Reports: Oklahoma Lt. Gov. signed off on over $16 million in expenses for Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – One other new chapter within the controversy surrounding the contract between the State Tourism Division and Swadley’s Bar-B-Q is unfolding. 

New reviews, uncovered by the Frontier, reveal that Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell signed off on about $16.7 million value of bills for the Foggy Backside Kitchen eating places in Oklahoma state parks. 

“We have to most likely converse to the Lieutenant Governor sooner quite than later,” stated Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, the chair of the Particular Home Committee investigating the ordeal. 

Throughout a press convention on April 29, 2022, Gov. Kevin Stitt introduced Pinnell would take a extra hands-on position within the state’s tourism operations.

This got here because the governor additionally introduced Jerry Winchester, the director of the State Division of Tourism, resigned.

Nevertheless, because the Frontier discovered, it seems Pinnell has arguably already been very concerned throughout his time because the Secretary of Tourism. 

“Again in 2019, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed an govt order that required all Cupboard secretaries to log off on bills over $25,000 of the company they’re over,” stated Reese Gorman, a state politics reporter on the Frontier. 

Recalling this order prompted Gorman to request the general public paperwork detailing Pinnell’s involvement with Swadley’s.

The paperwork revealed the Lt. Governor’s signature is on fee approvals for tens of millions of {dollars} made out to the restaurant. 

“All $16.7 million of the bills paid to Foggy Backside, he signed off on,” stated Gorman. 

Emails between Pinnell and the Tourism Division’s Finance Director, Katherine Nichols, present one buy, totaling multiple million {dollars}, was authorised with out him ever seeing the invoice. 

“I believe that’s very problematic,” stated Rep. Martinez. “I do know for me, I don’t put my signature on something with out studying it and asking questions.” 

The information additionally present Pinnell signed off on a greater than $2 million fee to reimburse Swadley’s for its “Fiscal Yr 2021 Deficit Protection.” 

This revelation is elevating a protracted checklist of questions for the Particular Home Committee. 

“What his course of is in approving any sort of bill, methods to overview these and make it possible for there’s an intensive course of occurring,” stated Rep. Martinez. “At first look, it doesn’t appear too thorough to me.” 

KFOR reached out to Pinnell’s workplace for remark. A spokesperson for his workplace despatched the next:

There are prior ranges of accountability and approval that should happen earlier than these invoices hit the Lt. Governor’s desk, and on the time of the bill in query, the Lt. Governor had full religion within the company director and trusted the data had been correctly vetted.

Mariah Carter, Communications Coordinator