Creek County Commissioner Faces 6 Counts Of Embezzlement

A Creek County commissioner faces six felony charges for embezzlement. They all stem from the way prosecutors say the commissioner mishandled a road repair project.

Commissioner Rick Stewart turned himself in to the jail Wednesday and has since bonded out, but still, some of his neighbors don't believe he did anything wrong.

For the past 30 years, it has been impossible for a school bus to pick up Mary Deckard's children.

"We've had several foster kids, and therapeutic kids, and if we would have had that bus back then, we would have really been appreciative of it," Deckard said.

Last year, Deckard asked Stewart if the county could fix the roads, so the bus would be able to pick up her disabled son.

"The County Commissioner had to do some road work on several roads out here so the bus could go around the circle, ‘cause that's what the superintendent asked," Deckard said.

Potholes on the road were patched and tree limbs were removed, both necessary for the bus to make it down the road. But now Stewart is being accused of embezzlement.

According to the affidavit, the majority of the work done happened on Pine Hill Road. The disabled child lives on a different street, and the affidavit says only some clearing of brush happened on that road.

Court documents also show Stewart did not mention to the board he also lived in the area. Stewart is also accused of using public property, like a tractor and fuel, for personal use.

The affidavit says Stewart told a road foreman he did not care if he got re-elected or not because the only reason he had run for County Commission in the first place was to, "fix his road."

OSBI investigated the case and turned it over to the District Attorney's Office in Payne and Logan County to avoid any conflict of interest.

If he is found guilty of the felony charges, Stewart could face anywhere from six to sixty years in prison.

We reached out to Stewart, but he did not return our calls.