We have another smoky twist to the Swadley's Foggy Bottom Swindle!
We've learned that on March 1st, 2022, just weeks before the Swadley's Foggy Bottom Swindle would be outted by the local media, Melanie Swadley – wife of the now-infamous restauranteur Brent Swadley – made a max campaign contribution of $2,900 to Oklahoma Lt. Governor and Tourism Secretary Matt Pinnell.
There's no word if the campaign contribution included any tacked-on management or consulting fees.
Here's the proof:
Yep, can you believe it?
The wife of the guy who's being investigated by OSBI for allegedly sending $4-million in fraudulent invoices to the Oklahoma Tourism Department gave $2,900 to Matt Pinnell – the Secretary of the Oklahoma Tourism Department.
Although the amount and timing of the donation seem a tad suspect, I doubt it's anything to worry about.
Sure, it's kind of odd that Melanie Swadley doesn't appear to have given money to any other Oklahoma politician since 2018, and it's still weird that Matt Pinnell's first instinct as Secretary of Tourism was to simply "amend" the Swadley's Foggy Bottom contract, and not call for full cancellation and a criminal investigation, but I'm sure that's all just a big coincidence.
I seriously doubt that good Christian people like the Swadleys – painfully aware that the state had stopped paying their (allegedly) fraudulent Foggy Bottom invoices – would expect any type of preferential treatment or favors from the Lt. Governor in return for the max contribution to his campaign.
If anything, I bet they were just trying to pay Pinnell back for his help in getting the Foggy Bottom chain up and running, and not blinking an eye at the (allegedly) fraudulent invoices that piled up along the way.
Yep, I doubt anything weird was going on at all.
Anyway, this would probably be a good time to mention that Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell is now leading a search for a new restaurant with "brand power" to fill Foggy Bottom's shoes.
If you're an aspiring restauranteur who's interested in taking on this endeavor, you can view the full RFP here. To boost your chances of securing a winning bid, I'd recommend you make a contribution to Matt Pinnell's reelection campaign before submitting your invoice. I doubt it would hurt.
