August 4, 2008
Who’s Who in the Oral Roberts Lawsuit: The Juicy Witness List (And Just Wait ‘Til You Get to the Politicians!)
The heart of this scandal has never been Lindsay Roberts’ personal life or whether the Roberts enjoyed a lavish lifestyle at university expense while it careened towards financial ruin.It is about the state and federal felonies of tax fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, violations of the RICO statutes and obstruction of justice.
John M. Wylie II, Publisher
Oologah Lake Leader, November 29, 2007
Oh, the tangled web…
First, make sure you’re caught up on the details:
Everything You Need to Know About the Oral Roberts Scandal… So Far
October 9, 2007
Oral Roberts U Scandal: Exit Richie, Enter “Convicted Sexual Deviant”
October 17, 2007
Oral Roberts Battles the Devil for ORU
October 26, 2007
There Is A God! Oral Roberts Lawsuit Still On; Televangelism Nearly Extinct
April 20, 2008
Oral Roberts U. Suit: Witness List Makes for Fascinating Reading
August 1, 2008
Now…
Before we get to The List, let’s get something straight: At first, you might be tempted to sympathize with Tim and Paulita Brooker, who are filing suit against Oral Roberts University and its regents, simply because the Brookers’ action is bringing to light decades of more-than-questionable activity by a stalwart institution of far-right extremism — and who (but other far-right extremists) doesn’t simply relish the vision of Oral “900-Foot-Tall Jesus” Roberts and his entire clan of the freedom-hating homophobes, misogynists, and other miscreants going down in flames?
But don’t be fooled: The Brookers, and their former co-plaintiff, John Swails, are — in our opinion — as despicably corrupt as any of the defendants named in their lawsuit.
Bear in mind that (in our opinion) the plaintiffs went public only because they were fired from their jobs (wrongfully terminated, in our opinion):
Do not forget that John Swails dropped out of the suit once he got what he wanted out of ORU: his job back (plus full benefits).
Do not be fooled into believing the plaintiffs took action out of any altruistic motive — which is possible (with God, all things are possible!), but highly unlikely. In our opinion, if any of the plaintiffs were possessed of something remotely resembling a conscience, they would not have been willing participants in this incestuous — and, in our opinion, illegal — marriage between a religious college and the world of politics — or, at the very least, they would have blown the whistle on ORU long before last fall.
As you learn more through the linked sources here, and through your own Googling, keep your eyes peeled for minutiae that flesh out the scantily-limned portraits of the plaintiffs.
For just one of many examples: Tim Brooker “said in the suit that under pressure from university officials he gave inaccurate information to the Internal Revenue Service in an investigation of the political activities last year.” Sorry, Tim, but there’s no way we’re going to believe “pressure from university officials” involved bright lights, starvation, or confinement in a bamboo cage. (Frankly, we doubt the cock crowed even twice before you denied your master.)
All this is not a defense of the defendants; it is simply a caveat: The plaintiffs — in our opinion — are just as slimy as the defendants.
The lesson to be learned isn’t grand, but quite simple: Don’t
That said, let’s get to Who’s Who in the Oral Roberts Lawsuit:
All named below are only witnesses, unless noted as plaintiffs or defendants.
Tim Brooker: Plaintiff.
Paulita Brooker: Plaintiff.
Lindsay Roberts: Defendant. See the backstory in the links at the beginning of this post.
Granville Oral Roberts: Defendant. The Big Kahuna.
Karen Arutunoff: Wife of super-rich car nut Anatoly (”Toly”) Arutunoff of Tulsa, OK. May or may not still own BMW of Tulsa; still has part interest in a Tulsa Honda dealership. Occasional guest on cable show “Make My Day Count with Lindsay Roberts.”
Don Bullard
Michael Cardone, Jr.: ORU graduate. President & CEO of Cardone Industries, “world’s largest privately held remanufacturer of auto parts,” co-founded with his self-made old man, Michael, Sr. (who poured money into Assemblies of God, and founded Christian Life Center, Bensalem, PA); board, Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association; board, EMERGE Ministries, Inc. (”full-service Evangelical Christian mental health outpatient center dedicated to helping churches minister to the needs of Christian believers”), Akron, OH; board, Center of FaithWalk Leadership (runs “Lead Like Jesus” prison program). Longtime (& big-time) Republican donor (Rick Santorum has been a favored recipient) who sometimes hedges his bets by pitching a few bucks toward Democratic candidates as well. Regular contributor to RNC & other GOP PACs; history of donations to English-only movement.
