The Swadley's Bar-B-Q scandal is an ongoing

political scandal In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, Political party, party officials and Lobbying, lobbyists can be accused of various ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

involving the misspending of state funds by Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen. Swadley's contracted with the state of Oklahoma in March 2020 to renovate and run six

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

in six

state parks State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

. Between April 2020 and February 2022, Swadley's was paid about $17 million to renovate and manage the restaurants. In March 2022, the

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the county sheriff offices and city police departments of the state, and works independent of the Ok ...

launched an investigation into Swadley's. In April, Oklahoma State Auditor

Cindy Byrd Cindy Byrd (born January 18, 1973) is an American accountant and politician. She has served as the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector since 2019. Byrd is from Coalgate, Oklahoma. She graduated from East Central University in 1997, earning a Ba ...

released an audit of Oklahoma Department of Tourism funds, the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

announced the formation of a special house committee to investigate Swadley's alleged misspending, and Swadley's contract with the state was cancelled. In June, Swadley's countersued the state, alleging it was owed an additional $6 million by the state and in October the company hired an independent auditor. In January 2023,

attorney general of Oklahoma The attorney general of Oklahoma is the State Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the Oklahoma, State of Oklahoma and head of the Office of the Oklahoma Attorn ...

Gentner Drummond Gentner Frederick Drummond (born October 1, 1963) is an American attorney, rancher, Air Force veteran, and politician serving as the 20th attorney general of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he is a candidate for governor in the 202 ...

took over the state investigation into the contract.

Background

Swadley's Bar B Q was founded in

Bethany, Oklahoma Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Bethany has a population of 20,831 at the 2020 census, a 9.3% increase from 2010. The community was founded in 1909 by followers o ...

in the year 1998 by Brent Swadley. By September 2021, they had franchises in Ardmore, El Reno,

Midwest City Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,409, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in ...

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...

, and

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. In January 2020, the state opened a bidding process to operate five state park restaurants to private contractors. Swadley's was the only company to apply by the February 10 deadline. The contract would eventually include six state park restaurants: Roman Nose State Park,

Lake Murray State Park Lake Murray is a lake in south central Oklahoma, near Ardmore, Oklahoma, Ardmore named for Oklahoma Governor William H. Murray. It was created by damming Anadarche and Fourche Maline Creeks.

Sequoyah State Park Sequoyah State Park, one of Oklahoma State Park's 32 parks, is a 2,200 acre peninsular recreation space on the eastern shore of Fort Gibson Lake in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. It is east of Wagoner, Oklahoma and west of Tahlequah, Oklahoma o ...

Beavers Bend State Park Beavers Bend State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in McCurtain County. It is approximately north of Broken Bow on SH-259A. It was established in 1937 and contains Broken Bow Lake.

Robbers Cave State Park Robbers Cave State Park is a state park in Latimer County, Oklahoma. It is located north of Wilburton, Oklahoma, on Oklahoma State Highway 2. Originally named Latimer State Park, it received its current name in 1936. It is located in the sceni ...

, and

Quartz Mountain State Park Quartz Mountain State Park is located in southwest Oklahoma at the western end of the Wichita Mountains, east of Mangum, Oklahoma and north of Altus, Oklahoma. The nearest community is Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, about northeast of the park. It is ...

. Plans to include Little Sahara State Park were dropped. Between April 2020 and February 2022, Swadley's was paid about $17 million to renovate and manage the restaurants. In 2019, the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

passed a bill to reduced the 8 person Oklahoma Tourism commission to an advisory board and give the agency director, hired by the governor, complete control over spending and contracts.

Audit and investigations

On March 7, 2022, Oklahoma State Auditor

released an audit of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism determining the department lacked "effective internal controls" over the spending involving Swadley's. In April, the

opened an investigation into Swadley's contracts with the state. The same month, the

called Oklahoma Department of Tourism director Jerry Winchester to testify regarding the scandal. On April 25, the state officially cancelled its contracts with Swadley's. Later that week, Winchester resigned and the Oklahoma House announced the formation of a special investigative committee. Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat and former state Attorney Ge ...

announced a lawsuit would be filed to recover lost funds. The bipartisan House Committee was chaired by

Ryan Martinez Ryan Martinez (born August 27, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2009 until 2014, he competed for Bellator and ProElite. Background Martinez was born in Greeley, Colorado. He grew up wrestling and had a promi ...

. In January 2023,

took over the investigation into Swadley's. In August 2023, Drummond began presenting evidence against Swadley's to a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

Background

Audit and investigations

References

Further reading