Oklahoma Audit Accuses Paoli Trustees Of Self-dealing

By Randy Ellis Staff Writer rellis@oklahoman.comPAOLI — Members of the town of Paoli's board of trustees appear to have violated the state constitution by granting themselves a six-month exclusion from the payment of their personal utility bills, according to a state audit released Tuesday. State nepotism laws also apparently were violated when trustees voted to appoint the wife of one of the trustees as the towns' clerk/treasurer, and then allowed her to appoint the mayor's daughter as deputy town clerk/treasurer, auditors said. "If it was wrong, none of us knew it," Londa Beckelheimer, the town's clerk/treasurer and wife of board member Paul Beckelheimer, told The Oklahoman. Londa Beckelheimer said she agreed to serve as clerk/treasurer after the previous city clerk "just put her keys on the desk and walked out the door," leaving the town in a lurch. She said board members voted to exempt town officials and employees from paying for utilities after hearing that another nearby little town had done the same thing.Read more on NewsOK.com