Kenneth Copeland: “Prosperity Gospel” televangelist, Kenneth Copeland Ministries; ORU regent; former ORU student; former pilot and chauffeur for Oral Roberts. Subject of Chuck Grassley’s Senate investigation.
Scott Cordray: ORU graduate. Otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor/head and neck surgeon) in private practice, Tulsa. Founder, Master Solutions, LLC; developed, distributes Oasis Nasal Spray & Oasis Nasal Wash. Author, Staying Healthy on the Missionary Field. With wife Rochelle (also an ORU grad), very active in church, Victory Christian Center, Tulsa.
Creflo Dollar: “Word Faith” (a.k.a. “Prosperity Gospel,” a.k.a. “Name It and Claim It,” a.k.a. “Blab-It-and-Grab-It”) pastor & founder, Christian World Changers Ministries, College Park, GA (of which wife Taffi Dollar is co-pastor; she’s also the CEO of gospel music producer Arrow Records). Subject of Chuck Grassley’s Senate investigation.
Jesse Duplantis: Founder, Jesse Duplantis Ministries; ex-Catholic; ex-rocker (as “Jerry Jackson” with band “Summer Wine”); co-founder, Christians United For Israel (see John Hagee, below). With wife Cathy founded Covenant Church, Destrehan, Louisiana.
Richard Fenimore: ORU grad; co-founder, Trinity Chemical Industries, Tulsa. With wife Shelley, members, Victory Christian Center, Tulsa; two sons attend Victory Christian School; daughter Whitney is a freshman at ORU.
Charles Green: Pastor, Faith Church; president, Harvest Ministries to the World, Baton Rouge, LA.
John Hagee: Televangelist whose far-right views are so extreme, even John McCain disavowed his support. President & CEO, John Hagee Ministries; senior pastor, Cornerstone (mega-)Church, San Antonio, TX; CEO, Global Evangelism Television; co-founder, Christians United for Israel.
Michael Hammer: Chairman & CEO, Armand Hammer Foundation & Hammer International Foundation; chairman & president, 8-31 Holdings, Inc.; owner, Hammer Galleries, Knoedler Galleries, & Knoedler Publishing, New York; board, Dream Center, Los Angeles; president, Hammer Productions, Los Angeles; founder & chairman emeritus, Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center (L.A.); founder & director, Christian Communications Association, Cayman Islands; ex-director, Avenue Entertainment Group.
Former chair, Long-Range Planning Committee of the Western Los Angeles County Council of the Boy Scouts of America; former member, Development Committee of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; former overseer, Columbia University School of Business; former executive & director, Occidental Petroleum; also worked for Kidder Peabody.
With wife Dru (née Mobley): founders, Grace Christian Academy, Cayman Islands; former directors, Armand Hammer United World College of the American West, Montezuma, New Mexico.
Marilyn Hickey: Pentecostal “Seed Faith” televangelist. With husband Wallace, pastors, Orchard Road Christian Center, Denver, CO.
I.V. Hilliard: Founder, pastor, New Light Christian Center Church, Houston, TX.
Benny Hinn: Televangelist, faith healer who claims to be able to cure everything from AIDS to death itself (see the Conservative Babylon entry for Paul Crouch for some of Hinn’s “miraculous” claims), and false prophet who predicted God would destroy all gay people in 1995. Subject of Chuck Grassley’s Senate investigation.
Barry G. Hon: Obscenely wealthy real estate developer, Hon Development Company, Foothill Ranch, California. Former chairman, ArmenTel and DirectNet; chairman, Trans-World Telecom; president, Trans-World Telecom Caribbean Ltd., a Caribbean telecommunications company whose Web site has disappeared. (Here it is, cached.) More about TWT here. Interesting sidenote: Seems Barry’s TWT leveled some nasty — and false — accusations against a rival company in 2006. Republican. Lives in Dana Point, California.
Scott Howard: ORU grad; president, Commercial Roofers, Inc., Las Vegas. Trustee, Las Vegas Franklin Graham Festival; trustee & treasurer, Trinity Life Center church.
Myles Munroe: Founder & president, Bahamas Faith Ministries International; author; motivational speaker.
