Former Oklahoma Senator Rick Brinkley of Owasso was sentenced Friday to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return. The judge also ordered Brinkley to pay restitution of $1.8 million to the Better Business Bureau and to 50 hours of community service.
In August, Brinkley acknowledged that he embezzled $1.8 million from the Better Business Bureau of Tulsa to support a secret gambling habit. Brinkley had been president and CEO of the nonprofit from 1999 to 2011 and its chief operating officer from June 1, 2011, until he was fired on April 26, 2015.
Prior to his addiction becoming public, Brinkley’s Facebook page was place where friends and followers could always find words of humor, wisdom and encouragement. After nearly a year of Facebook silence, Brinkley once again returned to Facebook Monday morning with this message:
” I’ve spent the better part of the past 72 hours responding to supportive Facebook posts and private messages. All of these expressions of support and kindness are appreciated more than the writers will ever understand.
However, the most important messages came from people who asked for help with their own gambling addiction. I’ve sent a lot of links to many people.
If you think you may have a gambling addiction, please know you are not alone. It’s estimated over 150,000 Oklahoman’s suffer from this addiction. Gambling addiction has the highest rate of successful suicide among all addictions including drugs and alcohol.
For many, seeking recovery is literally a matter of life or death. If you think you might have a gambling problem, click on the link below and answer 20 easy questions.
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/content/20-questions
If you are looking to attend a Gambler’s Anonymous meeting, please call 855-222-5542 toll free to find the meetings in your area or click on this link www.gamblersanonymous.org
If you have a family member or loved one who is a compulsive gambler and you don’t know what to do, find your nearest gam-anon meeting. www.gam-anon.org
If there aren’t any meetings in your area or if you are looking for a private counselor, please visit the website for the Oklahoma Association for Problem & Compulsive Gambling. www.oapcg.org
You don’t have to continue living in misery.”
Dozens of supporters have left messages in the 1 hours since he posted. This comment sums up what most are conveying: “I would have never expected any less from you than for you to take the focus off of your own hardships and use your experience to help others. You have been an amazing friend to me. You are always understanding and supportive. You mean so much to so many. Thank you for being you!!”
Brinkley has until April 14 to surrender to prison, which has not been selected.
