"Back Room" Vohden

Beware the misinformation.  Freeholder Richard Vohden is trying to call the decision to investigate the bailout of the Sussex solar scam a "backroom deal".

This is the same Freeholder Vohden who for the last five years has supported every backroom deal hatched by Rich Zeoli or Phil Crabb or John Eskilson.  Case in point -- the decision in January 2013 to allow the then County Attorney to go from being an outside vendor to being a full-time county employee with benefits, just in time for him to get a nice pension bump that the taxpayers will pay for the rest of his natural life.

Who got advance warning of that deal when it popped up on the first day of business of the new Freeholder Board?  Who got to debate the merits of that scam?  In fact, a bullying Freeholder Vohden explained that it was not job of elected Freeholders to question the contracts put before them by County Executive "Boss" Eskilson, it was only their job to ratify them.

Beware the misinformation.  The entire Solar scam was a series of backroom deals notable for their extreme lack of transparency.  And for the five years that Vohden and his ideological storm troopers have controlled the Freeholder Board with shouts of "Boss Eskilson uber alles" they consistently shouted down any attempt at reform or open government.

The "shrunken heads" are attempting to blame the Sussex County Republican Committee headed by Chairman Jerry Scanlan and State Senator Steve Oroho (R-24).  This is a calculated lie and an attempt at misdirection.  

They should know that it was Morris County Republican politicians who came into Sussex County and who sold the solar scam to gullible Sussex County.  Beware the misinformation.

Vohden feeling the heat on solar investigation

Freeholder Richard Vohden loves to tell stories about his days in construction as a union operator.  If Vohden's colorful stories are to be believed, then he should know full well that law enforcement NEVER comments on active investigations.

At last evening's meeting of the Freeholder Board, Vohden suggested that the Freeholders hold off commissioning any independent county investigation into the Sussex solar scam that ripped-off county taxpayers for millions, until after the status of possible state and federal criminal investigations is determined.  That means holding off on a county investigation indefinitely.

Vohden is being dishonest and he knows it.  He told the Freeholder Board that he made a round of telephone calls to the state and federal law enforcement agencies and understands from those calls that some kind of action is underway.  What he is trying to prevent is an independent county investigation.

The reason Sussex County needs a county investigation is simple.  The solar scam cost $88 million.  Sussex taxpayers are on the hook for $24 million and they just borrowed another $7 million and the bill for that is coming due shortly.  It will likely cause a sharp increase in property taxes. 

It is not the job of these law enforcement agencies to protect the interests of Sussex County.  They could even cite Sussex County officials for malfeasance and who would pay for that? The federal authorities will try to claw back the federal money involved in the scam.  Who is looking out for Sussex County taxpayers? 

That's where an independent county investigation comes in.  It is a fact-finding mission to build a case to get some of those millions back through civil action. 

The FBI and State Attorney General's office are looking for criminal indictments.  That may punish those responsible, but it won't get our money back.  That is why the investment in an independent county investigation is money well spent.

Freeholder Vohden appears to be arguing that we simply accept the screwing, pay the money, don't ask questions, keep paying the money, and do nothing to get our money back.  That is a weak, panty-waist approach in our opinion. 

Freeholders Richard Vohden and Phil Crabb voted for the solar bail out with taxpayers' money with no intention of ever trying to find out if the Wall Street manipulators, lawyers, and consultants did something wrong.  No attempt to recover a dime of the millions wasted.  They are part of the mess and bear some responsibility for where we are today.  Freeholders George Graham, Jonathan Rose, and Carl Lazzaro opposed the bailout and campaigned with the PROMISE that there would be an independent county investigation.

Back before the June 2015 primary, even Vohden claimed to support an independent investigation because back then he was trying to deny the existence of state and federal criminal investigations.  Why the flip-flop Richie? 

It is important for the Freeholders who campaigned on the PROMISE of an independent county investigation to keep that PROMISE.  Voters are already skeptical of elected officials.  Don't give them a reason to believe the worst of politicians.

Update on Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 12:15PM by Sussex County Watchdog

Simple proof as to why Freeholder Vohden is either stone cold stupid or trying to obstruct an investigation.  Go to the FBI website (www.FBI.gov) and you will find this list of elementary-school level basic information from the FBI for dealing with the FBI:

Search Tips

The FBI does not investigate all kinds of criminal activity. To see the categories of federal laws that the FBI does investigate, see our What We Investigate webpage.

• If you are looking for information about yourself or a case you are involved in, you must submit a Privacy Act request.