George Pearsons: Pastor, Eagle Mountain Church, Newark, TX, an offshoot of Kenneth Copeland Ministries (Pearsons is Copeland’s son-in-law).
Henry Penix: Henry A. Penix Ministries (d/b/a Accelerate Your Destiny), Tulsa.
Jerry Savelle: Kenneth Copeland protegé; televangelist; (”Chariots of Light,” Daystar network); president, Jerry Savelle Ministries International; founding pastor, Heritage of Faith Christian Center, Crowley, TX.
Bill Scheer: With wife, Sandy, founding pastors of GUTS Church in Tulsa.
Bill Shuler: ORU campus pastor & Dean of Spiritual Affairs.
Peter Sumrall: President & CEO, LeSEA Broadcasting Network (Christian network); on father Lester’s death, took over Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Association (LeSEA), a.k.a. Sumrall Ministries International.
Charles Watson: Owner, Charlie Watson Enterprises.
(Plaintiffs were forced to drop suit against all but current regents)
Mark Lewandowski: ORU professor; ex-ORU provost; ex-EVP for Academic Affairs.
Carlton Pearson: Former ORU regent; Bishop, United Church of Christ; considered a heretic by the Roberts-Hagee-Hickey crowd for his “gospel of inclusion.”
Marty Crossland: Acting Dean, ORU School of LifeLong Education.
Dan Grimes: Associate Professor of Church Ministries, Department of Theology, School of Arts and Sciences, ORU; director, Tulsa Hope Academy; trustee, Central Christian College of Kansas, McPherson, KS; pastor, church consultant, Free Methodist Church of North America, Mid-America Conference Elder.
Mark Hall: English professor.
Jerry Isaacs: ORU Head of Campus Law Enforcement. “In November, the Brookers subpoenaed Sam Douglass, a pilot, for aircraft records involving ORU and the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association; Jerry Isaacs, ORU’s security director, for records of who entered the on-campus presidential housing compound; and Lee Belmonte, a private investigator, for documents and materials related to a report of the president’s family’s alleged wrongdoing.” [”Legal claims in ORU case going forward,” Tulsa World, April 2, 2008]
Ruby Libertus: Political Science professor.
Linda Littrell: Update, August 5, 2008: “Linda Littrell is the Secretary of the History Humanities and Government Department.” Thanks, “former student”!
Jeff Ogle: Defendant; ORU Associate Provost.
Felipe Ornelas: Humanities professor. Attended policy conference for American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Washington, D.C., March, 2007, with Tim Brooker & John Swails.
Glenda Payas: ORU trustee, secretary; former regent. Received DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) degree from Michael Cardone, Sr., School of Dentistry (see Michael Cardone, Jr.), at ORU. Private practice: Payas Laser and Cosmetic Dental Care of Tulsa.
Jan Render: Administrative Secretary, ORU “School of LifeLong Education”; assistant to SLLE chair Mark Hall.
Wendy Shirk: Defendant; ORU Dean of the School of Arts and Cultural Studies.
John Swails: Former plaintiff with the Brookers; dropped suit when ORU re-instated him as tenured professor.
Danielle Appledorn
Caleb Becker: Works in ORU’s college & career guidance center.
Jessica Clark
Jacob Dawson: ORU College Republicans president
Glen Disher
Laneice Goodwin Brooker: Class of 2004.
Calandra Vargas
The above students were involved in at least one political campaign pushed by ORU:
“Earlier this year [2005], Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune announced a new $250 million general obligation bond package that … included $32.8 million for flood control improvements, with $15.25 million of that amount earmarked to fix the infamous Fred Creek problem. …
“As voting day drew near, ORU assistant professor of government Dr. Tim Brooker recruited a fearless team of students from his classes who proceeded to flood south Tulsa with their efforts to get the vote out — not just for Proposition 3 (flood control), but for the entire package.
“The bond was approved by voters on April 5.
