Published: October 09, 2008 12:00 am            

Court hears arguments in Terrill's bankruptcy case

OKLAHOMA CITY --Problems with state Rep. Randy Terrill's reopened 2005 bankruptcy case are nothing more than errors on his Ethic Commission reports, Terrill and his attorney told a federal judge Wednesday.

Speaking at a hearing before federal bankruptcy judge T.M. Weaver, Terrill and his attorney, Oklahoma City lawyer Jeffrey West, said concerns raised by bankruptcy trustee John D. Mashburn were simply errors on Terrill's 2004 and 2005 Ethics Commission filings.

"There are, probably, a half-dozen or more errors on those reports," Terrill said. "And under state law I am allowed to correct them."

Testifying for more than an hour, Terrill sparred with Mashburn about those filings, including several line-items listed as "loans." Terrill said the listings were not "loans" but were, instead, reimbursements for campaign-related expenses.

"What you are referring to as loans are not loans," he said.

Asked by Mashburn about his understanding of the state's Ethics Commission rules, Terrill said he "wasn't familiar" with the rules. "I'm not a campaign finance expert," he said. Instead, he said he followed the advice of a staff member of the Ethics Commission to fill out the forms.

"Those listings were put on that particular document based on a conversation we had with the Ethics Commission staff," he said.

Asked after the hearing to identify the commission staff member who offered the advice, Terrill refused. "I'm not going to say who," he said.

Citing filings from Terrill's first campaign for office in 2004 and his subsequent 2005 campaign filings, Mashburn repeatedly questioned Terrill about several different listings -- totaling more than $11,301 -- which were noted as loans on the filings but not listed as assets on Terrill's 2005 bankruptcy petition.

Mashburn also questioned the Moore Republican about a $4,000 transfer made from Terrill's campaign account to his personal bank account in October 2004.

"I'm not sure what this reflects," Terrill said. "I'm not familiar with those accounts."

A few minutes later, after being shown his own bank statement, Terrill acknowledged the transfer.

"I would agree it appears that way," he said.

"So it's a loan, right?" Mashburn asked.

"No," Terrill countered. "I'm suggesting that there is still no intent that it would be repaid."

Asked by Mashburn if any part of the $11,301 was ever repaid, Terrill said he "didn't know the answer to that."

Terrill also discounted a check written by the campaign back to his personal account which listed the notation "partial loan repayment."

"This is the first time I've seen those checks," he said. "My guess is that they were a reimbursement" adding later, that he "wasn't sure" what the notation meant.

Cross-examined by his own attorney, Terrill said there were errors on his reports and added that he was "paranoid" during his first race.

"During that first campaign you're paranoid that you're going to get something wrong," he said.

He said any funds which came out of his campaign account would "have been used for campaign purposes."

Mashburn, however, wasn't satisfied.

"It's clear to anyone looking at the report that loans were made to the campaign," Mashburn said. "And they have been consistently reported. So, when the bankruptcy was filed, the issue should have come up. All of this should have been reported."

Terrill, Mashburn said, "has an explanation for everything except for those items where we have documents. It just doesn't make sense. He was in control of all those accounts, and now, he continues not to call them loans because he doesn't want to repay them."

West countered saying Terrill never loaned money to his campaign "with the intention of having it paid back.

"All of these occurred one year before his bankruptcy filing," West said. "They were done at a time when Mr. Terrill was solvent."

Terrill and his wife filed their Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition Oct. 14, 2005, less than a year after he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

This summer, the Terrills' bankruptcy was reopened Aug. 7 by Weaver after stories surfaced in an Hispanic newspaper alleged irregularities between Terrill's bankruptcy petition and his state campaign filings.

A ruling in the case is expected within the next few weeks.

Terrill, who serves as chair of the House of Representatives' Revenue and Taxation Committee, faces Democrat Troy Green in the November general election.

M. Scott Carter 366-3545 scarter@normantranscript.com

        

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