Sooner State News

Details have continued to surface regarding the apparently fraudulent contracts between the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and Swadley's BBQ, the Frontier reported. 

The agreement made Swadley the operator of several state-owned BBQ restaurants in several state parks, but it has been revealed that the state has been significantly overpaying for Swadley's services, and whistleblower allegations may point directly to the Governor's office, the story said.

As reported by The Frontier, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department entered into a contract in March 2020 with Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen, which is operated by Swadley's BAR-B-Q, to run a series of restaurants in state parks across Oklahoma. Since then, the state has overpaid Swadley's millions of dollars in operating expenses, management fees, and has covered the restaurants' operating losses. The total expenses exceed $13.6 million.

The Oklahoman published a series of emails sent by an anonymous whistleblower to State Auditor Cindy Byrd. Some details provided by the whistleblower include Swadley's charging the state nearly twice the market rate for a smoker, purposefully using a subcontractor to overcharge, and giving a $26,000 estimate for a job that other contractors quoted for less than $3,300.

The report by the Oklahoman continues to detail several oversized expenses charged to the state by Swadley's, totaling roughly $17 million for "management fees and reimbursements for capital improvements."                 

Cindy Stovall, a former Swadley's employee, told the Oklahoman that Brent Swadley, the restaurant's owner, told her not to worry about expenses because he had "a direct line to the governor," the Oklahoman reported.   

Swadley denied the allegation.

This is not the only financial controversy that has embroiled the administration of Gov. Kevin Stitt. Sooner State News previously reported that the governor is facing questions related to the State Department of  Health's near six-figure payments to a politically connected public relations firm related to COVID-19 policy. Further, Stitt is tied up in a report by the State Auditor that criticized the governor's handling of pandemic relief funds, going so far as to accuse the spending as unconstitutional.