An Oklahoma multicounty grand jury that is expected to resume an investigation of former state Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher does not need new rules and procedures sought by a Texas businessman who has been tied to Fisher, according to the attorney general’s office.
Businessman Gene Phillips and an associate, Ron Akin, objected to plans to convene a new grand jury in a motion filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court last month that said the grand jury lacked basic operational rules and that procedures for selecting grand jury members were being abused.
In a 39-page reply, Senior Assistant Attorney General Sandra D. Rinehart said neither Phillips, Akin nor their attorney, Stephen Jones of Enid, have standing to challenge the convening of the grand jury and have not demonstrated that the procedures they want are necessary.
Rinehart described them as “a ‘wish list’ of suggested rules and procedures which would be beneficial to them.”
Meanwhile, Oklahoma County Special Judge Fred Doak recently rescheduled arguments by prosecution and defense attorneys for Fisher and his former top assistant, Opal Ellis, on whether they should be bound over for trial on charges arising from a previous grand jury investigation. Arguments are now set for June 15.
The grand jury returned eight indictments naming three defendants on 11 separate counts in the investigation. Indicted were Fisher, Ellis and the Fisher Foundation Inc.
Fisher is charged with embezzlement, operating a charity illegally, perjury, bribery and filing a false income tax return. Ellis is charged with embezzlement. They have denied the charges.
Among other things, the grand jury accused Fisher of receiving bribes of “money, gifts and gratuities” from Phillips, his family and business associates. The grand jury alleged that one of the bribes received by Fisher was a $25,000 check from Davister Corp. Akin was an officer of that company.
Jones has said Phillips was never an officer, director or shareholder of Davister. But the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission identified the company as being “managed by the same personnel who manage … other private companies owned by Phillips or his family trusts.”
In September 1999 Fisher personally approved the sale of Tulsa’s American Reserve Life Insurance Co. to a Phillips-related company, authorities said.
Neither Phillips nor Akin has been charged, but Akin appeared before the previous multicounty grand jury twice.
The Supreme Court convened a new multicounty grand jury on April 18 but instructed Attorney General Drew Edmondson, the grand jury’s legal adviser, to respond to Phillips’ challenge to Edmondson’s authority to impanel a grand jury. Phillips’ motion said the new grand jury may target him.
In her reply, Rinehart said grand jury procedures already in place are sufficient to guarantee that a person’s legal rights are protected.
A grand jury’s duty is to investigate whether a crime has been committed and those appearing before it do not have the same rights as trial litigants, she said.
Fisher resigned on Sept. 24, 2004, after being impeached by the state House. He left office before a Senate trial on five articles of impeachment. He currently works as a consultant in California.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Oklahoma
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