Shriver v. State, F-78-518

• Decision Date: 14 May 1980
• Docket Number: No. F-78-518,F-78-518
• Citation: 632 P.2d 420
• Parties: Henry Earl SHRIVER, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

Page 420

632 P.2d 420

Henry Earl SHRIVER, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.

No. F-78-518.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.

May 14, 1980.

As Corrected May 20, 1980.

Rehearing Denied June 13, 1980.

Certiorari Denied Nov. 10, 1980.

See 101 S.Ct. 399.

An Appeal from the District Court, Oklahoma County; Jack R. Parr, judge.

Henry Earl Shriver, appellant, was convicted of the offense of Bribery of a Public Official; was sentenced to one (1) year in the County jail and assessed a fine of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00), and appeals. AFFIRMED.

Stephen Jones, Enid, for appellant.

Jan Eric Cartwright, Atty. Gen., Danny K. Shadid, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

OPINION

BUSSEY, Judge:

Appellant, Henry Earl Shriver, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged by information in Case No. CRF-77-3144, with the crime of Bribery of a Public Official, in violation of 21 O.S.1971, § 381, in the District Court of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. The jury found the defendant guilty and assessed his punishment at imprisonment in the Oklahoma County jail for a period of one (1) year and a fine of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00). From this judgment and sentence the defendant appeals.

Joe B. Barnes, the State's first witness, stated that he was the present County Treasurer of Oklahoma County, having assumed office May 1, 1976. He explained that it was the function of the County Assessor to make an estimate of fair market value of each piece of real property within the county and then determine the property's net assessed value, which is generally 20 percent of the former. A tax roll is then prepared which contains the legal description of each property, the owner's name, and the net assessed value. The tax roll is transmitted to the County Treasurer's Office which multiplies the tax rate times the net assessed value to arrive at the tax assessment of each property.

Barnes stated that his predecessor in office for the immediately preceding seven years was Jack Blackwell and that Don Wilson was the County Assessor during this period. Wilson had a policy to permit some people to file a "Complaint of Erroneous Assessment and Petition for Correction" and secure approval of a reduced assessment by the Board of Tax Roll Corrections. Blackwell, as County Treasurer, would then make a refund to the taxpayer. Blackwell would pay a claim for refund that was filed more than one year from the date the tax was paid, although this is contrary to the statute which limits refunds to claims submitted not more than one year from payment of the tax, 68 O.S.1971, § 2479. On cross-examination, the witness testified that during the seven years prior to his assuming office thousands of taxpayers obtained corrections to the tax rolls through this scheme. Further, the witness explained, the issue of the value of a particular property is not among the 17 statutory grounds which authorizes the Board of Tax Roll Corrections to adjust the assessment and tax downward. If the question of value was raised by the owner, the issue must have been presented to the County Equalization Board. Plus during the period in question, Barnes testified, the Board of Tax Roll Corrections did not hold regular meetings as required by statute.

The information alleged that Roy Melton was the public official who took a bribe of $800.00 from the defendant. In testifying for the State, Roy Melton related that from January, 1967, to August, 1977, he worked in the office of the County Assessor, Don Wilson. He was Chief Appraiser for the first three and a half years and Director of Business Personnel for the remainder. Melton first met the defendant in March, 1967, when the defendant came to the Assessor's Office. He was instrumental in securing a reduction in tax assessment on property owned by the defendant at that time, and the two thereafter met periodically in the courthouse cafeteria or in the County Assessor's Office.

The defendant was part owner of an office building located at 4335 N. Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City. The building permit was issued in May, 1972, and the building was substantially completed in February, 1973. In 1974 Melton assisted the defendant by causing the assessed value of this building to be taken off the tax roll of 1973. ¹ The adjustment was made on the ground that the building was not complete as of January 1, 1973. Melton agreed to make the same adjustment on the 1974 tax roll, but for some unexplained reason this was not accomplished. The mortgagee, Pilot Life Insurance Company, paid the taxes on the full assessed value on January 13, 1976, for the 1974 tax year. ² The life insurance company did not attempt to secure an adjustment in the 1974 valuation. The assessed value of the building was completely taken off the tax roll of 1975. ³ And the land and building were assessed at partial value for 1976 and 1977. ⁴

