Police pension chief fired amid investigation
The head of the state agency that manages the $2.5 billion pension fund for municipal police officers in Oklahoma was fired Monday.
Steven K. Snyder, 61, has been executive director of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System for the last nine years. He also was the system’s chief investment officer.
He was fired after coming under criminal investigation because of an anonymous tip about his travel.
The existence of the embezzlement investigation became public Wednesday when agents from the attorney general’s office seized his state-owned Apple iPad Air.
Snyder made more than $130,000 a year in salary, records show.
The tip was that “Snyder was engaged in excessive travel for personal business and being reimbursed with state funds,” Agent Thomas Helm wrote in a request for a search warrant.
The Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services conducted a travel claim analysis
because of the tip.
It found he had submitted 21 travel claims for reimbursement between Feb. 7, 2015, and Sept. 29, 2017.
“Nine of the reimbursements, totaling $26,265.35, were found to have been made surrounding Snyder’s personal travel,” Helm wrote in the search warrant affidavit. “He ... would arrange for impromptu meetings with investment firms to justify travel expenses.”
Snyder, a former assistant attorney general, has not made any public comments about the investigation. He was not present Monday for a special meeting of the system’s Board of Trustees. He also did not respond to a message left by The Oklahoman on his cellphone after his termination.
The Board of Trustees met behind closed doors in executive session for almost two hours Monday then voted 10-1 to fire Snyder.
The board named Sean Ruark interim executive director until a permanent replacement can be found. Ruark has worked at the agency since 2007 and has been serving as the pension administration officer.
Officials have stressed that the accusations are only that operational funds were misused.
“To be clear, there is no evidence suggesting law enforcement pensions have been compromised,” Attorney General Mike Hunter said last week.
In a final action Monday, the board voted to have an audit done of the agency’s financial records and operational procedures.
In calling for the audit, the board’s vice chairman, Ryan Perkins, a Tulsa police major, pointed to Hunter’s statement about the embezzlement accusations.
“Even with their assurance that that is not in the money that pays benefits, I think probably it would be in our best interest ... to double check that,” Perkins said.
Not attending the meeting was the trustees’ chairman, W.B. Smith. Last week, he recused himself from all matters involving Snyder that may come before the board involving investigations.