Solar consultant getting $14,000 a month

The Sussex County solar scam has put taxpayers on the hook for $28 million and seen the county lose its "rainy-day" proceeds from the sale of the Homestead nursing home, but still new vendors are being hired. 

The latest contract to be uncovered is between Sunlight General Sussex Solar LLC, of New York City, and Joseph Jingoli & Sons, of Lawrenceville.  The contract is dated December 2, 2015, and was negotiated under the somnolent eyes of the old Freeholder Board leadership of Crabb, Vohden, and Mudrick (AKA Howard, Fine, and Howard).  It appears that the Wall Street bankers who came up with the solar scheme lack the know-how to oversee it to completion, so they've brought in an "owner's representative" in the form of Jingoli, a politically-connected contracting firm in New Jersey.

Jingoli is being paid a monthly sum of $13,990 to oversee the projects in Sparta Middle School, Sparta High School, Hardyston Middle School, Hardyston Elementary School, and Kittatinny High School.  According to the attached fee schedule, this amount provides for "a Project Manager for (1) one day per week and a Site Inspector/Superintendent (2) two days per week."  Additional fees will be charged at the rate of $1,000 per day for a Project Manager and at an $800 per day rate for an Inspector.

The contract makes clear that Jingoli has become the primary organization for providing information on the solar scheme to the taxpayers and their elected representatives.  Their duties include attending "monthly County Board meetings, prepare and present information -- as required -- at County Board meetings, prepare various reports -- including Solar Project Update Report -- for County Board, answer County Board questions, answer questions of Local Unit Facilities."

Taxpayers with questions on the projects should contact Jingoli directly so that they can be prepared with answers at the next meeting of the County Freeholder Board.  Jingoli's address is:  Joseph Jingoli & Sons, 100 Lenox Drive, Suite 100, Lawrenceville, New Jersey (08648).

http://www.jingoli.com/

Corporate Office
Joseph Jingoli & Son, Inc.
100 Lenox Drive
Suite 100
Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648

Tel: 609.896.3111

Fax: 609.219.0799
Construction Management
Civil / Mechanical
Estimating / Project Management

Fax: 609.896.1131
General Construction

Regional Offices
Atlantic City, NJ / New York, NY / Las Vegas, NV / Highland, MD / Newtown, PA

A lesson in American studies

A certain Sussex County Freeholder, who was named in Sunday's New Jersey Herald as a central figure in the solar scandal, has questioned Watchdog's right to exist.  Mr. Freeholder, along with a small coterie who sadly have missed out on their education, claim that anonymous publications should be banned.  They want to send men with guns to break up the printing presses and burn the books at Watchdog's dog barn.

 

This is a deeply anti-American idea.  It goes against everything we stand for.  Did they forget or perhaps never learned that the anonymous Federalist Papers are one of the building blocks of our Republic?  They were written, anonymously, under the pseudonym "Publius" between October 1787 and August 1788.   Mr. Freeholder and his acolytes believe that anonymous speech today should be stamped out and so it follows that the writers of the Federalist Papers -- Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay -- should have been crushed under the totalitarian boot.

Instead of burning books, Mr. Freeholder should try reading them.  Perhaps broaden his perspective?  Gain a little tolerance for opinions not his own?

It's all about words.  We love them more than you do, Mr. Freeholder.  As an anonymous character once said, "Words will always retain their power.  Words are for the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the annunciation of truth."

Video links Bilik-Vohden-Solar scandal

A new video by Space-Phoebus uses an earlier campaign ad by Marie Bilik, featuring Freeholder Richard Vohden, to make the point that Bilik has linked herself to the Sussex solar scandal.  You can watch it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpX0cAfcGDY

A New Jersey Herald story, written by respected  journalist Eric Obernauer, appeared on Sunday.  It detailed Freeholder Vohden's central role in the solar scandal. 