• The FBI does not comment on all current, ongoing cases. See our field press releases for public information on our investigations.

• The FBI is limited in the amount of information and photos it can provide on wanted fugitives and missing persons. We also do not investigate all fugitives or missing persons in the United States; many cases are handled by local authorities or other federal agenices.

• To find crime statistics in your area, please see our Crime Statistics webpage.

• The FBI does not have a national e-mail address for public questions or comments. Some of our local FBI offices, however, do have their own e-mail addresses. See our Contact Us page for more contact information.

• To find high resolution photos, go to our Photo Gallery.

• If you are looking for an FBI job application or open vacancies, go to the FBI Jobs website.

• If you wish to talk directly to an FBI representative, please call (202) 324-3000.

Subpoenas sought in alternative energy project

No, not here in Sussex County.  Not yet, anyway.  But just to let you know that we are not alone in being victims from things like the solar project scam, here is some fresh news from Warren County, New York, near Lake George.

The numbers are smaller than what we could end up losing in Sussex County, but there they are pushing forward with their investigation.  Good for them.

Subpoenas sought in Siemens probe

GEOTHERMAL INVESTIGATION MOVING FORWARD

January 08, 2016 7:30 pm  •  DON LEHMAN dlehman@poststar.com 

Warren County sheriff’s investigators are seeking subpoenas as the agency looks into an alternative energy project that some believe resulted in the county being defrauded of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Subpoenas served on potential witnesses would compel them to cooperate and provide whatever evidence is requested as they look into whether the county has gotten the savings it was told it has through a “geothermal” energy project at Warren County Municipal Center.

The subpoenas could be issued in conjunction with a grand jury investigation, or without grand jury intervention.

Travis Whitehead, an electrical engineer and government watchdog, has analyzed the $4.3 million project and concluded the county did not get hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy savings that it was guaranteed by contractor Siemens Building Technologies. Whitehead filed a complaint with the Sheriff’s Office seeking a criminal investigation.

Siemens has maintained its projects have saved the county money. A company spokeswoman issued the following statement Friday after a request for comment:

“Siemens completed an energy savings project at the Warren County Municipal Center in 2008, which included the replacement of an aging heat pump system with a new, energy-efficient, geothermal heat pump and condensing boiler system, as well as the installation of a new energy management system and energy-efficient lighting throughout the building.

“Siemens is proud of the work we have completed, which has provided the Warren County Municipal Center with an improved infrastructure that has reduced its energy consumption and its environmental footprint.”

The Sheriff’s Office did not use subpoenas during the investigation of a natural gas cogeneration project that was built at Westmount Health Facility, as it awaited a possible grand jury investigation. The purported savings from that Siemens project have been questioned as well.

Among the witnesses who refused to meet with police during the cogeneration inquiry was John Haskell, the former Thurman supervisor who was chairman of the county Facilities Committee, which oversaw the project.

The Sheriff’s Office has requested assistance in the geothermal investigation from the Warren County District Attorney’s Office, which was involved with the cogeneration investigation for years until determining that a special prosecutor was needed.

That determination occurred when the Sheriff’s Office concluded there was probable cause to charge the county administrator with official misconduct, though no charges were filed.

The state Attorney General’s Office was given the case, but declined to file criminal charges and instead indicated it may take civil court action.

With the geothermal inquiry having just begun late last year, no such potential conflicts of interest have been identified, so the Sheriff’s Office has been working with the office of Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan.

Warren County Sheriff Bud York said he could not discuss the “geothermal” inquiry this week, other than to say it was progressing.

“We are moving forward and awaiting replies from prosecutors,” York said.

Hogan said she could not comment on the matter this week.

Glens Falls 2nd Ward Supervisor Peter McDevitt, who was among the first county supervisors to raise questions about the Siemens projects, has said he believes an independent engineer review is warranted. He said half of the cost would be paid by the New York State Energy Research Development Authority if the county chose a state-sanctioned firm.

“We need an independent voice to tell us: Are we saving any real money?” he asked.

Vohden: Scared witless of an investigation

Freeholder Richard Vohden is stuck between a rock and a hard place.  On the one hand he has politically-connected insiders from Morris County pressuring him to stop the independent investigation into the county's failed solar program (an investigation that both Vohden and his remaining ally on the Freeholder Board, Phil Crabb, publicly supported last year).  On the other he has the taxpayers of Sussex County who are demanding to know the facts behind how their money was wasted and why more was wasted in the bailout that followed the program's failure. 

