State police pension offices searched

The executive director of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System has come under investigation after an anonymous tip.

Steven K. Snyder is suspected of misusing thousands of dollars from operational funds on personal travel and other things, The Oklahoman has learned.

The state-run system has for decades provided pension benefits for Oklahoma police officers in retirement and disability benefits if injured. It has more than 9,000 members.

Snyder, a former assistant attorney general, has been in charge there for nine years.

State investigators on Wednesday searched the system’s Oklahoma City offices, confiscating computers. They also collected state-owned electronic equipment Snyder had at his home.

The embezzlement investigation involves only operational funds, not the actual pension funds, Attorney General Mike Hunter said.

Those pension funds totaled more than $2.5 billion at the end of last year, records show.

“To be clear, there is no evidence suggesting law enforcement pensions have been compromised,” said Hunter, whose agents conducted the search.

“I want to assure our law enforcement partners throughout the state and their families that my office will have their best interests in mind throughout this investigation,” the AG said. “They put their lives on the line every day to protect Oklahomans, and we will do whatever it takes to safeguard what they have worked hard for.”

A tip led the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services to review records for potential wrongdoing. That state agency reported its preliminary findings to the AG.

Snyder, 61, did not return messages left on a cellphone.

The pension system’s Board of Trustees is expected to hold a special meeting in the next few days to learn more from the AG about the accusations.

“And, of course, if there is some kind of issue, we would want to make sure we can find out how that occurred and take corrective action to ensure nothing like that ever happened again,” said the board’s vice chairman, Ryan Perkins, a Tulsa police major.