GRAND JURY
Health agency ex-chief testifies
Oklahoma’s multicounty grand jury moved closer Tuesday to wrapping up its investigation into financial problems at the state Health Department.
Former Health Commissioner Terry Cline testified before the grand jury for more than an hour Tuesday afternoon.
Cline and his chief deputy, Julie Cox-Kain, resigned abruptly from the Health Department last October after the financial issues came to light.
He had led the agency since 2009.
Grand jurors since November have been investigating who is to blame for the financial mismanagement at the Health Department.
Grand jurors could issue a report on its findings as early as Thursday.
No indictments are expected.
The grand jury meets three days a month in secret sessions at the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office in Oklahoma City.
Cline appeared Tuesday with an attorney, Gary Wood.
The attorney declined to comment Tuesday as they left.
The attorney carried a white legal pad with the words “slush fund” written near the top.
Also Tuesday, State Auditor Gary Jones met for about 45 minutes with the grand jury’s main adviser, Assistant Attorney General Joy Mohorovicic.
Jones would not say whether they discussed the Health Department. His auditors are completing an investigative audit of the agency, which needed a $30 million emergency appropriation last year just to stay in operation.