Arrest Warrant Issued For Owasso City Manager Rodney Ray

An arrest warrant has been issued for Owasso's City Manager. Prosecutors charged him with writing a bogus check to a Tulsa business and filing a false police report.

Rodney Ray's assistants are running the city, as the city council placed him on administrative leave two weeks ago, so it could conduct an internal investigation. The city says that leave is unrelated to the charges filed Monday.

"Today is no surprise to us," said J.B. Alexander, of the Owasso Taxpayer Alliance.

Court documents say Ray wrote a bogus check for $3,000 to his account at First Bank of Owasso to Clear-Tone Hearing Aid Laboratories back in September of 2010.

Documents show, when Ray learned of the investigation into his bogus check, he filed a false police report with the Owasso Police Department, saying his check was stolen. Ray told the officer he needed to make the police report in order to prove he hadn't written the check to the hearing aid company.

"As we know, the investigation has been wrapping up and we expected things to conclude towards the end of this month," said City of Owasso spokesperson Chelsea Levo.

She said there were allegations brought to the city council about a donation made to the city and that Ray got rid of a video, prompting the internal investigation.

Levo said the bogus check charges are a personal issue.

"As we understood, the matter was being handled. So, for this to come out today, this was...not new information, because Mr. Ray has worked to resolve this issue," Levo said.

"Well, it doesn't look good on the City of Owasso, but the city council has known about it, but it could have taken care of this a long time ago," Alexander said.

Alexander said he's a former City of Owasso employee. He and others have formed a group that has been monitoring the activities of the city and City Manager Rodney Ray.

"His personal character is how he runs the city, also, so we think it does relate," Alexander said. "We don't believe it's a personal issue. Anybody that has that kind of background and they have the authority to run a city it's intertwined."

Jail records show the city manager hasn't turned himself in yet. We reached out to Rodney Ray for comment at his home. He was not at home and has not contacted us back for comment.