Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

Documents filed in a criminal gambling case in Grady County indicate that Sheriff Kieran McMullen and his wife paid more than $10,000 to the Elks Lodge during the year preceding a September gambling raid. Helen McMullen also received numerous payments ranging from $50 to $550 for winning on the lodge's electronic gambling machines, records indicate. The documents are among nearly 600 pages of discovery filed last week by District Attorney Bret Burns. Attorneys for the McMullens and seven other law enforcement officers facing criminal charges also received downloadable hard drives showing 20 hours of video shot inside the lodge during a yearlong undercover investigation. Kieran McMullen, the sheriff since 2003, faces felony charges of conspiracy, conducting illegal gambling and engaging in illegal gambling as a peace officer, along with two misdemeanors. The felonies carry punishment of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. Facing the same charges are his wife, Helen, 51, who was a Chickasha police lieutenant until her firing earlier this month; sheriff's deputy Robert Clinton Cacy, 57; and Jerry Don Tyler, 51, who retired as a Chickasha police officer after his indictment. Three Grady County deputies face charges of engaging in illegal gambling, a felony, and neglect of duty, a misdemeanor. A fourth faces only the misdemeanor neglect of duty charge. Earlier this month, a judge denied a defense motion to remove Burns from the case. The defendants and their attorneys have alleged Burns has a long-standing feud with Kieran McMullen, 57, and that he frequented the Elks Lodge and sometimes participated in the lodge's lottery drawings. The judge agreed to consolidate the preliminary hearings for the McMullens, Cacy and Tyler. All face hearings Jan. 5. The others' preliminary hearing will be Jan. 4. Burns has claimed that Sheriff McMullen tipped off lodge members of an impending inspection after an Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission agent notified him that he was in Chickasha.

Lodge secretary Don Stephens conceded in a Sept. 12 interview that the sheriff suggested turning off the machines before the inspection.

"Nothing was said like ABLE's coming...He said, uh, I think that uh, you know, we need to make sure that everything is copasetic and that might include um, just to be on the safe side, shut down the machine room," Stephens was quoted as saying.

Stephens, a state Department of Human Services employee, estimated the machines produce $4,000 to $6,000 per month in revenue. The sheriff, who is an Elks Lodge trustee, told investigators the lodge takes in $25,000 to $30,000 per month from a membership of about 360 people.

Contacted Friday, Kieran McMullen said, "We haven't done anything wrong. The truth will come out." He declined further comment, citing advice from his attorney.

The sheriff told investigators he never has played the lodge's electronic games. Several other lodge officials backed that claim.

Bank records filed in the case show Kieran and Helen McMullen wrote checks totaling $10,453 between August 2005 and July. In many instances, Helen McMullen wrote multiple checks of $100 on the same night, records show.

The court discovery also includes copies of several dozen slips for cash the lodge paid out to winning gamblers in late June and July. It includes 14 payouts totaling $3,160 to Helen McMullen.