Oklahoma’s state auditor plans to investigate allegations of improprieties involving...

for the inquiry based on his office’s initial study. He “concluded that an investigative audit for criminal and other types of misconduct should be conducted,” he said. A spokesman for the auditor’s office told us Thursday that “the investigation has not begun, but is pending, and will take place.” A watchdog group, Concerned Citizens of Vinita, had pressed for an investigation. The contract involved a broadband network linking households and businesses, municipal offices, emergency services and automated utility meters. Concerned Citizens, with about 300 members, formed when residents began questioning how efficiently Cherokee Connex was completing smart-meter installations and the quality of the wireless service it was providing, Vinita resident Carol Austin, a member of the group, told us. “Connex was supposed to install the meters, but they wound up being put in by city employees.” An official with the attorney general’s office said he couldn’t comment. Multiple calls to a phone number listed for ConneX USA went unanswered. The Cherokee Nation did invest in Cherokee Connex, enduring losses that it may be able to recoup, a spokeswoman for the Nation said. Since severing ties to Cherokee Connex the Nation has stayed out of the broadband business, she said. Vinita city officials didn’t respond immediately to a message seeking comment.