Bankruptcy Court Reopens Terrill Case
A federal judge has reopened Rep. Randy Terrill's 2005 bankruptcy filing after reports alleged that the Republican legislator failed to disclose an asset in the form of a campaign loan the trustee claims should have been declared as an asset and shared with debtors.
Federal Bankruptcy Judge T.M. Weaver reopened the case Thursday in response to a petition from bankruptcy trustee John D. Mashburn.
Mashburn asked that the case be reopened because Terrill, the head of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, failed to list as an asset money his campaign owed him.
Mashburn said he expected Weaver to reopen the case. He also expects Weaver to re-appoint him as trustee to oversee the case.
Mashburn said the judge's order allows creditors to try to recover additional funds from Terrill's estate.
Oklahoma Ethics Commission reports show Terrill was reimbursed between $9,800 and about $11,000 for campaign expenses. Questions also have been raised as to whether Terrill failed to report income he received as an adjunct professor at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Moore. However, Terrill said any money he earned from the college was a small amount, and his attorneys have assured him it did not need to be reported as an asset at the time. Terrill contends that reopening the case is a "smear tactic." He said the bankruptcy was tied to college loans incurred by his wife.
"The purpose of this reopening, as far as I'm concerned, is to try and recover assets, or what appears to be assets, of the estate," Mashburn said.
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.
In July, Terrill downplayed the request to reopen the case, attributing it to his political opponents.
"Neither my wife, nor I have any problem with the court taking a second look," Terrill said. "We don't object at all to the court taking a second look to make sure everything was done properly."
However, Terrill, who is up for re-election, said his political foes in the Hispanic community are using the bankruptcy against him because he sponsored the new immigration law.
"I would reiterate that this is a dirty, nasty, sleazy political tactic which causes people not to run for elective office," he said.
Federal Bankruptcy Judge T.M. Weaver reopened the case Thursday in response to a petition from bankruptcy trustee John D. Mashburn.
Mashburn asked that the case be reopened because Terrill, the head of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, failed to list as an asset money his campaign owed him.
Mashburn said he expected Weaver to reopen the case. He also expects Weaver to re-appoint him as trustee to oversee the case.
Mashburn said the judge's order allows creditors to try to recover additional funds from Terrill's estate.
Oklahoma Ethics Commission reports show Terrill was reimbursed between $9,800 and about $11,000 for campaign expenses. Questions also have been raised as to whether Terrill failed to report income he received as an adjunct professor at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Moore. However, Terrill said any money he earned from the college was a small amount, and his attorneys have assured him it did not need to be reported as an asset at the time. Terrill contends that reopening the case is a "smear tactic." He said the bankruptcy was tied to college loans incurred by his wife.
"The purpose of this reopening, as far as I'm concerned, is to try and recover assets, or what appears to be assets, of the estate," Mashburn said.
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.
In July, Terrill downplayed the request to reopen the case, attributing it to his political opponents.
"Neither my wife, nor I have any problem with the court taking a second look," Terrill said. "We don't object at all to the court taking a second look to make sure everything was done properly."
However, Terrill, who is up for re-election, said his political foes in the Hispanic community are using the bankruptcy against him because he sponsored the new immigration law.
"I would reiterate that this is a dirty, nasty, sleazy political tactic which causes people not to run for elective office," he said.
Labels: Bankruptcy Court, John Mashburn, Randy Terrill
posted by Mike McCarville @ 11:42 AM
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