“Dr. Brooker’s operation involved long evenings of ‘phone-banking,’ as students went through a list of roughly 38,000 names to zero in on the yes-vote base. Then, he had about 20 teams of student volunteers canvassing two precincts each, so that on any given Saturday students were making an impact on up to 40 precincts at a time.” [”Fred Creek Flooding?,” ORU, 2005]
“About 100 ORU student volunteers enjoyed the fruits of their labors when Tulsa’s $250 million general obligation — ‘GO’ — bond package was passed on April 5…” [”Student Volunteers Help Get GO Bond Passed,” ORU]
Lawrence Bombac
Carla Brown: Probably a former ORU student: “Meeting a Command Sergeant Major as part of a volunteer event recently was a thrill for Carla Brown, 24, who is a graduate of Oral Roberts University. Brown’s platform is domestic violence awareness and she hopes one day to do intelligence work for the government.” [”Miss DC Pageant to be Held this Month,” OnTap, 2007]
James Burr
Amanda Beth Chesser
Cornell Cross: Plaintiff in separate suit against ORU, one of several which “claim some students can’t finish their degrees because their professors were fired. Cornell Cross is one of those students.” [”Additional Lawsuits Filed Against Oral Roberts University,” KOTV, December 18, 2007]
You can read Cross’s suit here (PDF) — and it’s quite an entertaining read as lawsuits go. In a nutshell, Cross claims that ORU’s actions “devalued and ruined” his ORU degree, and basically screwed up his fast track into government; “due to the illegal and tortious conduct” of ORU, “the Internal Revenue Service blocked all campaign involvement by ORU students until after the 2006 campaign season. As a result,” Cross lost his internship with Martha Rainville, Republican candidate for Bernie Sanders’ vacant congressional seat, and Rainville lost her ORU interns. (She also lost the race, but that had more to do with a nasty little habit of plagiarism than anything else.)
Cross also claims that when he tried to dig into ORU’s financial information, he “became a target of the Administration for explusion.”
Kara Dixon: 2003 sophomore chaplain.
Abraham Dominguez (misspelled “Dominquez” in list): Homepage as of 2005: http://www.xanga.com/handsomelatin
Rebecca Griffin
Elizabeth Higgins: Update, August 5, 2008: “Elizabeth Higgins is Gov and History graduate and former president of the Hebrew Culture Club and secretarial assistant in the Government Department.” Thanks, “former student”!
Lainna Hubbard: Update, August 5, 2008: “Laina Hubbard is also a graduate of the government department and participated on many campaigns.” Thanks, “former student”!
Shannon Kendrick: “AIPAC Campus Activist.” “‘I commit to AIPAC because it is the one place where both parties - Democrat and Republican party are united.’” — Shannon Kendrick, Oral Roberts University” (Is being an “AIPAC Campus Activist” a bad thing? You decide. Mixed with our disgust is a tad of pity for young Christians who get themselves mixed up with AIPAC, because they think AIPAC supports Israel for the same reason they do — and they couldn’t be more wrong. But that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish for a whole ‘nother day.)
Kelsey Laird
Will Needer Neder: Update, August 6, 2008: “Will Neder is a former student, studied government/law — married to Libby Needer, whose birth name is Dollar, most likely a relative of Creflo Dollar.” Thanks, anonymous reader! Update, August 18, 2008: Libby (Dollar) Neder is not related or connected in any way to Creflo Dollar. Thanks to another anonymous reader!
Myron Randall: Class of 2008.
Anna Scott: Class of 2006; ORU Student Association Officer; one of a group of Tim Brooker’s Student Government Association who went to Washington to lobby against “the proposed elimination of the Federal Perkins Loan program, which currently provides financial aid for numerous ORU students.” [” ORU Students Take Financial Aid Concerns to ‘The Hill’,” ORU]. Former Research Associate, Capitol District Information, Inc.; currently: Program Development at American Society for Public Administration, Washington, D.C. [LinkedIn]
Anna Siebring: Former student; one of anywhere from 150 to 400 students to leave ORU in 2008 because of the scandal. [various news sources]
Heather Thomas
Albert Thompson: Government major.
Jen Thompson: Update, August 5, 2008: “Jen Thompson (Jennifer Thompson) is Albert Thompson’s wife and Gov department Graduate.” Thanks, “former student”!
Trey Tucker: ORU grad (Class of 2007); Student Association president; member, Student Development Panel; marketing major. Owner, Premium Mobile Detail, Dallas/Fort Worth. One of four ORU alumni behind religious social-networking site ROOV.com. Picture.
Ginsey Varghese: Government major.
Johnny King: Probably Johnny King, Secretary/Treasurer of the ORU Hebrew Club.
Liz Wray
Bob Beauprez: Ex-Rep, Colorado Dist. 6; failed Republican gubernatorial candidate (2006); very, very rich businessperson, involved in numerous interesting dealings, from banking to political dirty tricks.
