OSBI asked to take over CED7 probe

Sheriff Kenneth Tidwell said Thursday he has asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to do the official inquiry into an alleged embezzlement of over $100,000 from Circuit Engineering District No. 7.
News of the missing money first broke in July of 2017 when Executive Director Monte Goucher announced that his office manager and board secretary had been terminated for cause. He said the employee had approached him and confessed to embezzling funds and the individual’s employment had been terminated by the CED7 Board of Directors at its July 25 meeting.
The loss at that time was thought to be about $8,700.
An “investigative audit” by the Office of State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones was reported underway in August of 2017. However, a spokesperson in that office said Friday it still has not been completed.
Meanwhile, though, an audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, was completed by the district’s regular auditor – FSW&B of Stillwater. Reviewed by the board of directors at a meeting in March of 2018, it said the amount believed to have been “misappropriated” was more than $246,000 with the employee who had been terminated in July responsible for approximately $99,300.
Some board members have been critical that nobody has been prosecuted yet for the alleged embezzlement of funds and for a while directed their criticism at Custer County District Attorney Angela Marsee. However, she explained at the October 2017 meeting that she could not file charges until she receives an investigative report.
“We are not an investigative agency,” she said. “We have to have an investigation by another agency. Until I get a report from one of those investigative agencies, I cannot prosecute or look at a case. Nobody’s presented any kind of case to my office.”
Mrs. Marsee has since recused herself and her staff from the CED7 case, since counties they represent are part of the district. A spokesperson for State Attorney General Mike Hunter said Friday no other district attorney has yet been assigned to handle the case and probably won’t be until the state audit is complete.
It was not clear whether Tidwell’s announcement Thursday that he is asking OSBI to take over the investigation would speed the filing of charges or not. For “transparency” purposes, he said it was better that his office not handle the investigation.
Incidentally, this embezzlement and investigation have nothing to do with a misdemeanor charge filed recently against Custer County Commissioner Kurt Hamburger that consumed a majority of the CED7 board’s time at its last meeting Dec. 4. The alleged offense in that case involved only $300 and resulted in Hamburger’s dismissal from the board.
It’s been no secret for some time that he and several other members of the board do not see eye to eye on certain things, and that was brought out dramatically at last week’s meeting when some members tried to tie his $300 case to the alleged big-time embezzlement of a year and a half earlier.
One of the board members felt his compatriots would be letting Hamburger off lightly if he wasn’t dismissed now instead of waiting until the misdemeanor case is settled. That member pointed to the fact that the secretary was fired shortly after she admitted wrong-doing and Hamburger was still on the board that morning. The member thought that was not equal justice.
The board’s attorney even agreed. “You have to be consistent,” he told the members. “This (the $300) is embezzlement of state property. You guys have control over state property.”
“I think it’s a damn shame we’re sitting here having this discussion, Kurt,” said board member Brian Hay of Roger Mills County. “I would personally step down. . . . I think there’s ethics involved. We walk a pretty fine line every day. I think we need to vote and go on. The longer this goes on, the worse it looks.”
Earlier, Hamburger had said the grilling he was getting was “an opportunity to see what a zoo this really is.” Addressing Board President Joe Don Dickey of Tillman County, he said, “Mr. Chairman, you and Mr. Goucher have had problems with my voting in the past. In May you tried to throw me off for missing two meetings.”
“Read the bylaws,” said Dickey. “It’s on you, not us.”
“You came up with cause to get rid of another commissioner from Custer County,” said Hamburer.
“That’s not true,” declared Dickey. “I never saw disharmony till you came on this board.”
Hamburger fired back. “You have attempted to bully me and intimidate me,” he told Dickey. “I am dedicated to Custer County. I am dedicated to the people of District 2 (his district), and that’s who I’m going to fight for. I just express myself and ask questions. I have asked for agendas.” He said he never gets one and added, “You only feed us what you want to feed us or want us to know.”
The board wound up suspending Hamburger from his seat on the board until the misdemeanor case is resolved. If he’s found not guilty, as he contends he will be, supposedly he will be reinstated.