“I guess the Supreme Court just ruled that bribery’s okay.”
It’s the reaction of Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony to the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling upholding a 1989 rate case where a then-commissioner had taken a bribe from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.
“It’s a sad day for Oklahoma when the state’s highest court can’t even determine that bribery is unconstitutional,” said Anthony in a statement after the court ruling.
He and others including former Nichols Hill mayor Sody Clements as well as retired Air Force General Richard Burpee, retired FBI agent Bob A. Ricks, James Proctor, Rodd A. Moesel and Ray H. Potts had argued AT&T, the company that took over SWBT should refund $16 billion to ratepayers.
“Today’s decision completely ignores the AT&T bribery refund application’s stated legal basis for requesting more than $16 billion to be refunded to Oklahoma ratepayers—namely a 1987 Stipulation signed by the company agreeing to refund excess revenues,” said Anthony. “Both AT&T and the Supreme Court simply pretend this refund contract, called a Stipulation, doesn’t exist. Nevertheless, it does.”
Angry over the ruling, Anthony issued a critical statement against the court.
“Today’s decision also repeats the absurdly false notion that Corporation Commission staff members were never, at any time, engaged in wrongdoing, ignoring strong statements in the case to the contrary and refusing to hear testimony that would prove it,” he charged.
Anthony suggested the case might be taken to the federal courts. Since the case affected the U.S. Department of Defense at Tinker Air Force base, he said there are strong laws about defrauding the U.S. military.
