Courts - Oklahoma Tulsa officer targeted by wiretap

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Wiretaps have captured some telephone conversations of a Tulsa police officer involved in a federal grand jury probe of police corruption, according to the officer's lawyer. The wiretaps have also targeted others who are part of the investigation, said Chad A. Greer, attorney for Officer Jeff Henderson. Greer said he learned about the wiretaps from Jane W. Duke of Little Rock, U.S. attorney for eastern Arkansas, who is overseeing the federal grand jury investigating police corruption in Tulsa. "She has been authorized by the court to send letters to individuals who are the subject of the wiretaps," Greer told the Tulsa World. "Even though we have asked for these notification letters, they have not been sent." Henderson, 37, discounted anything the wiretaps may have recorded. "I have done nothing wrong," Henderson said. "They may have wiretaps, but I am confident that I have no problem because there is nothing there." On April 9, the grand jury indicted 33-year-old Brandon McFadden, a former agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The indictment accuses him and unnamed Tulsa officers of taking part in a conspiracy that involved taking drugs and money from drug dealers, orchestrating drug deals and planting drugs on individuals. Eight people have either had charges dismissed or have been freed from prison as a result of the inquiry. Greer said he believes Henderson is "TPD Officer A" in the federal indictment against McFadden. Henderson and 43-year-old Officer John K. Gray have been placed on paid leave by the Tulsa Police Department pending the outcome of the grand jury investigation. Neither has been charged with a crime. Private investigator Eric Cullen has been assisting Greer. The team has spent eight months conducting its own investigation, Cullen said. Cullen said Henderson had passed two polygraph tests arranged by his defense team. "I have passed both of the tests on two of the key allegations," Henderson said. Duke has received the results of the first polygraph test and is expected to receive the results of the second one, Cullen said. Polygraph tests are not generally considered admissible in federal court. Greer said Henderson is a dedicated police officer who has arrested more than 1,000 criminals during his 15-year career. The arrests have involved murder, drug trafficking, burglary and other crimes, he said. "We are not just sitting back and waiting on an indictment," Greer said. "We are doing all we can to defend Jeff and his career and his family." Greer said he had asked Duke to send a letter stating that Henderson is a focus of the grand jury investigation. Duke has not responded to that request, he said. Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93 is paying Henderson's legal bills, Greer said. McFadden was jailed in early April and released on $50,000 bond and electronic monitoring pending his trial's outcome. District Attorney Tim Harris ordered a review April 1 of all state cases involving Henderson as a witness. Of the 53 current cases reviewed thus far, three have been dismissed involving five defendants. In U.S. District Court in Tulsa, three convictions have been dismissed involving cases connected to Henderson or McFadden. Published: Tue, May 4, 2010

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