Sheriff's dealings outlined in papers filed in gambling case
Sheriff Kieran McMullen and his wife paid more than $10,000 to the Elks
Lodge during the year preceding a September gambling raid. Helen McMullen
also received numerous payments ranging from $50 to $550 for winning on the
lodge's electronic gambling machines, records indicate. The documents are
among nearly 600 pages of discovery filed last week by District Attorney
Bret Burns. Attorneys for the McMullens and seven other law enforcement
officers facing criminal charges also received downloadable hard drives
showing 20 hours of video shot inside the lodge during a yearlong undercover
investigation. Kieran McMullen, the sheriff since 2003, faces felony charges
of conspiracy, conducting illegal gambling and engaging in illegal gambling
as a peace officer, along with two misdemeanors. The felonies carry
punishment of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Facing the same charges are his wife, Helen, 51, who was a Chickasha police
lieutenant until her firing earlier this month; sheriff's deputy Robert
Clinton Cacy, 57; and Jerry Don Tyler, 51, who retired as a Chickasha police
officer after his indictment. Three Grady County deputies face charges of
engaging in illegal gambling, a felony, and neglect of duty, a misdemeanor.
A fourth faces only the misdemeanor neglect of duty charge. Earlier this
month, a judge denied a defense motion to remove Burns from the case. The
defendants and their attorneys have alleged Burns has a long-standing feud
with Kieran McMullen, 57, and that he frequented the Elks Lodge and
sometimes participated in the lodge's lottery drawings. The judge agreed to
consolidate the preliminary hearings for the McMullens, Cacy and Tyler. All
face hearings Jan. 5. The others' preliminary hearing will be Jan. 4. Burns
has claimed that Sheriff McMullen tipped off lodge members of an impending
inspection after an Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission agent
notified him that he was in Chickasha.
Lodge secretary Don Stephens conceded in a Sept. 12 interview that the
sheriff suggested turning off the machines before the inspection.
"Nothing was said like ABLE's coming...He said, uh, I think that uh, you
know, we need to make sure that everything is copasetic and that might
include um, just to be on the safe side, shut down the machine room,"
Stephens was quoted as saying.
Stephens, a state Department of Human Services employee, estimated the
machines produce $4,000 to $6,000 per month in revenue. The sheriff, who is
an Elks Lodge trustee, told investigators the lodge takes in $25,000 to
$30,000 per month from a membership of about 360 people.
Contacted Friday, Kieran McMullen said, "We haven't done anything wrong. The
truth will come out." He declined further comment, citing advice from his
attorney.
The sheriff told investigators he never has played the lodge's electronic
games. Several other lodge officials backed that claim.
Bank records filed in the case show Kieran and Helen McMullen wrote checks
totaling $10,453 between August 2005 and July. In many instances, Helen
McMullen wrote multiple checks of $100 on the same night, records show.
The court discovery also includes copies of several dozen slips for cash the
lodge paid out to winning gamblers in late June and July. It includes 14
payouts totaling $3,160 to Helen McMullen.
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