There's polling data circulating around Sussex County that has some eye-popping numbers if you happen to be a Freeholder facing re-election this year.  In a clear reflection of Eskilson-Vohden-Crabb circus that's become county government, half the voters think Sussex County is "on the wrong track" with another 20 percent "not sure".  The solar bailout is opposed by voters 81 percent to 9 percent, while an investigation is supported 86 percent to 10 percent.  Yep, it sounds like somebody is going to get pregnant.

The Morris County insiders who sold the corporate-get-rich-quick solar scam to the Sussex County Freeholder Board are trying to bury an investigation before the national media links it to the presidential campaign of a certain Governor, because once it's national news a whole lot of people are going to get pregnant. You got to know that while you might be able to threaten a reporter from the Daily Record or from the Herald or from one of the weeklies, there's not a whole heck of lot you can do once the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and CNN have it.  They won't be impressed and they employ plenty of legal muscle.  Those news organizations have pieces of boys like those insiders from Morris County in their stool. 

 In preparation for yesterday's reorganization of the Freeholder Board and his no-holds-barred attempt to delay (if only for two weeks) the solar investigation the voters demand, Freeholder Vohden travelled down to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to huddle with former Freeholder Director Richard Zeoli, the politico who first introduced the Morris County toxin into the bloodstream of Sussex County.  They also had a prominent county lobbyist (a former Republican elected official from a leftish tribe of Democrats) busy making phone calls to Tea Party members and others in a desperate attempt to delay finding out who robbed the taxpayers of Sussex County.  You see, these people argue no investigation is needed because they know perfectly well who ripped-off Sussex County.  And let's not forget the dupes they have done favors for who will post a negative comment or two against the right of free people to question their government about how their tax dollars are spent.  Let's call them the "shrunken heads" because in a way they occupy the same role as those captive spirits.

So while everyone in Sussex County is surprised that the Freeholder Boards hasn't "buried the hatchet" and sung a chorus of "Kumbaya", those in the know understand that the Morris County insiders who sold the scam and who call the shots cannot allow peace unless it is on their terms -- no investigation, no more talk about the solar rip-off, just make the taxpayers pay and pay and we'll see how well it spends.

Solar bailout discussed in secret

If you want to know why people are so disgusted with government that they no longer vote, look no further than what happened last Friday in Sussex County. 

At the urging of Morris County GOP insiders, some of the freeholders there prevailed upon Sussex County Freeholder Richard Vohden, Freeholder Director Phil Crabb, and Sussex County Administrator Stephen Gruchacz to hold a special, behind-closed-doors, secret session with incoming Sussex County Freeholders Jon Rose and Carl Lazzaro.  The topic: The solar scam and resulting bailout that has cost Sussex County taxpayers millions. 

Invited:  Freeholder and choreographer-in-chief Vohden, County Administrator Gruchacz, Morris County officials, and solar corporate executives.  

Not invited:  The taxpaying public.  That's right, it is your job to pay the bill.  But don't ever think that you get to question the bill.

Who got to present their spin on the solar scam?  The people who hatched it, of course.  This was an opportunity created for the attorney representing the Morris County Improvement Authority and corporate representatives from Sunlight (the company responsible for the mess) and Vanguard (the politically-connected vendors who got the lucrative contract to clean it up) to influence the incoming Freeholders behind-closed-doors and in a back-room fashion.

What was their purpose?  They strongly hinted that this secret meeting should take the place of any full investigation by the Sussex County Freeholders.  Rose and Lazzaro won on a platform promising the people of Sussex County a full investigation.

Before coming to work in Sussex County (he doesn't reside here) County Administrator Gruchacz was a Democrat Party official who worked for the corrupt machine of Essex County boss Jim Treffinger.  The federal investigation into Treffinger revealed that county government was rife with corruption -- including pay-to-play vendors deals, nepotism in hiring, and mistresses on the county payroll.  Treffinger pleaded guilty to federal charges of obstruction of justice and mail fraud in 2003.  He was sent to federal prison and ordered to pay a fine.

In less than a month, Sussex County will have new leadership.  A new Freeholder Board majority made up of Freeholders George Graham, Jon Rose, and Carl Lazzaro will out vote the remaining establishment insiders Richard Vohden and Phil Crabb.  One of their first orders of business should be a re-do of Friday's meeting, at which all the same characters would be asked in to take questions from the public.  Yes, give the taxpayers a chance to ask questions.