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A convicted felon running a small Oklahoma town as city manager received a $25,000 taxpayer bonus to help pay restitution for stealing from another city. When investigative journalist Ron Durbin tried to question this arrangement at public meetings, Mayor Susan Bayro had police escort him out under threat of arrest. Twice.
What happened next became a case study in how citizen journalism can hold corrupt officials accountable, culminating in Bayro's crushing electoral defeat and a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit.
The Felon Getting Rewarded with Taxpayer Money
Jerry Eubanks serves as city manager of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, despite facing multiple felony embezzlement charges in Kay and Major counties. Court documents reveal that in 2018, while serving as Fairview's city manager, Eubanks purchased a generator and electric box with nearly $34,000 in city funds. When the items were no longer needed, he allegedly kept them anyway, then wrote a check to his sister-in-law's company and split the money with her.
Less than a year into his Pawhuska contract, the city council prepared to award Eubanks a $25,000 bonus. Sources inside city government told Durbin this money would help Eubanks pay restitution in his criminal case. When Durbin attended the meeting to question this arrangement, city officials rushed through the vote in minutes, refusing to answer basic questions about what Eubanks had done to earn taxpayer money.
The bonus was issued without proper tax withholding, creating additional liability for the city.
A Courthouse Conspiracy to Hide the Plea Deal
When Eubanks appeared in Kay County court to enter his plea, courthouse officials allowed him and his wife to use a rear entrance not accessible to the public. Despite Durbin positioning cameras to cover every normal entrance to the courtroom, Eubanks was secretly brought in through the back while court proceedings began without public notice.
The plea deal was remarkably lenient: Eubanks received five years suspended sentence despite his lengthy criminal history across Oklahoma and Arkansas. His wife's charges were dismissed entirely. Eubanks agreed to pay restitution, funded largely by Pawhuska taxpayers through his bonus.
When Durbin finally caught Eubanks leaving through the rear exit, the convicted city manager claimed authorities "don't have me nailed" on the charges he had just finished pleading guilty to.
Double Ejection Under Threat of Arrest
Durbin returned to Pawhuska city meetings to address the city's budget transparency issues and their employment of a now-convicted felon. He specifically questioned legal fees exceeding $122,000 and late fees suggesting the city had failed to make loan payments on time.
Within seconds of beginning his allotted three-minute public comment, Mayor Bayro interrupted and ordered police to remove him. When Durbin protested that his time wasn't up and he was addressing agenda items, Bayro responded "you're getting real close to being kicked out of the meeting" before ordering his removal "under threat of arrest."
Days later, attempting to speak about the improperly withheld taxes on Eubanks' bonus, Durbin was again ejected within moments. Police appeared ready for the removal, suggesting coordination between Bayro and law enforcement.
Physical Confrontation at Campaign Forum
The brewing conflict came to a head at a candidate forum where Bayro was seeking reelection. Durbin served her with a $3.3 million federal lawsuit for violating his First Amendment rights, then took a front-row seat to document the proceedings.
When audience members were allowed to ask questions, Durbin inquired about the $25,000 bonus paid to a felon. This angered Bayro supporter Mark Helner, who physically grabbed Durbin's camera equipment and attempted to wrestle it away. Despite the battery occurring in full view of police officers, they refused to arrest Helner, even when Durbin demanded to press charges.
The officers also refused to provide their names and badge numbers, claiming "nobody" paid them to be there.
The People Render Their Verdict
The election results delivered a stunning rebuke to Bayro's administration. Running as an incumbent, she received approximately 20% of the vote in a crushing defeat that sent a clear message about Pawhuska residents' appetite for officials who protect convicted felons with taxpayer money.
The new city council is set to be sworn in this May, though whether they will terminate Eubanks remains an open question. The federal lawsuit against Bayro and the city continues to wind through court, potentially exposing taxpayers to millions in damages for their officials' constitutional violations.
But the most significant question remains unanswered: how did a small Oklahoma town end up paying a convicted embezzler's restitution through taxpayer bonuses, and what other financial irregularities might be hidden in those Excel spreadsheet "reports" that pass for budget transparency?
Watch the full investigation to see the courthouse conspiracy, physical confrontations, and election night results that this article only begins to reveal.
