EXCERPT:
Foundation Mired in 'Sewage Sludge on Gardens'
In 2009 and 2010 a major controversy erupted in San Francisco involving Chez Panisse Foundation Executive Director Francesca Vietor when the Center for Food Safety (upon whose Advisory Board sits Alice Waters) and the Organic Consumers Association called on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, of which Vietor is Vice President, to end its give-away of toxic sewage sludge as 'organic compost' for gardeners. [3][4] [5][6] [7] In advance of the OCA's March 4 sludge protest at City Hall, the SFPUC temporarily halted the give-away. [8]The misleading labeled "organic compost," which the PUC has given away free to gardeners since 2007, is composed of toxic sewage sludge from San Francisco and eight other counties. Very little toxicity testing has been done, but what little has been done is alarming. Just the sludge from San Francisco alone has tested positive for 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (a.k.a. DBCP), Isopropyltoluene (a.k.a. p-cymene or p-isopropyltoluene), Dioxins and Furans. [9]
The Organic Consumers Association conducted a noon hour picket of Chez Panisse April 1, 2010, after Alice Waters refused a request to oppose growing food in sewage sludge. [10] The industry front group ACSH is now making Alice Waters a poster-child for toxic sewage sludge.[11] [12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Scheunemann
EXCERPT:
Post 2008
Scheunemann has been focusing on his consulting firm called Orion Strategies, which has clients including Sarah Palin and George Soros. [13][14][15]
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/sarah_palins_foreign_policy_adviser_randy_scheunem.php
Sarah Palin's Foreign Policy Adviser Randy Scheunemann Consults For George Soros
But at the same time, Justin Elliott reports at Salon, Scheunemann's firm Orion Strategies was taking money to lobby the U.S. government from conservative boogeyman George Soros' Open Society Policy Center.
Elliott reports:
Elliott also reports that, at Palin's recommendation, Scheunemann and Orion Strategies' Michael Goldfarb (formerly of the McCain campaign) helped prep then-Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R) for her debate with Sen.-elect Chris Coons (D).
http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2010/03/31/alice-waters-protested-supporting-using-human-waste-compost
Alice Waters protested for supporting using human waste as compost
By Brady Welch
In a story that continues to amuse and fascinate, it appears that the human biosolids compost shit show we wrote about last week has left town… and ended up in, of all places, Alice Waters’ own backyard garden. That’s right: the seasonal, local, and cage-free proprietor of Berkeley’s fabled Chez Panisse has emerged as a staunch and unlikely defender of fertilizing your garden with sewage sludge compost, which San Francisco officials have recently discontinued giving away because of environmental concerns.
It all started when the Organic Consumers Association found out that Francesca Vietor, executive director of Chez Panisse’s non-profit arm promoting safe and healthy food for kids, was the same Francesca Vietor who is vice president of the SFPUC Board of Commissioners, which had until very recently been pawning off toxic compost made from human waste contaminated with industrial chemicals and heavy metals.
The news was like finding Mom (Chez Panisse) in bed with a Hells Angel (the SFPUC).
But we understand organizational slip-ups happen, and we trusted Waters to do the right thing, issue an apology, and figure out what to do with Vietor. But it turns out that the Bay Area’s advocate for a slow food economy that is “good, clean, and fair,” has decided instead to stand in defense of a system that is, frankly speaking, fast, cheap, and out of control.
On March 23, OCA National Director Ronnie Cummins wrote a letter to Waters asking how this could be. The letter reads, in part:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=San_Francisco_Public_Utilities_Commission
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, according to the San Francisco Bay Guardian paper, "is arguably the city's most important commission.[1] It provides water to 1.6 million customers in three Bay Area counties and handles sewage treatment and municipal power for San Francisco." According to its website, SFPUC "is a department of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water, wastewater, and municipal power services to San Francisco. Under contractual agreement with 28 wholesale water agencies, the SFPUC also supplies water to 1.6 million additional customers within three Bay Area counties. The SFPUC system provides four distinct services: Regional Water, Local Water, Wastewater (collection, treatment and disposal), and Power." [2]
Members of the Commission [3] include: Francis X. Crowley, President; Francesca Vietor, Vice President, Ann Moller Caen, Juliet Ellis, and Anson Moran, a former General Manager of the SFPUC. The current General Manger of the SFPUC is Ed Harrington, a Certified Public Accountant and former assistant SFPUC manager. The PUC has a number of formal "Citizen Advisory Committees" including the SFPUC CAC Wastewater Subcommittee.
