VanMeter, Smart report to prison to start terms

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A former state Health Department official and a nursing home owner went to federal prisons on Thursday to serve three-year terms on bribery convictions.

Brent VanMeter reported to the 1,500-inmate El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, while Jim Smart checked in at the 1,500-inmate Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Wednesday denied a request by Smart to remain free on bail while his case is appealed. The court said he had not shown that he is likely to have his conviction overturned. The court has not ruled on VanMeter's request for the same consideration.

"This is the culmination of many months of work and certainly confirms the kinds of things we found at the Health Department,"

Acting Director Jerry Regier said Thursday. "But it also is symbolic of the fact that we've moved on to more positive things at the department."

VanMeter surrendered to Federal Bureau of Prisons officers at noon. He was sent to the El Reno prison's satellite camp facility, which has 225 inmates and provides support labor for the correctional institution's farm, officials said.

Smart reported to federal correctional officers at 12:58 p.m.

Thursday. The Fort Worth center is labeled a low-custody, multi-mission institution with a prison, detention center and hospital. Smart asked to be placed there to be close to his children.

An Oklahoma City federal jury in October convicted VanMeter, a fired deputy health commissioner, of seeking a bribe from Smart, a Wewoka nursing home owner. Smart was convicted of offering the bribe. A federal grand jury indicted both men.

A federal judge sentenced both men last month to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Each was fined $50,000.

VanMeter, 47, was in charge of regulating state nursing homes for 12 years during his tenure at the Health Department. Smart, 44, and a brother run a nursing-home business out of Wewoka.

VanMeter could face more criminal charges. FBI agents still are looking at his relationship with other nursing home owners.