Was ex-lawmaker's testimony for sale?
Was ex-lawmaker's testimony for sale?
By Tony Thornton
Published: February 3, 2008
MUSKOGEE — Bankrupt and headed to prison, former state Rep. Mike Mass faced a dilemma.
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Fall from grace
Mass has taken a dramatic fall since he was chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee and head of the state Democratic Party earlier this decade.
Mass left the House in 2002 for an unsuccessful bid for Congress, but won back his House seat a year later. Mass was forced out by mandatory term limits in 2006.
He pleaded guilty in April 2007 to a federal conspiracy charge, admitting that he took bribes in 2002 to secure state money for a McAlester dog food plant. Francis Stipe is charged for his alleged role in the same case.
Mass filed for bankruptcy in October 2005.
The bankruptcy case quickly ended, but later was reopened amid questions of whether Mass hid assets and income.
Mass said his main source of income after leaving the Capitol was from cleaning gasoline pumps at travel plazas owned by the Choctaw Nation.
Under questioning by a bankruptcy trustee, Mass invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, and the trustee said he could find no evidence of assets to seize.
Mortgage becomes issue
Francis Stipe acquired the mortgage on Mass's home a few weeks before Mass pleaded guilty.
Despite the former legislator's plea agreement, Gotcher claims Mass didn't cooperate with the investigation.
Mass faced up to five years in prison but didn't begin helping until prosecutors threatened not to seek a reduction in his eventual sentence, Gotcher wrote.
After Francis Stipe acquired the mortgage, Mass "sent word that he may have testimony helpful to Gene Stipe,” Gotcher wrote.
Gotcher said attorneys for Gene Stipe, with his brother's blessing, approached the U.S. attorney with information about Mass's alleged offer.
Two grand jury witnesses later testified that Mass asked them to tell Gene Stipe that Mass would testify favorably for him if the Stipes lowered mortgage payments and/or agree not to foreclose, according to Gotcher's motion.
One grand jury witness testified he was unwilling to approach the Stipes with the request, while the other relayed the information to Gotcher, the motion states.
Mass's motives questioned
"I think it's interesting why all of a sudden, he (Mass) would start cooperating again,” Gotcher told the judge Wednesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gay Guthrie dismissed the allegation, telling the judge that Mass "has been cooperative since Day One, since the day he made his agreement.”
Court documents suggest Mass hasn't always been helpful.
In September, prosecutors filed paperwork saying they would not file a "substantial assistance motion” for Mass.
Such motions are the government's way of seeking reduced punishment for witnesses who cooperate.
That prompted the judge to set Mass' sentencing for Oct. 18. The day before he was to receive up to a five-year sentence, prosecutors and Mass's attorney filed a joint motion to delay the sentencing so he could testify at Francis Stipe's trial.
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