OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The chairman of Oklahoma’s police pension board stepped down after investigators discovered he sent and received photos of nude women on government email accounts.
W.B. Smith resigned Wednesday as chairman of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System. He will remain a trustee on the board overseeing the $2.5 billion police pension fund, the Oklahoman reported .
“I want to apologize to everybody for my mistakes,” said Smith, 74.
Investigators discovered the emails while probing Steven Snyder, the board’s former executive director accused of vacationing at state expense. Snyder, 61, was fired and charged as a result of the investigation. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The state investigation found Smith emailed five photos of nude women to Snyder in 2010, and that Snyder sent inappropriate emails to Smith between 2012 and 2017.
“Some of them were pornographic,” said Sean Ruark, the board’s interim executive director.
Smith said last week he regrets emailing the photos. He also said he deleted the inappropriate emails Snyder sent to him.
Many trustees said Smith should have alerted the board about Snyder’s emails. Some also wanted Smith to completely resign from the board, but he refused.
“You know we all make mistakes. … I don’t want to get in an argument here. But I was elected by the retirees,” Smith said. “My term’s up in 2019. I’m sorry that’s the way you feel.”
Trustees were informed they couldn’t legally force Smith off the board under the circumstances.
Smith was chairman since July 2016. He also works for Oklahoma City as a legal investigator at the Municipal Counselor’s Office.
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Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com
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