The other office building involved in this proceeding in which the defendant was part owner is situated at 4301 N. Classen Boulevard. The building permit was issued in August, 1973, and the building was completed in May, 1974. The assessed value of the property for 1974 was $7,030.00 and tax was $644.86. In 1975 the assessed value was $93,645.00 and the tax was $8,591.93, which was paid by the mortgagee, Pilot Life Insurance Company, on June 1, 1976. The insurance company attempted to obtain a 1975 tax roll correction which would have eliminated the assessed value of the building, but County Treasurer Joe B. Barnes advised the life insurance company that the claim was not timely filed, as it was not filed within one year from the date the tax was paid. The property was assessed in 1976 and 1977 at $93,645.00, and no attempt was made to reduce this value.

The defendant's residence was completed in June or July of 1975. The assessed value for 1974 and 1975 was $500.00 and the tax was $52.00 for each year. In 1976 the assessed value was $14,240.00 and the tax was $1,488.79. A tax roll correction dated January 7, 1977, and signed by Melton, reduced the 1976 valuation to $2,000.00 and the tax to $209.10.

Melton testified during cross-examination that he had advised the defendant he would cause the valuation of the property at 4335 N. Classen Boulevard to be reduced for 1974, and when this was not done he saw that the valuation of this property was reduced for 1975 and 1976 and reduced the valuation of the defendant's home for 1976.

In 1968 the defendant loaned Melton $2,885.94, which was secured by a promissory note and mortgage signed by Melton and his wife. The loan was used to pay off an indebtedness Melton owed to one C. L. Edmonds. Melton repaid the loan as agreed. In 1969 the defendant loaned Melton $1,200.00, secured by a promissory note and mortgage signed by Melton and his wife. And this loan was repaid as agreed.

Melton testified that the defendant asked him to come by his office in February, 1977. At this meeting, the defendant gave the witness $800.00 as a gift to show his appreciation for Melton's efforts on his behalf. He never repaid the $800.00, nor was he asked to do so. In May, 1977, according to the witness, the defendant gave him $1,500.00 as a loan, which he subsequently repaid.

Toward the conclusion of his appearance, Melton testified that his business dealings with the defendant influenced him to use his office to secure reduced assessments for the defendant; and that although similar favors were extended over the years to many people who never loaned him money, the extent of the favors extended to the defendant were greater because of their business dealings.

The defendant, testifying in his own defense, stated that in February, 1977, he agreed to meet Melton in his office in the Glenn Justice Building at 4335 N. Classen Boulevard. Melton asked for the meeting and came to the office between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. Melton requested a loan of a little over $2,000.00. Shriver told him he was having business problems and could not do it. Ultimately, Melton reduced his request to $800.00, and the defendant agreed to make the loan. Shriver was not sure if he gave Melton the money at that time by check or in cash. He did state that he did not ask Melton to sign a promissory note because he had in the past always repaid his obligations as agreed. In May or June of that year, the defendant stated, he loaned Melton an additional $1,500.00 which Melton never repaid.

The defendant denied that the various reductions in assessments he secured with Melton's assistance were the result of his having loaned money to Melton or as the result of money paid to Melton. Rather, the defendant maintained that the adjustments were made for him and thousands of other people as the result of official policy of the County Assessor. He stated that while Don Wilson was the County Assessor, the office had developed official policies favoring local real estate developers. These policies had been developed in response to political considerations, economic considerations, and Mr. Wilson's preference for local business developers over out-of-state business trusts. The County Treasurer during that period, Jack Blackwell, also maintained official policies designed to favor local real estate developers and owners.

As County Treasurer, Mr. Blackwell followed a policy of allowing tax refunds to real estate developers whose property had, up to two years previously, received a downward adjustment in its tax assessment. As the Oklahoma County Assessor, Mr. Wilson followed a liberal policy of permitting local real estate developers various tax breaks in the tax assessment of property under construction. A developer could file a Complaint of Erroneous Assessment and Petition for Correction and if the developer were "credible," the petition for correction was routinely granted and, if owing, a refund made. The result of these office policies was that it was relatively easy for a local developer to obtain a downward...