The owner of the restaurant chain that had operated in Roman Nose and other state parks was convicted last week of six felony fraud charges.
The restaurant, Foggy Bottom Kitchens, was operated by Brent Swadley, who also owns Swadley’s Bar-B-Q.
The case centered on whether the operators – the former vice president and former CFO were also charged and reached plea deals with the state – had defrauded the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.
The restaurant chain won the contract to operate the dining concessions at six state parks, some of which had not had food vendors for quite some time. The company revamped, renovated or rebuilt the locations, and then, the charges read, billed the state at inflated rates, altered or fraudulent invoices. The fraud is estimated at $3 million: the state paid Swadley some $16 million.
Swadley’s defense blamed the failings on former Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department director Jerry Winchester and deputy director Gino DeMarco, neither of whom were charged in the matter. The defense also painted the indictments as more of a contract dispute than a conspiracy to defraud the state.
Winchester remains in Oklahoma working as a businessman; DeMarco has turned to screenwriting. Attorney General Gentner Drummond has said the state officials operated under the expectation that they would not be victims of fraud, but the state needs expectation that they would not be victims of fraud, but the state needs to view the situation as a lesson not to be as trusting as they were with Swadley.
Swadley was taken into custody but announced his intention to file an appeal. His sentence will be announced July 16 and he could face up to 20 years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines. The company has stated that there would be no impact to the operation of its eight restaurants or catering operations.
There is currently no permanent operator of the restaurants at the state parks; the Lookout Kitchen held the contract for a time, but closed following contract and payment disputes.