FORMER OKLAHOMA STATE SENATOR PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY
TO VIOLATE FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff of the Criminal Division announced today that former Oklahoma state senator Gene Stipe pleaded guilty to perjury, conspiracy to obstruct a Federal Election Commission investigation, and conspiracy to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Stipe, 76, of McAlester, Okla., entered the plea this morning before the Honorable James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The charges against Stipe, a partner in the Stipe Law Firm of McAlester, Okla., stem from his role in Walter L. Roberts's 1998 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Oklahoma's Third District. In his plea today, Stipe admitted to funneling illegally $245,189 to the Roberts campaign through a variety of schemes, including: the transfer of $20,500 to the campaign supposedly for the sale of a trailer when, in fact, no sale was completed; the transfer of $17,000 to the campaign supposedly as payment for advertising services which no one ever intended to perform; the transfer of $67,500 to the campaign supposedly for the sale of cattle when, in fact, there was no such cattle sale; the transfer of $55,000 to the campaign supposedly pursuant to an option contract, which was actually a sham; and the transfer of $86,689 to 39 individuals who, at the direction of Stipe and others, then contributed that money to the Roberts campaign, thereby causing the Roberts campaign to file numerous FEC reports misidentifying the true source of the funds.

The FEC investigated these schemes. In his plea today, Stipe admitted that during the course of the investigation, he repeatedly lied to the FEC in sworn written and oral statements. Stipe acknowledged that he intended for his lies to obstruct the FEC's investigation.

Stipe is the fourth person to enter a guilty plea to charges arising from Roberts's 1998 congressional campaign. On March 5, 2003, Roberts pleaded guilty to a two-count information which charged a felony conspiracy to obstruct an FEC investigation and a misdemeanor conspiracy to violate FECA. On March 21, 2003, Charlene Spears, Stipe's administrative assistant, pleaded guilty to these same two charges. On March 28, 2003, the former majority leader of the Oklahoma state senate, James Lane, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with a felony conspiracy to cause the submission of false statements to the FEC.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to obstruct an FEC investigation is five years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for perjury is also five years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Applying the law in effect at the time Stipe committed his offense, the maximum penalty for conspiracy to violate the FECA is one year of imprisonment and a fine of the greater of $100,000 or 300 percent of the value of the illegal contributions. As part of his plea agreement, the government and Stipe have agreed, subject to the approval of the sentencing court, that Stipe will pay $490,378 to satisfy the fine component of the charge of conspiracy to violate the FECA.

Stipe also agreed, as part of the plea agreement, to surrender his license to practice law in every state in which he holds such a license, and to not seek reinstatement until the termination of any supervised release or probation conditions the court may impose.

The defendant's sentencing is set for June 18, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Robertson.

The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Howard Sklamberg and Matthew Solomon of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oklahoma City Division, after a criminal referral by the FEC.

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