Stipe Mental Health Issue Raises Question

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Gene Stipe has been many things to many people _ powerful senator, friend of the working folks, shrewd businessman, brilliant lawyer, crook. <br/><br/>But mentally incompetent? <br/><br/>U.S.

Saturday, October 20th 2007, 1:30 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Gene Stipe has been many things to many people _ powerful senator, friend of the working folks, shrewd businessman, brilliant lawyer, crook.

But mentally incompetent?

U.S. District Judge Ronald White's comment that a prison hospital psychologist had found Stipe mentally incompetent after a battery of tests left friend and foe feeling puzzled last week.

Depending on one's point of view, it either added or subtracted from the Stipe mystique, built up over a 53-year career as a legislator-lawyer from McAlester.

The development raised questions about the eventual outcome of a public corruption case against Stipe and his brother Francis, who have been indicted on federal conspiracy, witness tampering, money laundering and mail fraud charges.

One thing is for sure, it has slowed the momentum of federal prosecutors in Muskogee seeking to revoke Stipe's probation on a conviction for breaking federal campaign laws by pumping $245,000 into a failed 1998 congressional campaign.

A hearing on Stipe's mental status has been delayed until Nov. 5 to give the defense time to find a qualified psychologist to evaluate a report by federal prison psychologist Robert Denny.

White placed the report under seal, but not before stating from the bench that Denny had found Stipe incompetent.

Stipe attorney Clark Brewster, who once argued that Stipe was mentally competent to assist in his own defense, is now saying his job is to assist the court in finding the truth.

U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling says federal prosecutors will let the facts determine where the case goes in regard to the mental competency issue.

Sperling says a ruling that a defendant is mentally incompetent could lead to the defendant being hospitalized by the government. He says the issue is complex with a lot of variables.

Brewster said it is premature to speculate on how the mental competency issue could affect the cases against Stipe, but said it is obvious that one has to have ``criminal intent'' to commit a crime.

Meanwhile, the arraignment for Stipe and his brother on the criminal charges has been continued until Nov. 16.

Also, the sentencing of former Rep. Mike Mass, who agreed in a plea deal to be a government witness against Stipe, was postponed indefinitely last week.

Mass already has pleaded guilty to a mail fraud count, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Gay Guthrie said a delay in sentencing was granted on ``a joint motion to give Mass an opportunity to cooperate.''

Stipe is maintaining he is competent, pointing to his widespread business dealings and the confidence banks have in him by loaning him money.

Some of his strongest political foes caustically agree with Stipe.

``I think the guy is crazy like a fox,'' said state Republican Chairman Gary Jones, who lost a race for state auditor in 2006.

``I met him twice in my life and he acted like he was my best friend,'' Jones said. ``I was surprised to find out he put thousands of dollars against me in my race for auditor.''

Stipe resigned from the Senate in 2003 and gave up his law license as federal prosecutors closed in on him for the donations to Walt Roberts, a former state House member from McAlester.

At the time, Stipe was applauded by some of his colleagues for representing the interests of working people and the under privileged during his long legislative career.

Denzil Garrison of Bartlesville, a former Republican senator, said Stipe was a brilliant criminal defense attorney who did what his constituents wanted him to do in the Legislature.

``In my judgment, he may well have been the best trial lawyer the state has ever turned out in years past,'' Garrison said.

Before Stipe pleaded guilty three years ago in the campaign case, he had been indicted three times on federal charges from 1968 to 1980, but was not convicted.

Stipe is often referred to in news stories as being ``a powerful senator,'' but some question that description.

``He wasn't as powerful as people thought he was,'' says Lloyd Fields, state labor commissioner and a former House member from McAlester.

Don Hoover, Democratic political consultant who was a staffer for the Senate leadership in the 1980s, agrees.

``I think there was the perception even then that he was more powerful than he was. In my experience, I never saw him control a very large bloc of votes,'' Hoover said.

``But I think in transportation matters, he swung a pretty big stick. You had the feeling that when it came to building roads in southeastern Oklahoma, he fairly well got what he wanted.''

Others say Stipe's power came more from his ability to juggle widespread business ventures with his active legal and legislative careers and from the loyalties he had cultivated in the state government bureaucracy over the years.

Stipe, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1978, never became the top leader of the Oklahoma Senate, but he held key committee chairmanships over the years, with a preference for heading the transportation panel.

The government contends that after Stipe resigned from the Legislature, he continued to exert influence in the legislative process through lawmaker friends in securing funding for business enterprises through economic development entities.

Getting economic development money is what many legislators try to do, but prosecutors say laws were broken in the use of some of the money sent to southeastern Oklahoma economic development agencies.

Steve Phipps, former business partner of Stipe, is at the center of the case and is expected to be the key witness against the ex-senator. Phipps already has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in another plea agreement.

Besides the criminal cases, Stipe has a civil lawsuit pending against Phipps over their business dealings.

Related Stories

3/7/2007 FBI Searches Offices Of Gene Stipe

3/9/2007 Stipe Investigated In Alleged 'Straw Donor' Scheme

3/14/2007 Grand Jury Looking Into Gene Stipe's Finances

3/21/2007 Stipe Business Will Be Run By A Neutral Party

4/1/2003 Former State Senator Gene Stipe Pleads 'Guilty' In Federal Court

4/8/2007 State Charges Possible In Alleged Campaign Scheme

4/18/2007 Jurisdiction Of Stipe Case Transferred To Muskogee

4/23/2007 Newspaper Says Gene Stipe Benefits From Train Sale To State

6/7/2007 Government Seeks Probation Revocation For Stipe

6/13/2007 Former City Manager Expected Before Stipe Grand Jury

6/23/2007 Attorney: Stipe's Business Partner To Plead Guilty To Conspiracy

6/27/2007 Ex-Stipe Business Partner Pleads Guilty

6/28/2007 Gene Stipe Stays Out Of Prison For Now

8/27/2007 Gene Stipe Due In Court Tuesday

8/28/2007 Mental Health Test Ordered For Gene Stipe

9/4/2007 Attorneys Seek To Divert Stipe From Springfield

9/6/2007 Stipe Won't Have To Go Immediately To Federal Medical Unit

9/7/2007 Stipe Heading To Missouri Prison Hospital

9/9/2007 Stipe Says He Is Competent On Eve Of Prison Examination

9/24/2007 Gene Stipe To Be Released From Prison Hospital

9/24/2007 Judge Awaits Report To Decide Next Move In Gene Stipe Case

9/27/2007 Mental Competency Hearing For Gene Stipe Set

10/5/2007 Former State Senator Indicted

10/5/2007 More Legal Trouble For A Former Senator

10/12/2007 Judge Postpones Revocation Hearing For Stipe

10/15/2007 Neural Psychologist Finds Stipe Mentally Incompetent