Fox News: Roth's Bridge To Nowhere

Fox 25 News reporter Nick Winkler last night continued his series of reports on a controversial Arcadia bridge project built by then-County Commissioner Jim Roth that benefited campaign donor Aubrey McClendon, now co-chairman of Roth's Corporation Commission campaign.

The bridge project, and improvements on Anderson Road south of Highway 66, was detailed by The McCarville Report Online in early October. (Read all the details about the tree farm at http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2008/10/roth-sponsored-roadway-bridge-to.html). The road, and new bridge, opened access to McClendon's Deer Creek Tree Farm which has multipled in value as a result.

Roth initiated the project while he was county commissioner. His alliance with McClendon includes donations from McClendon to his county campaign, a letter defending McClendon that Roth wrote to a Seattle newspaper, McClendon's donations to his Corporation Commission campaign, his role as the campaign's major fundraiser and co-chairman, and Roth's vote against a coal-power plant opposed by McClendon. Roth cast his vote against the project without disclosing his relationship to McClendon, CEO of the Corporation Commission-regulated Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Winkler reports that repeated calls to Roth for comment have not been returned. Roth also has refused comment to KTOK and TMRO.

View Winkler's report at http://www.okcfox.com/players/news/top_stories/kokh_vid_1699.shtml.

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Roth Personally Contacted Arcadia Land Owner

Then-Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth's determination to build a bridge and improve a roadway leading to Aubrey McClendon's Deer Creek Tree Farm property in Arcadia was such that he personally called on a property owner to tell him to accept a monetary settlement for easements or face condemnation by eminent domain.

Fox 25 reported the encounter last night in a story about the tree farm. McClendon was a maximum donor to Roth's county commissioner campaign and subsequently, was named by Roth as co-chairman of his campaign for the Corporation Commission, which regulates McClendon's Chesapeake Energy Corp. McClendon is a maximum donor and top fundraiser for Roth's campaign.

Without declaring his alliances with McClendon, Roth voted against a coal-power plant opposed by McClendon when the matter came before the Corporation Commission.

Stanley Kolar, identified in county records as the owner of several parcels of property along Anderson Road in Arcadia, settled with the county for $36,000. Fox 25 reported he told its reporter that Roth personally contacted him and told him if he didn't accept the county's offer on easements, the property would be taken by eminent domain.

Read all the details about the tree farm at http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2008/10/roth-sponsored-roadway-bridge-to.html.

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Caudill Estimates 870,000 SSNs On Her Website

Oklahoma County Clerk Carolynn Caudill estimates there are 870,000 Social Security numbers available on her website. Some of the numbers accessed by The McCarville Report Online are duplicates, involving multiple documents filed in the name of the same person.

She offered the estimate in an interview with news anchor Andrew Speno of Oklahoma City's Fox 25 News. View the interview at http://www.okcfox.com/players/news/top_stories/vid_839.shtml.

Availability of the Social Security numbers became known earlier this week. Caudill says she's not responsible for the apparent violation of the Federal Privacy Act; she says the agencies that file the documents, such as tax liens, uniform financing contracts and other legal documents are responsible because they didn't redact, or remove, the numbers before filing the documents with her office.

However, two years ago when Caudill announced the documents were being uploaded to her website, she said Social Security numbers needed to be redacted; she repeated that need a year ago.

On Wednesday, the Board of County Commissioners approved her request to hire HTC Global to perform the redactions at a cost of $29,990.

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Caudill Blames Document Filers For SSN Revelations

Oklahoma County Clerk Carolynn Caudill tells Oklahoma City's Fox 25 News that she's not to blame for documents on her website that reveal the Social Security numbers of thousands of Oklahoma County residents.

Caudill said the blame rests with those who file the documents.

Caudill reacted to questions from Fox 25's Andrew Speno following Tuesday's revelation on The McCarville Report Online that the Social Security numbers could easily be found on her website.

Caudill acknowledged she said more than a year ago that the numbers needed to be redacted and that she promised two years ago when the documents were uploaded onto her site that the numbers should be redacted.

Oklahoma County Commissioners on Wednesday approved Caudill's request to hire a Michigan firm to redact the Social Security numbers.

Former County Commissioner Stan Inman, who is running for the clerk's office this year, told Speno the cat's already out of the bag and anyone who wanted to obtain Social Security numbers has long had the opportunity to do so. He described the posting of the documents with the numbers included as "irresponsible."

Watch Speno's interview at http://www.okcfox.com/players/news/top_stories/vid_839.shtml.

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