Former Oklahoma County judge cleared in bribery accusation

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A former Oklahoma County judge has been cleared of an anonymous accusation that he took a $10,000 bribe in a criminal case. <br/><br/>Retired Special Judge Charles G. Hill said Monday,

Tuesday, March 29th 2005, 6:18 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A former Oklahoma County judge has been cleared of an anonymous accusation that he took a $10,000 bribe in a criminal case.

Retired Special Judge Charles G. Hill said Monday, ``I'm very relieved.''

District Attorney Wes Lane told Hill in a letter Friday no criminal charges will be filed.

``I am absolutely convinced such allegation is without merit and is totally false,'' Lane wrote after reviewing an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation report.

Hill came under investigation last year after District Judge Twyla Mason Gray reported she received the bribery accusation on a fax machine. At the time, Hill was presiding over a preliminary hearing in a gambling case.

Hill was accused of taking a bribe from one of the defendants, Oklahoma City attorney Charles A. Shadid.

``The anonymous fax ... was, in my opinion, an attempt to besmirch the outstanding reputation of Judge Charles Hill,'' Lane wrote. ``In my professional and personal opinion, Judge Charles Hill is a man who has worked hard to maintain his integrity in his long career as a public servant.''

Hill, 72, is now retired and living in Wichita, Kan.

Shadid and others were charged in 2002 after police shut down the Apache Oak Cliff Indian Center in southeast Oklahoma City. Police said the gaming center was not actually on Indian land.

District Judge Vicki Robertson dismissed the case in December because of repeated delays.