Eufaula mayor charged with ebezzlement

Local News

September 5, 2009

By LIZ McMAHAN The McAlester News-Capital Sat Sep 05, 2009, 05:49 PM CDT

Eufaula Mayor Dean Smith appeared Thursday in McIntosh County District Court on four felony counts of embezzlement made against him in the alleged misuse of a city credit card.

He was released on recognizance until an October court appearance, said Assistant District Attorney Greg Stidham.

After the court appearance Smith issued a letter to Don Murray, chief of police, ordering Murray suspended with pay until a Sept. 17 hearing by the City Council. In a separate letter, Smith named Capt. Charles Hammett as acting chief of police.

Smith’s letter to Murray said he was recommending Murray be terminated “for the good of the service.”

Murray was one of the officers investigating Smith on an embezzlement complaint.

Murray could not be reached for comment.

In an e-mail, Smith said there is no connection between the charges filed against him and his suspension of Murray.

“It was unfortunate that all this took place today,” Smith wrote. “But my actions revolve around several months on this situation with the police chief and are two totally different issues.”

Smith did not comment on the charges against himself.

Stidham said the investigation on the embezzlement charges began shortly after Smith’s arrest in August 2008 by city officers on a complaint of driving under the influence of alcohol, transporting an open container and disobeying a traffic signal.

That case is set for jury trial later this month, according to court records.

At the time of his arrest last August, a police officer discovered a city fuel credit card that was issued to the vehicle was not in the car, Stidham said.

“An investigation began of where the card was,” Stidham said. The district attorney’s office joined with Eufaula police officers in that probe.

Stidham said the embezzlement charges against Smith do not involve a large amount of money — about $200 — but they are felonies because Smith is a public official.

All of the charges involve allegations Smith used a city fuel credit card improperly:

• On three occasions, the mayor used the card to fill up the city car he was driving and then applied for and received reimbursement from the city for mileage.

• On one occasion Smith allegedly used the city’s card to pay for having the oil changed in his personal vehicle.

“There’s no problem with filling up the vehicle, but then when he turned in his mileage claims later, he would then claim mileage for that as though he had paid for it himself and receive the reimbursement for it,” Stidham said.

Reach Liz McMahan at 918-684-2926.

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