Oklahoma sheriff defends ‘patronage’ jobs he gave friends

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Court records show that some friends and family members of Tulsa County’s embattled sheriff have each received tens of thousands of dollars per year for part-time property appraisal work he gave them.

Among those who got an appraisal job from Sheriff Stanley Glanz is a daughter of his longtime friend, Robert Bates, a reserve deputy charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed suspect last month.

Glanz tells the Tulsa World that the appraisal jobs are a form of political patronage that all Oklahoma sheriffs hand out and that it’s perfectly legal. Each of the 12 Tulsa County property appraiser appointees earned more than $30,000 last year doing the part-time work.

Glanz has rejected calls to resign.