By AP
Oklahoma City,OK –
Okla. legislator seeks to suppress evidence in case
(Information in the following story is from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A state legislator wants a judge to suppress evidence related to legislative acts from his bribery case.
In a brief, Rep. Randy Terrill cited a 1979 U.S. Supreme Court decision that barred prosecutors from using evidence involving legislative acts against a congressman accused of bribery.
The Oklahoman reports Terrill's attorney, Stephen Jones, wrote that the same result is required in Terrill's case.
Oklahoma County prosecutors allege Terrill offered ex-state Sen. Debbe Leftwich a state job to not run for re-election. Leftwich is accused of soliciting and/or accepting a bribe to withdraw her candidacy. Both deny wrongdoing.
Terrill argued that the Supreme Court dismissed New Jersey Rep. Henry Helstoski's indictment because of legislative protections in the U.S. Constitution.
Prosecutors say Terrill's interpretation of the constitutional protections is simplistic and inaccurate.
BANK CLOSURES
Regulators close small banks in Okla., Wis.
WASHINGTON (AP) Regulators have shut down small banks in Oklahoma and Wisconsin, lifting to 25 the number of U.S. bank failures this year after economic distress and soaring loan defaults brought down 157 banks in 2010.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday seized First National Bank of Davis, in Davis, Okla., with $90.2 million in assets and $68.3 million in deposits; and minority-owned Legacy Bank, in Milwaukee, with $190.4 million in assets and $183.3 million in deposits.
Pauls Valley National Bank, based in Pauls Valley, Okla., agreed to assume all the deposits and $28.5 million of the loans and other assets of First National Bank of Davis. Chicago-based Seaway Bank and Trust Co. is assuming the deposits and $165.9 million of the assets of Legacy Bank.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
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Date: 3/13/2011 3:56 AM
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SOUTHWEST WILDFIRES After fires, Okla. residents pick through rubble HARRAH, Okla. (AP) People who live in and around Oklahoma City have been returning to their fire-ravaged neighborhoods to assess the damage and begin cleaning up. Gov. Mary Fallin and U.S. Rep. James Lankford have toured Harrah, where 30 homes were destroyed Friday. Fallin told homeowners Saturday to contact relief organizations and take advantage of other emergency services while they wait for their insurance claims. Wildfires have burned 49 homes in Oklahoma in all. City Council member Cass Smith says you don't realize how much nothing is until you have nothing. He and friends were picking through the rubble of his home for jewelry and other valuables. BODIES FOUND-OKLAHOMA CITY Bodies of man, woman found in Oklahoma City OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma City police say the deaths of a man and a woman at a west-side residence may be the result of a murder-suicide. Capt. Patrick Stewart says a woman called police about 7:30 a.m. Saturday and said her husband threatened to shoot her. The dispatcher heard the sound of a single gunshot but didn't hear the woman's voice again. Stewart says moments later, two more gunshots were heard over the phone. The names of the man and the woman weren't immediately released. FATAL FIRE-ADAIR COUNTY Oklahoma boy killed, mother injured in house fire (Information in the following story is from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com) STILWELL, Okla. (AP) Authorities say a 5-year-old boy has been killed in a house fire in Adair County. Stilwell Fire Chief Bill Roedenbeck tells the Tulsa World the home was engulfed in flames by the time fire crews arrived about 9 a.m. Friday. The child was found in a back bedroom. The boy's mother was flown by medical helicopter to a Tulsa hospital to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation she suffered when she tried to rescue her son. The names of the boy and his mother weren't immediately released. Roedenbeck says there were other children in the home at the time of the fire but they escaped. The chief says Friday was the first day of spring break, so the children weren't in school. IMMIGRATION-OKLAHOMA Immigration leads to GOP rift in Okla. Legislature OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A quiet campaign by Oklahoma's business community to head off new immigration legislation is splitting Republicans in the Legislature. GOP candidates came into office with plans to give the state the toughest anti-immigration policies in the nation. But those plans collided with the push to make Oklahoma more attractive to industry. A sweeping immigration measure pending in the Senate has been stripped of penalties for businesses that hire illegal workers. A bill that passed in the House includes few restrictions on businesses. Rep. Randy Terrill says businesses oppose the measures because they want access to cheap, illegal immigrant labor. Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce president Roy Williams acknowledges his organization opposes onerous restrictions on businesses, but accused some lawmakers of trying to score political points with the immigration issue. CORRUPTION PROBE Okla. legislator seeks to suppress evidence in case (Information in the following story is from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A state legislator wants a judge to suppress evidence related to legislative acts from his bribery case. In a brief, Rep. Randy Terrill cited a 1979 U.S. Supreme Court decision that barred prosecutors from using evidence involving legislative acts against a congressman accused of bribery. The Oklahoman reports Terrill's attorney, Stephen Jones, wrote that the same result is required in Terrill's case. Oklahoma County prosecutors allege Terrill offered ex-state Sen. Debbe Leftwich a state job to not run for re-election. Leftwich is accused of soliciting and/or accepting a bribe to withdraw her candidacy. Both deny wrongdoing. Terrill argued that the Supreme Court dismissed New Jersey Rep. Henry Helstoski's indictment because of legislative protections in the U.S. Constitution. Prosecutors say Terrill's interpretation of the constitutional protections is simplistic and inaccurate. BANK CLOSURES Regulators close small banks in Okla., Wis. WASHINGTON (AP) Regulators have shut down small banks in Oklahoma and Wisconsin, lifting to 25 the number of U.S. bank failures this year after economic distress and soaring loan defaults brought down 157 banks in 2010. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday seized First National Bank of Davis, in Davis, Okla., with $90.2 million in assets and $68.3 million in deposits; and minority-owned Legacy Bank, in Milwaukee, with $190.4 million in assets and $183.3 million in deposits. Pauls Valley National Bank, based in Pauls Valley, Okla., agreed to assume all the deposits and $28.5 million of the loans and other assets of First National Bank of Davis. Chicago-based Seaway Bank and Trust Co. is assuming the deposits and $165.9 million of the assets of Legacy Bank.
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