notion that we set foot in the fellow's house and that we are now corrupted by that is wholly inaccurate -- wholly inaccurate."

Cargill concluded by pointing out that an Oklahoma Democratic Party fundraiser scheduled for Tuesday at an Oklahoma City law office is co-hosted by former Gov. David Walters.

In 1993, Walters pleaded guilty to one count of accepting an illegal campaign contribution.

Cargill touted Republican accomplishments in state government over the past three years, especially in the areas of highway and education funding and tax cuts.

Responding to a question from Tulsa City Councilor Cason Carter, however, Cargill offered little immediate relief for Oklahoma municipalities struggling to maintain streets. He said an Oklahoma Municipal League proposal to return a portion of state sales tax receipts for local use "will be difficult in this budget year."

The Tulsa City Council has endorsed the proposal.

Randy Krehbiel 581-8365
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

Gary Jones and Legislators scrutinized over event

Legislators scrutinized over event

By Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis
Staff Writers
Sun January 13, 2008

House Speaker Lance Cargill and six other state Republican legislators attended a Mike Huckabee fundraiser in December at the Dallas home of a businessman who allegedly bribed Oklahoma's then-insurance commissioner, The Oklahoman has learned.

Cargill and some representatives confirmed that they accepted a bus ride to the fundraiser from lobbyist Bill Case, a former state representative with ties to the businessman.

Another representative and State Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones said they traveled to Dallas for the fundraiser on their own.

About 300 guests went to the Dec. 18 fundraiser at the Dallas poolhouse of Gene and Roxanne Phillips. Huckabee, a Republican, is running for president and is the former governor of Arkansas.

Gene Phillips did not pay for the legislators' bus ride, said his attorney, Stephen Jones.

The trip has generated some criticism in political circles. House Minority Leader Danny Morgan, D-Prague, said residents of Oklahoma should be concerned the House speaker "would allow himself and his members to be courted by a man alleged to be involved in the demise of former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher.”

Fisher, 67, faces a bribery trial in May. The former insurance commissioner is accused in a felony charge of illegally receiving money, gifts and gratuities from "Phillips, his family and business associates” after he was first elected to office in November 1998.

Among the alleged bribes was a $25,000 check made out to Fisher in December 1998. Fisher called the money a loan.

The state House in 2004 voted to impeach Fisher in part for accepting about $20,000 in furnishings and furniture from "the Gene Phillips Group” for his state office. Fisher quit rather than face an ouster trial in the Senate and is now in prison, convicted of embezzling campaign funds.

No charges for Phillips
Phillips was questioned by investigators working for Oklahoma's attorney general. He has never been charged with bribing Fisher. Phillips denies wrongdoing.

Cargill and others said they didn't pay attention to who was hosting the fundraiser when they decided to go. Cargill said he was invited by Case.

"I didn't know where it was going to be,” Cargill said. "I was invited to the event and so went down there and it was at Mr. Phillips' home. ... I said, ‘Hi,' to Mr. Phillips and that was pretty much that. We were there to see the governor (Huckabee) and talk to him and we had that opportunity.”

Asked whether he would have gone had he known beforehand that the fundraiser was at Phillips' home, Cargill said, "I went there to meet the governor, not to talk to anybody else.”

(COME ON ANYBODY BUYING THIS LINE)

Most of the legislators and Gary Jones said they were not aware of the accusations surrounding Fisher and Phillips or did not remember them.

(COME ON ANYBODY BUYING THIS LINE)

"I certainly wasn't aware of where it was being held. That was never made an issue. I imagine most of the guys don't really even know who Gene Phillips is. If it's not some current event, it's hard to keep track of who people are,” Rep. Ron Peterson said. "That was a little bit old news, I guess. It's hard to keep everybody in your head all the time.”

(COME ON ANYBODY BUYING THIS LINE)

Who made the trip?
Traveling in the small bus to the fundraiser were Case, Cargill, Peterson, Rep. Gus Blackwell, Rep. Mike Jackson, Rep. T.W. Shannon, Rep. Colby Schwartz and former state Sen. Scott Pruitt, who shortly afterward became Huckabee's chairman in Oklahoma.

Also at the fundraiser were Rep. Rob Johnson, Gary Jones, lobbyist Bobby Stem and Enid attorney Stephen Jones.

Blackwell said Case and Stephen Jones organized the trip.

Case and Stem work as lobbyists at a firm called Capitol Gains. Stem lobbies for American Reserve Life Insurance Co. where Phillips' son is a top executive.

The House members told The Oklahoman they did not contribute to the Huckabee campaign at the fundraiser. They said they were impressed by Huckabee.

"I thought he was pretty impressive, an extremely nice guy. He gave a very uplifting speech and a very heartfelt speech,” Jackson said. "He's a genuine person.”

The Washington Post has pointed to the fundraiser at Phillips' home as an example of how Huckabee aides have had little time to research the backgrounds of his new supporters. The Post noted Huckabee did not know until told by a news reporter that Phillips had been fined $850,000 by the Securities and Exchange Commission and once faced a federal bribery indictment. Phillips was acquitted in the criminal case at trial.

Huckabee's state chairman, Pruitt, said he has not been made aware of any criticism of Huckabee involving the December fundraiser.

"There was a tremendous diversity of people there,” he said.

Phillips' attorney, Stephen Jones, said, "He's a voter. He's a citizen. I don't know of anything that excludes him from hosting politicians who want to come to his house. ... What's the guy done that's wrong? You can't measure by some subjective standard.”

Stephen Jones, who is politically active and on the state Republican finance committee, said he did not pay to bus the legislators or arrange for it.

The attorney confirmed he was listed as one of the hosts on invitations and said the event raised about $300,000.

The attorney called the bribery charge against Fisher "garbage” and said if state prosecutors had any evidence against Phillips, they would have indicted him.

"They didn't,” he said.

Case did not return phone calls for this story.