October 9, 2008 — Rogers County Commissioner Mike Helm was investigated by the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation on seven complaints of wrongdoing. All seven complaints were dismissed this week.
In addition to four primary complaints reported in Wednesday’s Claremore Progress, three other complaints were found by Wagoner County First Assistant District Attorney John David Luton to be without merit.
Luton reported the following:
Complaint 5: Mike Helm used community service workers to work on his personal property.
The investigation included reviewing records, an interview with the Rogers County Community Service supervisor and interviews with community service workers. The OSBI investigation revealed that the community service workers that could be located indicated that they did not perform work on Mike Helm’s personal property. As a result, the findings of the investigation did not support the allegation that community service workers worked on Helm’s personal property.
Complaint 6: Mike Helm paid Dr. Heng Lim an inflated amount for a Kubota tractor purchased for the county.
The investigation showed that Dr. Lim paid $42,583 for the tractor which he sold to the county for $38,000. The investigation did not support the allegation that Helm purchased the tractor from Dr. Lim for an inflated amount.
Complaint 7: Mike Helm sold county truck beds at a salvage yard in Tulsa.
The investigation revealed that the manager of the salvage stated that the only purchases from Rogers County were an old front loader tractor and a wrecked Dodge Ram truck which was supported with documentation. The investigation did not support the allegation that Helm sold county truck beds at a salvage yard in Tulsa.
There were no other issues for review contained in the OSBI investigation.