The Sussex County freeholder board was told by its top professionals last September about possible collusion, criminal activity and the fraudulent use of money from the county's $28 million solar initiative to pay for lawyers, debt service and other expenses unrelated to the actual project costs.

However, rather than bring the evidence to the attention of law enforcement, county officials — under then-Freeholder Director Richard Vohden — proceeded toward a settlement with a “hold harmless” provision that exempted the architects of the deal from having to make restitution for damages or misspent funds.

Under the provision, the county would have no means of seeking redress or recovering further damages even if laws were broken. While the controversy over the settlement's “hold harmless” clause is not new, the revelation that county officials considered that federal and state laws may have been violated is.

It appears that Freeholder Vohden was not the best choice to be a spokesperson for the Biik campaign.

Bilik spokesman at the center of solar scandal

For anyone who has been following the Sussex solar scandal, today's story in the New Jersey Herald is a must read.  Here are some of the highlights:

The Sussex County freeholder board was told by its top professionals last September about possible collusion, criminal activity and the fraudulent use of money from the county's $28 million solar initiative to pay for lawyers, debt service and other expenses unrelated to the actual project costs.
However, rather than bring the evidence to the attention of law enforcement, county officials — under then-Freeholder Director Richard Vohden — proceeded toward a settlement with a “hold harmless” provision that exempted the architects of the deal from having to make restitution for damages or misspent funds.
Under the provision, the county would have no means of seeking redress or recovering further damages even if laws were broken. While the controversy over the settlement's “hold harmless” clause is not new, the revelation that county officials considered that federal and state laws may have been violated is.

Richard Vohden has appeared in commercials and campaign literature for Marie Bilik.  He is also a frequent Bilik spokesman.

However, the concerns about misuse of funds were enough that Freeholders George Graham and Gail Phoebus inquired during the September closed session as to whether the diversion could be considered criminal in nature.

... Acknowledging the concerns about criminal activity raised by Graham and Phoebus, County Counsel Dennis McConnell responded that “it (Sussex County) is aware of the potential and that complicates everything.”

Vohden called the criminal investigation into the wrongdoing "political theater."

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.njherald.com/story/29199152/2015/05/31/solar-project-payments-may-have-skirted-federal-law

Is Bilik spreading false claims again or is Vohden just losing it?

Maybe we shouldn't blame Marie Bilik for this one.  On Friday, at the start of the Memorial Day weekend, Freeholder Richard Vohden asked his "followers" on social media to spread a lie for him.  The lie Vohden wants to spread is that there are no Assembly debates between now and the June 2nd primary.

Vohden is a supporter of Marie Bilik for Assembly and a sometime spokesperson for her campaign.  Bilik was recruited to run for Assembly by a lobbyist for Concord Energy after Freeholder Gail Phoebus refused to vote for a solar energy bailout that cost Sussex County taxpayers millions.  Freeholder Vohden voted for the bailout and has been on a revenge tour ever since.

We don't think that Marie Bilik is behind the lie Vohden is asking people to spread  because Bilik is well aware that she will be attending at least two debates next week -- a radio debate at WRNJ on Tuesday morning and a videotaped debate at the New Jersey Herald on Wednesday afternoon.  There is a third debate, this one hosted by the Skylands Tea Party on Tuesday evening, that Marie Bilik has not yet confirmed she will be attending (Parker Space and Gail Phoebus are confirmed, we have leaned).

So, far from there being no debates next week, which is the lie that the "honorable" Mr. Vohden wants people to spread for him, there are three debates scheduled for next week, although Marie Bilik might miss one of them.

What's up with Vohden?  Was it a lapse in memory or is he just predisposed to not telling the truth?  We believe that Mr. Vohden is so filled with  jealous rage over the fact that Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose and Senator Steve Oroho backed Gail Phoebus and didn't ask him to run that he can no longer think straight.  We're worried about him and think he should cool it and get some anger management therapy, before he totally loses its one day.