Former Okla. Commissioner Fisher Waives Hearing on Tax Evasion

Former Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher is waiving his right to a preliminary hearing on a felony charge of tax evasion.

Fisher appeared in Tulsa County District Court on Tuesday on a charge alleging he filed a false state tax return in 1999 by underreporting his income.

Court clerk Kim Thomas says Fisher waived his right to a preliminary hearing and is scheduled to appear at a pretrial conference on March 17.

Fisher is currently serving a three-year prison term for embezzling $1,000 from his campaign and lying on a contributions report.

He also faces a trial in May in Oklahoma City on bribery charges.

First elected insurance commissioner in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, Fisher resigned in 2004 shortly before he was to face an ouster trial in the state Senate.