“In October 2002 … [Tim] Brooker recruited 30 ORU students to volunteer during fall break in three Colorado campaigns. He said most were international students who couldn’t go home for the break anyway. The students worked as paid volunteers for the Republican National Committee, which paid all their expenses, Brooker said. They worked in the congressional campaign of Bob Beauprez and the re-election bids of Colorado Gov. Bill Owens and U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard. All three won, although Allard and Beauprez had not been favored to win.” [Tulsa World, October 14, 2007; see also “ORU Students Campaign in Denver,” ORU]
Tom Coburn: Rabidly anti-gay Republican U.S. Senator from Oklahoma; member, Promise Keepers.
“With its 60-foot-tall, 30-ton bronze of praying hands and an even taller prayer tower capped by a billowing eternal flame, Oral Roberts University is a strong symbol for Christian conservatives.
“But the university’s rules forbid mixing religion with politics. So when Dr. Tom Coburn, the Republican Senate nominee in Oklahoma, addressed students recently, the professor who welcomed him refrained from making an endorsement.
“‘But I don’t think we would violate anything,” the professor, John W. Swails, told the students with a bit of a nod and a wink, ‘by saying to you, “We can pray for Dr. Coburn in this race.”‘ …
“Afterward, Professor Swails, chairman of the department of history, humanities and government, said he and many of the students would work to help elect him. While he likes Dr. Coburn’s stand on fiscal matters, Professor Swails said, the abortion issue was the most important.
“As he explained, ‘It’s a matter of faith.’” [”A Senate Race in Oklahoma Lifts the Right,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, September 19, 2004]
Coburn’s ties to ORU run deep: Coburn’s father was O.W. Coburn, who donated some $10 million to open the O.W. Coburn School of Law at ORU, which was dedicated in 1979; in 1985, ORU “donated” the law school to Pat Robertson’s private Christian college, CBN University (later renamed Regent University):
“Oral Roberts University’s O.W. Coburn School of Law in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an ABA-accredited law school. In November, 1985, students at O.W. Coburn were informed that the law school was being ‘donated’ to CBN University in Virginia, a university which did not previously have a law school. The transfer occurred in June, 1986… Although O.W. Coburn ended active operations at that time, the law school remained technically open as an ABA-accredited law school until June, 1987…
“At the time the transfer to CBN University was announced, students in good standing at O.W. Coburn were informed that they could automatically transfer to the new law school in Virginia. In March, 1986, O.W. Coburn and CBN University jointly applied to the ABA for transfer of O.W. Coburn’s accreditation to the new law school. Representatives of the ABA made site visits to both O.W. Coburn and CBN University in April, 1986, and met with students at O.W. Coburn. The ABA representatives were frank concerning the unlikely prospects for transfer of accreditation and encouraged the students to look for options to assure that they would receive law degrees from an ABA-accredited law school. Based on the April site visits, the ABA Section on Legal Education denied the joint application for transfer of ABA accreditation to the new law school in August, 1986, and instead preserved O.W. Coburn’s accreditation for the purpose of awarding degrees to its second-year students who completed their studies at other ABA-accredited schools. CBN University did not appeal from this decision. The ABA also denied CBN University’s request for waiver of the rule requiring one year of operation before a new law school is eligible for accreditation. …” [”In the Matter of Michael J. Tocci,” Commonwealth of Massachusetts, September 9, 1992 - October 8, 1992]
“More than at most such institutions, admission to Oral Roberts University’s two-year-old O.W. Coburn School of Law is a matter of faith. All students must be avowed Christians. Once on the Tulsa campus, they are required to sign pledges to ‘yield my personality to the healing and maturing power of the Holy Spirit’ and ‘exemplify Christlike character’ through prayer. As a result, the American Bar Association threatened to deny the school its coveted accreditation, a condition for admission to the bar in many states. Reason: the requirements seemed to violate A.B.A. standards forbidding religious discrimination in admissions.” [”Christlike Counselors?,” Time, July 27, 1981]
The school finally “received full accreditation in 1996. The Law Library received the bulk of its collection after Oral Roberts University School of Law closed and donated its library to Regent University.”
Jim Inhofe: U.S. Republican Senator from Oklahoma (ranked 8th most conservative Senator in 2007).
Per John M. Wylie of the Oologah Lake Leader:
…Inhofe was a key player in the scandal that dethroned Richard Roberts at Oral Roberts University.In fact, Inhofe may well have sown the seeds and then let Roberts take the fall.
