Former Okla. Auditor Gets 10-year Prison Sentence (Nov 09, 2010)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A former auditor for the Commissioners of the Land Office in Oklahoma who pleaded guilty to 174 counts of embezzlement has received a 10-year prison sentence.

Roger Q. Melson, who was accused of stealing more than $1 million from the state agency, received the sentence Tuesday from Oklahoma County District Judge Kenneth Watson. Watson also sentenced Melson to 50 years of probation after the prison sentence is completed.

Melson's defense attorney, Billy Bock, has described him as a "gamblaholic" who embezzled from the agency to feed a gambling habit. Bock says Melson has overcome the problem.

The multi-county grand jury indicted Melson in June 2009, finding he diverted Land Office payments over five years.

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