The Tulsa World
Jury Selection Begins Monday in Draper Trial
By Rob Martindale
Of the World Staff
MUSKOGEE – House Speaker Dan Draper, his career left Twisting in the wind by back-to-back courtroom problems, goes on trial here Monday on vote fraud charges stemming from his father’s ill-fated political comeback attempt.
Barring a last-minute reprieve, the powerful Stillwater Democrat will be seated in U.S. District Court just an arm’s length from the box where 12 jurors will sit in judgment.
Jury selection is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Monday before U.S. District Judge Frank Seay.
The three-term House Speaker’s promising career was jolted March 27 when he was arrested in Oklahoma City on a drunken driving charge and again on June 16 when a grand jury accused him of vote fraud.
He pleaded innocent to the drunken driving complaint and a trial is pending.
Also seated at the defense table Monday will be Floor Leader Joe Fitzgibbon. Draper’s second in command in the House galleries at the state capitol in Oklahoma City.
They are both charged in a 20-count federal indictment alleging they falsified absentee ballots in a Sept 21 runoff race involving Draper’s father and Stilwell school official Larry Adair.
Draper’s father, who once served in the state Legislature, lost the Democratic Party runoff, and Adair went on to win the District 86 House seat over Republican Dan Abbott.
Abbott later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor mail obstruction count in connection with the vote fraud probe by the U.S postal inspector’s office.
Barney Girdner, another unsuccessful candidate in the race, and Faye Newton, a Sequoyah County deputy court clerk, were named in the vote fraud conspiracy charged with Draper and Fitzgibbon.
However, charges against Mrs. Newton were dropped July 25 and she agreed to testify as a government witness.
Three days later, Girdner cut a deal with the government, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and agreed to testify against the State House leaders.
There were over 90 questionable absentee ballots cast in the runoff race involving Draper’s father, federal authorities said.
Draper and Fitzgibbon are accused of being at the Girdner Grocery in rural Adair County when absentee ballots were falsely voted, signed and notarized.
After he was indicted by the grand jury, the 43-year-old Draper accused U.S. Attorney Gary Richardson, a Republican, of a political vendetta.
Richardson, who has made tow unsuccessful races for Congress, denied the charge.
Richardson and assistant U.S. Attorney Donn Baker, a Democrat, will prosecute the case.
Draper has been represented in pretrial court appearance by prominent Muskogee attorney Bruce Green, a former U.S. attorney here.
Fitzgibbon has been represented by Eddie Harper, a member of the McAlester-Oklahoma City law firm of State Sen. Gene Stipe.
There is speculation that Stipe, who in the late 1960s was cleared of government charges of income tax evasion in the same courthouse, will be at the defense table Monday.
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