Randi Miller got into the race for Tulsa mayor at the urging of Inhofe and Roberts. According to a lawsuit filed by three professors, Roberts then freely used university resources to promote her candidacy in direct violation of federal law.
Inhofe, according to e-mails published by the Tulsa World, also was part of Roberts’ clumsy effort to become a political kingmaker and the even clumsier efforts by Roberts’ sister-in-law Stephanie Cantees.
One e-mail from Cantees to Roberts said Roberts should urge Inhofe and other Republican leaders to steer federal agencies into leasing space at ORU’s CityPlex Towers.
She specifically suggests getting Inhofe to arrange for FEMA to become a CityPlex tenant.
What would politicians get? Cantees told Roberts to use chapel services to force students to register and vote as he instructed, reminding them that he could check records to make certain they were registered the right way.
She also said, “You have what they want — voters and influence. Not one big donor in this state has what you want, yearly new crop of ready made voters (18 years old out of state).” …
If the disovery process in the Nov. 21 suit filed by former ORU senior accountant Trent Huddleston produces links to Inhofe, it could be a true disaster for Oklahoma’s senior senator and sleazemeister.
That’s because Huddleston directly accuses ORU, Oral Roberts Ministries, Richard and Lindsay Roberts and other defendants of an ongoing conspiracy to “cook the books” of the institutions to hide a series of state and federal crimes.
Gary Jones: Probably the Gary Jones who is the Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman.
William LaFortune: Mayor of Tulsa, 2002-06. Oil family filthy rich, owns or paid for numerous Tulsa buildings & institutions. Alleged to have used ORU students to work on his mayoral
Tim Brooker “said ORU students also worked in the campaigns of other Tulsa mayoral candidates including Chris Medlock and Bill LaFortune.” [Tulsa World, October 14, 2007]
Richard Roberts was “part of newly elected Mayor Bill LaFortune’s transition team in 2002. LaFortune met with Roberts during the campaign and promised the city would begin ‘a new relationship’ with ORU. … LaFortune [made] sure the city fixed another issue for Roberts and ORU in 2003. The city ordered installation of two traffic lights in key areas near the campus without the usual traffic studies. … In 2005, LaFortune appointed Roberts’ sister-in-law, Realtor Stephanie Cantees, to the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission.
“But near the end of [2005], the mayor had fallen from favor with Roberts, who urged him not to seek re-election. LaFortune said he could not comment because the law firm where he works is defending ORU in a lawsuit brought by three former professors. That suit claims, among other things, that Roberts ordered government professor Tim Brooker to use his students in the mayoral campaign of Randi Miller. Miller, a county commissioner, was running against LaFortune in the GOP primary.” [Tulsa World]
“Richard Roberts, once a backer of LaFortune, gave his personal endorsement to [Randi] Miller shortly after she joined the race” (which she lost).
Following the arrests of Soulforce Equality Ride participants at ORU, one Tulsa blogger wrote: “It is no secret that ORU president Richard Roberts has Tulsa mayor Bill LaFortune in his back pocket. Roberts publicly supported LaFortune, a devout Roman Catholic, in the last election, and LaFortune has made sure the school received certain perks, like additional stoplights on the streets around the campus without going through the normal red tape for such things. Now LaFortune makes sure his goons are sent out to protect the delicate student population from these horrible homos.”
Lulie Maumenee: Senior Legislative Assistant to Rep. Mary Fallin (R-OK-5th); former employee of Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY-19th).
Randi Miller: Incompetent, if not thoroughly corrupt, Tulsa County Commissioner who “got clobbered in [the July 30, 2008] District 2 Republican primary.”
The original Brooker-Brooker-Swails lawsuit claimed that Richard Roberts “directed Professor Tim Brooker to mobilize students and university resources to support the 2006 mayoral campaign of County Commissioner Randi Miller. Brooker says that he advised against involvement as a violation of the university’s tax exempt status and as contrary to his personal policy for political science students getting practical campaign experience: ‘We don’t do local politics because it turns neighbors into enemies.’ Roberts overruled his objections. The suit alleges that Roberts’ order violated the school’s articles of incorporation and the faculty and administrative handbook and policy statement.
