It's pretty well-known by now that the oil oligarchy (the Oilgarchy? coined it, we're keeping it) can get away with damn near anything in Oklahoma. After all, we've had state-mandated prayer sessions to ensure that the crude made of millions-of-years-old dead creatures will pour from the land like a geyser of plenty. So if a local energy man decides to do some fraud, what's the big deal, eh?
Check out this poorly-reported story from The Oklahoman:
A longtime Oklahoma City oilman known for helping others was fined $100,000 Monday for making a false statement to the FBI.
Let's just stop right here and look at the first sentence of the article. Before Nolan Clay, a longtime reporter, mentions a provable statement, we are known that the oilman was "known for helping others." Apparently, helping others meant lying to the FBI about your pals insider trading:
John Kenneth "Ken" Davidson, 68, was sentenced in Oklahoma City federal court for lying in 2018 to an FBI agent investigating insider trading.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot chose the punishment, sparing Davidson from any time in prison. The judge instead put Davidson on probation for two years and ordered him to complete 104 hours of community service.