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Oklahoma Governor Takes Entrepreneur's Bribe
Oklahoma officials are investigating the propriety of $240,000 in cash gifts given to that State's governor, Frank Keating. Jack Dreyfus, an entrepreneur who hopes to convince Oklahoma prison officials to use Dilantin (a seizure medication) to control violent prisoners, made the gifts.
After receiving the cash from Dreyfus, Keating arranged meetings between Dreyfus and former Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) Director, Larry Fields. Dreyfus claims that Dilantin is a wonder drug that will control violent prisoners and wanted to pitch the drug's wide-scale use to Fields.
Fields had DOC doctors evaluate Dilantin. They were unimpressed by Dreyfus' claims and refused to prescribe the drug except for seizure control. Although Dilantin has been used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, it is known to be a highly toxic drug with a number of known adverse reactions to the central nervous system (CNS). Also, many organ systems can potentially be adversely affected by this medication.
Keating later forced Fields out of office in 1997. Keating claims, however, that Fields was forced out because he was too soft on prisoners, not because Dreyfus' prison Dilantin program was rejected.
Keating has since arranged meetings between Dreyfus and the new DOC Director, James Saffle, to continue discussions on the prison Dilantin program. It is not known whether Dreyfus has financial interests in the drug.
Oklahoma officials say they have "new revelations" regarding Dreyfus' gifts to Keating. They are calling for both State and federal investigations into the matter.
Separate charges may be filed with the State Ethics Commission in connection with Keating's allowing the Conoco Company to pay for his several thousand-dollar Alaska fishing trips in 2000.
Source: World Capitol Bureau .
After receiving the cash from Dreyfus, Keating arranged meetings between Dreyfus and former Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) Director, Larry Fields. Dreyfus claims that Dilantin is a wonder drug that will control violent prisoners and wanted to pitch the drug's wide-scale use to Fields.
Fields had DOC doctors evaluate Dilantin. They were unimpressed by Dreyfus' claims and refused to prescribe the drug except for seizure control. Although Dilantin has been used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, it is known to be a highly toxic drug with a number of known adverse reactions to the central nervous system (CNS). Also, many organ systems can potentially be adversely affected by this medication.
Keating later forced Fields out of office in 1997. Keating claims, however, that Fields was forced out because he was too soft on prisoners, not because Dreyfus' prison Dilantin program was rejected.
Keating has since arranged meetings between Dreyfus and the new DOC Director, James Saffle, to continue discussions on the prison Dilantin program. It is not known whether Dreyfus has financial interests in the drug.
Oklahoma officials say they have "new revelations" regarding Dreyfus' gifts to Keating. They are calling for both State and federal investigations into the matter.
Separate charges may be filed with the State Ethics Commission in connection with Keating's allowing the Conoco Company to pay for his several thousand-dollar Alaska fishing trips in 2000.
Source: World Capitol Bureau .
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