Bubbaworld

There is likely a very BIG pucker factor developing in Tulsa County government, as well as out at the Tulsa Fairgrounds and once it is fully played out, some folks may end up in jail.

The cause of this BIG pucker?

A scandal which simply will not go away and involving political contributions, sweetheart deals and the wanton destruction of Bell’s Amusement Park.

KOTV, Channel 6 in Tulsa ran an investigative report titled, “What Really Happened To Bell’s Amusement Park?” and it is a report that brings together many pieces of the puzzle of what really took place behind the scenes and led to the destruction of a Tulsa landmark and family business.

The report is available in web form at News On 6 Investigation: What Really Happened To Bell’s Amusement Park?

The report is available in video at Why Is Bell’s Gone?

The written report is good, however the video is where KOTV staggered Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller with only two very simple questions.

KOTV: In November of 2006 it was okay to demand a business plan from Bell’s?

Miller: It is always. It is always.

KOTV: But in March of 2006 there was no request of a business plan from the Murphy brothers?

Miller: Well, what I do know is business plans will be asked on every tenant.

As that second question sank in, the expression on Randi Miller’s face was, as they say in the TV ads, “Priceless”.

For an instant Miller had the “deer in the headlights” look and then it appeared that she was going to choke, puke, run away or a combination of the three before sputtering and muttering her, “Well, what I do know is business plans will be asked on every tenant.” reply.

Unfortunately the reporter did not ask Miller about the $5,000 contribution she received from the Jerry Murphy family although the report points it out. Nor did KOTV ask another Tulsa County Commissioner, John Smaligo, about the $5,000 contribution he received from the Murphy’s, four months after he won his seat on the board, and four months after Bell’s lease expired although the report mentions it also.

KOTV did however point out that in both 2005 and 2006 that Bell’s paid more in rent to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds that did the Murphy owned Big Splash water park and the Tulsa Drillers baseball team combined, both of which are evidently considered ‘good businesses’ by Commissioner Miller and her cronies.

However, most revealing of the entire report, both web and video versions, are portions of three lease contracts between the Tulsa Fairgrounds and Murphy Enterprises.

Unlike the contracts from 1984 and 1989, in the 2006 contract between the Tulsa Fairgrounds and Murphy Enterprises there is a first option for Murphy to lease that portion of the Tulsa Fairgrounds used by Bell’s Amusement Park during the Tulsa State Fair in the event the lease between Bell’s Amusement Park and the Tulsa Fairgrounds is terminated.

KOTV says that it tried to contact Jerry Murphy repeatedly for his side of the story, however it appears that he is not returning their calls. In light of the jolt that KOTV handed County Commissioner Randi Miller with just two questions, odds are she won’t be returning many of the calls in the future either.

Hopefully, one of these days justice will be served and Commissioner Miller will be making all of her calls collect…

Grand jury, anyone?