In an August 6, 2010, letter reporting on his findings to the Food Rights Network Robert Hale wrote: "A sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant, distributed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "compost give away" program, was analyzed for synthetic pollutants. Several classes of emerging contaminants with endocrine disruptive properties were detected in appreciable concentrations, including polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, nonylphenols (NPs) detergent breakdown products and the antibacterial agent triclosan." PDFs are attached here of the letter and the data: [4] [5] [6] [7]
In 2009 a major controversy erupted in San Francisco when the Center for Food Safety and the Organic Consumers Association called on the SFPUC to end its give-away of toxic sewage sludge. In September 2009, both the Center for Food Safety and Resource Institute for Low Entropy Systems(RILES), a Boston-based organization that works to protect public health and the environment, petitioned the city to end its sludge compost giveaways.[10] They received an answer in late November 2009 from Natalie Sierra of SFPUC; instead of halting the progrma, SFPUC hoped to expand it tenfold.
A March 4, 2010, demonstration at City Hall by the OCA forced a temporary halt to the program. (See articles below)[11] [12][13][14] [15] The misleading labeled "organic compost," which the PUC has given away free to gardeners since 2007, is composed of toxic sewage sludge from San Francisco and eight other counties. Very little toxicity testing has been done, but what little has been done is alarming. Just the sludge from San Francisco alone has tested positive for 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (a.k.a. DBCP), Isopropyltoluene (a.k.a. p-cymene or p-isopropyltoluene), Dioxins and Furans. [16]
When faced with protests and attention from national and international media, SFPUC announced it was suspending its sludge giveaway program and testing its sludge compost for contaminants. It also abandoned use of the word "organic," insisting the term referred to organic chemistry and not the USDA National Organic Program. However, it also refused to admit wrongdoing and instead focused on refining its sludge PR.[17] Its Vice President, Francesca Vietor, went on the offensive, providing her version of the facts to friends and allies and enlisting them to publicly and privately stand up for both her and sludge. In emails, SFPUC staff admits that it is very worried about another sludge giveaway program - a larger program that sends "Class B Biosolids" to Solano County to be spread on land where animal feed crops are grown. There has been some pressure in Solano County to limit or end sludge applications and SFPUC fears that any negative attention to sludge will lead Solano County to make it more difficult or costly for them to dispose of their sludge.
"Overarching each of the challenges just listed are the public's perceptions about biosolids. These perceptions impact to some degree all of the biosolids management options the Bay Area currently relies upon. Increasing the public's awareness of and knowledge about biosolids management issues in the Bay Area is one of the most important tasks confronting biosolids management. Without informed public discussion, the region is unlikely to implement optimal management policies. Policies aimed at placating negative public perceptions about biosolids are a more likely outcome."
The document cites the "California Integrated Waste Management Act" (AB 939) of 1989, a bill passed by the state government requiring that 50% of sewage sludge is diverted from landfills by the year 2000. Of the possible options for sludge disposal outside of landfills, it claims that "Class B land application was the most environmentally sound option for biosolids management." In other words, applying sewage sludge to land where crops designated for animal feed are grown as fertilizer is their preferred method of disposing of sludge. Another option they cite is producing commercial fertilizer and compost products using sewage sludge:
"Other options for sustainable reuse of biosolids involve transforming biosolids into one or more marketable commodities. Examples include bulk and packaged compost, pelletized fertilizer, and inputs into the production of cement, bricks and glass. Bay Area wastewater agencies already convert some biosolids into Class A compost and several agencies are upgrading their treatment facilities to increase production of Class A biosolids."
