Owasso Grand Jury

[Ed W]

The Tulsa County grand jury investigating allegations of criminal conduct by city officials in Owasso ended today. The grand jury concluded that while some actions were unethical, none rose to the level of criminality. The jury offered the following among their comments:

"8. That there was no evidence presented to the Grand Jury of racketeering, bribery, conspiracy, accessory or any other uncharged criminal activity involving Rodney Ray, Wayne Guevara, the First Bank of Owasso or its employees, the Owasso Land Trust or its principals or any employees of the City of Owasso."

"9. That the Grand Jury makes the observation that it is important to verify information and/or facts before making unsubstantiated allegations."

The jury made some recommendations about changes to city policies and procedures, including making newly elected officials familiar with those policies and procedures. They also noted there's a prohibition against city employees participating in political campaigns, a prohibition that is contrary to their constitutional rights.

So we've reached the end of the line on this particular crazy train. Despite the protestations and bluster of a small group of area residents, nothing of a criminal nature came to light. Some, of course, will find that as further evidence of conspiracy and cover-up, but there's little we can do to counter such paranoid fantasies. It would be nice to see a public apology from those who advanced these unfounded allegations, particularly in light of the amount of public money spent investigating their baseless claims. But I'm not expecting that.

The link to the Grand Jury finding is at the bottom of this OCIS summary. It's a TIFF document, so it opens in a photo window:

OCIS Case Summary for GJ-2013-1- JERRY B ALEXANDER v. IN RE GRAND JURY (Tulsa County District Court)
www.oscn.net

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/GetCaseInformation.asp?submitted=true&viewtype=caseGeneral&casemasterID=2646484&db=Tulsa