“When the IRS came calling a couple of months later, Brooker was told he was to be the fall guy (the suit alleges), to accept responsibility for the school’s involvement in the Randi Miller campaign and to shield President Roberts and the school from any repercussions. He also would have to suffer disciplinary procedures for his violations of school policy, even though those violations were ordered by the administration.
“Brooker later came into possession of an internal document — a ‘compendium itemiz[ing] numerous and substantial acts of misconduct and improrpieties by Defendants ORU and ROBERTS.’” [”ORU, Richard Roberts sued over involvement in Randi Miller campaign,” Michael Bates, October 2, 2007]
James Traficant: Ex-Democratic U.S. Representative from Ohio; convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, & more; currently serving eight years; due for release September, 2009.
John Wright: Could be John Wright, Oklahoma State Rep., District 76 (R).
Ole Anthony: Head of “watchdog ministry” Trinity Foundation & publisher of The Wittenburg Door (”The world’s pretty-much-only religious satire magazine”) who was “behind Senator Charles Grassley’s current investigation of six prominent televangelists” (Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Bishop Eddie Long and Creflo Dollar).
Lee Belmonte: Private investigator, “believed to be the man who allegedly photographed Lindsay Roberts and an underage male socializing alone late at night on numerous occasions.” [”Three ex-professors seek expansion of ORU lawsuit,” Oklahoman, November 10, 2007]
Stephanie Cantees: Richard Roberts’ sister-in-law, “paid by the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association as a community and government liaison.” See the details for Jim Inhofe and Bill LaFortune. In it up to her ears.
John Culbertson: Lecturer at ORU; self-described journalist; former Congressional aide; one-time consultant on 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and subject of 2004 raid at his home in Centreville, Virginia, after a “federal judge ordered authorities … to return nine computers and hundreds of disks confiscated from a consultant thought to have images relevant to the trial of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols.” [”Search in Bomb Case Called Broad,” Los Angeles Times, February 6, 2004] Of all the names on this list, Culbertson’s is the most curious.
John Dodge: Attorney. Along with Tim Brooker, involved in at least two different lawsuits against Benton County, Arkansas, Sheriff Andy Lee (see here).
Sam Douglass: “In November, the Brookers subpoenaed Sam Douglass, a pilot, for aircraft records involving ORU and the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association…” [”Legal claims in ORU case going forward,” Tulsa World, April 2, 2008]
Ron O’Dell: ORU Class of 1973; now Tulsa police officer.
Jerry Sholes: Former Oral Roberts employee; wrote a scathing exposé, Give Me That Prime-Time Religion: “Here is a portrait of the real Oral Roberts, the man not too many of his admirers know. He dresses in Brioni suits that cost $500 to $1000; walks in $100 shoes; lives in a $250,000 house in Tulsa and has a million dollar home in Palm Springs; wears diamond rings and solid gold bracelets employees `airbrush’ out of his publicity photos; drives $25,000 automobiles which are replaced every 6 months; flies around the country in a $2 million fanjet falcon; has membership, as does his son Richard, in `the most prestigious and elite country club in Tulsa,’ the Southern Hills (the membership fee alone was $18,000 for each, with $130 monthly dues) and in `the ultra-posh Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California’ (both father and son joined when memberships were $20,000 each–they are now $25,000); and plays games of financial hanky-panky that have made him and his family members independently wealthy (millionaires) for life. When his daughter and son-in-law were killed, they left a $10 million estate!”
If you can I.D. any of the following, we’d love to hear from you!
Zolotka Atanasova
Kweku Boafu
Jacob Bonsu
Junior Bontemps
Joseph Caswell
Ben Cowan
April Dabney
Lacey Davis
Matt Donati
Lawrence Favlora
Allison Field
Kevin Good
Nathan Harvill
Brian Jones
John KayKay (misspelling?)
Nathan Mangsen
Anthony Mitchener
Anthony Moreno
Surran Petit
Tom Petit
Kahlea Porter
Ken Ramey
Monique Rogers
Patricia Rogers
Andrew Said
Fladimer Sambieu
Ashlee Satterwhite
Deborah Thomas
Tyson Uselmann
Jenny Wish
Ashley Wright
Debbie Wright
Unnamed “Former nannies of Richard and Lindsay Roberts”
Unnamed “Private Investigator”
Unnamed “Security guards”
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Filed Under: Christianity, Corruption, Crime, Education/Schools, Oklahoma, Radical Religious Right, Republican Sexcapades, Republicans