The document goes on to mention how the state of California could assist them in disposing of sludge using their preferred methods. They recommend the following:
http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Food_Rights_Network
EXCERPT:
In an August 6, 2010, letter reporting on his findings to the Food Rights Network Robert Hale wrote: "A sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant, distributed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "compost give away" program, was analyzed for synthetic pollutants. Several classes of emerging contaminants with endocrine disruptive properties were detected in appreciable concentrations, including polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, nonylphenols (NPs) detergent breakdown products and the antibacterial agent triclosan." PDFs are attached here of the letter and the data: [2] [3] [4] [5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Rowland
EXCERPT:
John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957 in Waterbury, Connecticut) was the 86th Governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004; he is a member of the Republican Party. He is married to Patty Rowland, his second wife, and the couple have five children between them. In 2004, Rowland resigned from office during a corruption investigation, and later pleaded guilty in federal court to a one-count indictment for conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, mail fraud and tax fraud.[1][2] He was the first Connecticut governor to be elected to three terms since 1784.
He served ten months in a federal prison until February 10, 2006, followed by four months house arrest at his home in West Hartford, Connecticut, until June 2006. His lieutenant governor was M. Jodi Rell, now the governor of Connecticut.
http://peureport.blogspot.com/2010/04/carlyle-group-spreads-one-tentacle-at.html
Carlyle Group Spreads: One Tentacle at a Time
Elliott reports:
That would be Republican lobbyist Randy Scheunemann, Palin's foreign policy adviser and a member of her small inner circle. He runs a Washington, D.C., consulting firm called Orion Strategies. Scheunemann and a partner have since 2003 been paid over $150,000 by one of Soros' organizations for lobbying work, according to federal disclosure forms reviewed by Salon. The lobbying, which has continued to the present, centers on legislation involving sanctions and democracy promotion in Burma.Scheunemann is perhaps better known for his support of going to war in Iraq, his friendship and support of now-discredited Iraqi exile and friend-to-Iran Ahmad Chalabi and work as a foreign agent for the government of Georgia than he is for the more liberal-friendly cause of democracy in Myanmar (which the government of the United States still calls Burma).
Elliott also reports that, at Palin's recommendation, Scheunemann and Orion Strategies' Michael Goldfarb (formerly of the McCain campaign) helped prep then-Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R) for her debate with Sen.-elect Chris Coons (D).
http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2010/03/31/alice-waters-protested-supporting-using-human-waste-compost
Alice Waters protested for supporting using human waste as compost
|
Alice Waters, an icon of healthy food, will be protested April 1 for supporting a compost program found to be unhealthy.
By Brady Welch
In a story that continues to amuse and fascinate, it appears that the human biosolids compost shit show we wrote about last week has left town… and ended up in, of all places, Alice Waters’ own backyard garden. That’s right: the seasonal, local, and cage-free proprietor of Berkeley’s fabled Chez Panisse has emerged as a staunch and unlikely defender of fertilizing your garden with sewage sludge compost, which San Francisco officials have recently discontinued giving away because of environmental concerns.
It all started when the Organic Consumers Association found out that Francesca Vietor, executive director of Chez Panisse’s non-profit arm promoting safe and healthy food for kids, was the same Francesca Vietor who is vice president of the SFPUC Board of Commissioners, which had until very recently been pawning off toxic compost made from human waste contaminated with industrial chemicals and heavy metals.
The news was like finding Mom (Chez Panisse) in bed with a Hells Angel (the SFPUC).
But we understand organizational slip-ups happen, and we trusted Waters to do the right thing, issue an apology, and figure out what to do with Vietor. But it turns out that the Bay Area’s advocate for a slow food economy that is “good, clean, and fair,” has decided instead to stand in defense of a system that is, frankly speaking, fast, cheap, and out of control.
