Osage County Commissioner Charged With Felony Bid Rigging

Osage County Commissioner Kevin Paslay has been charged with bid rigging, a felony offense, in Osage County and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The charge filed on Wednesday, March 4th, accuses him of bid rigging.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, “Whenever business contracts are awarded by means of soliciting competitive bids, coordination among bidders undermines the bidding process and can be illegal. Bid rigging can take many forms, but one frequent form is when competitors agree in advance which firm will win the bid. For instance, competitors may agree to take turns being the low bidder, or sit out of a bidding round, or provide unacceptable bids to cover up a bid-rigging scheme. Other bid-rigging agreements involve subcontracting part of the main contract to the losing bidders, or forming a joint venture to submit a single bid.”

The Affidavit of Probable Cause states, “On April 24, 2019, Deputy Attorney Rachel Rogers requested OSBI investigative assistance with allegations of possible criminal conduct involving Osage County District 2 County Commissioner Paslay. A former District 2 employee had made allegations that Paslay used county employees and equipment to haul personal items from an auction in Tulsa, Oklahoma to the District 2 County Barn in Skiatook, Oklahoma.”

The Attorney General’s office assigned Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan as Special Prosecutor for the investigation and potential prosecution after Osage County District Attorney Mike Fisher recused himself from the case due to a conflict of interest.

Full Content: Tulsa World

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