On March 23, OCA National Director Ronnie Cummins wrote a letter to Waters asking how this could be. The letter reads, in part:
"Considering that the sludge was given to several local schools for use on their educational gardens, your work with the Edible Schoolyard should especially elicit your concern. This is certainly in direct opposition to the standards that Chez Panisse Foundation and the Edible Schoolyard encourage and uphold. It seems to us a clear conflict of interest that Francesca Vietor should serve as both the Executive Director of the Chez Panisse Foundation and the Vice President of the PUC."
Waters wrote back March 30:"I have been involved with the organic garden movement for 40 years. I believe in the transparency of public institutions and count on the government to offer the highest standards outlined by the Organic Consumers Association and other reliable advocates. I look forward to reviewing the science and working with the SFPUC to ensure the safety of composting methods."
Well, the science is already in, and as we reported, it isn’t pretty; and more, our public institutions aren’t that transparent either, especially when it comes to sewage sludge compost. So on April 1, the OCA plans to hold a protest at noon to commemorate Chez Panisse Café’s 30th anniversary and perhaps remind the East Bay bastion of sustainability why diners have patronized them for so long.http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=San_Francisco_Public_Utilities_Commission
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
From SourceWatch
 | WARNING! Sewage sludge is toxic. Food should not be grown in "biosolids." Join the Food Rights Network. |
Members of the Commission [3] include: Francis X. Crowley, President; Francesca Vietor, Vice President, Ann Moller Caen, Juliet Ellis, and Anson Moran, a former General Manager of the SFPUC. The current General Manger of the SFPUC is Ed Harrington, a Certified Public Accountant and former assistant SFPUC manager. The PUC has a number of formal "Citizen Advisory Committees" including the SFPUC CAC Wastewater Subcommittee.
Contents[hide] |
2010 Tests of San Francisco Sewage Sludge Find PBDEs, Triclosan
On August 10, 2010, the Food Rights Network announced in a news release that "Independent tests of sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant -- distributed free to gardeners since 2007 by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "organic biosolids compost" giveaway program -- have found appreciable concentrations of contaminants with endocrine-disruptive properties. The independent tests were conducted for the Food Rights Networkby Dr. Robert C. Hale of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences."In an August 6, 2010, letter reporting on his findings to the Food Rights Network Robert Hale wrote: "A sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant, distributed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "compost give away" program, was analyzed for synthetic pollutants. Several classes of emerging contaminants with endocrine disruptive properties were detected in appreciable concentrations, including polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, nonylphenols (NPs) detergent breakdown products and the antibacterial agent triclosan." PDFs are attached here of the letter and the data: [4] [5] [6] [7]
Chez Sludge
The Food Rights Network released a major investigative report on July 9, 2010 titled: Chez Sludge: How the Sewage Sludge Industry Bedded Alice Waters. [8] It examines collusion between the Chez Panisse Foundation and the SFPUC based on an extensive open records investigation of the SFPUC internal files. (To view the internal documents see: SFPUC Sludge Controversy Timeline.)Staff
- Ed Harrington, General Manager
- Maria Mabutas, Executive Secretary to the General Manager
- Tyrone Jue, Communications Director, public relations spokesperson
- Tommy Moala, Assistant General Manager, Wastewater Enterprise
- Laura Spanjian, Assistant General Manager for External Affairs
- Natalie Sierra process engineer
- Idil Bereket is the Staff Liaison for the SFPUC CAC Wastewater Subcommittee [9]
Toxic Sewage Sludge Given Away as "Organic Biosolids Compost"
Beginning in 2007, SFPUC began sporadic giveaways of sewage sludge. The San Francisco sludge was processed by the Synagro company (along with sludge from 8 other counties) and given away as free "organic biosolids compost" to gardeners.In 2009 a major controversy erupted in San Francisco when the Center for Food Safety and the Organic Consumers Association called on the SFPUC to end its give-away of toxic sewage sludge. In September 2009, both the Center for Food Safety and Resource Institute for Low Entropy Systems(RILES), a Boston-based organization that works to protect public health and the environment, petitioned the city to end its sludge compost giveaways.[10] They received an answer in late November 2009 from Natalie Sierra of SFPUC; instead of halting the progrma, SFPUC hoped to expand it tenfold.
A March 4, 2010, demonstration at City Hall by the OCA forced a temporary halt to the program. (See articles below)[11] [12][13][14] [15] The misleading labeled "organic compost," which the PUC has given away free to gardeners since 2007, is composed of toxic sewage sludge from San Francisco and eight other counties. Very little toxicity testing has been done, but what little has been done is alarming. Just the sludge from San Francisco alone has tested positive for 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (a.k.a. DBCP), Isopropyltoluene (a.k.a. p-cymene or p-isopropyltoluene), Dioxins and Furans. [16]
When faced with protests and attention from national and international media, SFPUC announced it was suspending its sludge giveaway program and testing its sludge compost for contaminants. It also abandoned use of the word "organic," insisting the term referred to organic chemistry and not the USDA National Organic Program. However, it also refused to admit wrongdoing and instead focused on refining its sludge PR.[17] Its Vice President, Francesca Vietor, went on the offensive, providing her version of the facts to friends and allies and enlisting them to publicly and privately stand up for both her and sludge. In emails, SFPUC staff admits that it is very worried about another sludge giveaway program - a larger program that sends "Class B Biosolids" to Solano County to be spread on land where animal feed crops are grown. There has been some pressure in Solano County to limit or end sludge applications and SFPUC fears that any negative attention to sludge will lead Solano County to make it more difficult or costly for them to dispose of their sludge.
Disposal of Sewage Sludge
San Francisco produces 82,000 tons of sewage sludge annually. According to a public fact sheet, SFPUC disposed of its sludge as follows in 2008:[18]- 56% goes to the Hay Road Landfill in Vacaville, CA
- 28% is applied to land as fertilizer in Solano County, CA
- 14% is applied to land as fertilizer in Sonoma County, CA
- 1% is applied to land as fertilizer in Merced County, CA
- 1% went to the composting program to be given away to gardeners
"Overarching each of the challenges just listed are the public's perceptions about biosolids. These perceptions impact to some degree all of the biosolids management options the Bay Area currently relies upon. Increasing the public's awareness of and knowledge about biosolids management issues in the Bay Area is one of the most important tasks confronting biosolids management. Without informed public discussion, the region is unlikely to implement optimal management policies. Policies aimed at placating negative public perceptions about biosolids are a more likely outcome."
The document cites the "California Integrated Waste Management Act" (AB 939) of 1989, a bill passed by the state government requiring that 50% of sewage sludge is diverted from landfills by the year 2000. Of the possible options for sludge disposal outside of landfills, it claims that "Class B land application was the most environmentally sound option for biosolids management." In other words, applying sewage sludge to land where crops designated for animal feed are grown as fertilizer is their preferred method of disposing of sludge. Another option they cite is producing commercial fertilizer and compost products using sewage sludge:
"Other options for sustainable reuse of biosolids involve transforming biosolids into one or more marketable commodities. Examples include bulk and packaged compost, pelletized fertilizer, and inputs into the production of cement, bricks and glass. Bay Area wastewater agencies already convert some biosolids into Class A compost and several agencies are upgrading their treatment facilities to increase production of Class A biosolids."
The document goes on to mention how the state of California could assist them in disposing of sludge using their preferred methods. They recommend the following:
- Creation of private sector grants and tax credits "for the creation of new technologies supporting alternative applications of biosolids"
- Financial incentives provided to the composting industry for increasing use of sewage sludge in compost products. Such incentives include low interest loans and tax credits. They also recommend increasing tipping fees at landfills and earmarking the money raised for the expansion of composting.
- Eliminating barriers and creating incentives for wastewater facilities to "invest in B2E technologies." This refers to the use of sewage sludge for energy.
http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Food_Rights_Network
EXCERPT:
2010 Tests of San Francisco Sewage Sludge Find PBDEs, Triclosan
On August 10, 2010, the Food Rights Network announced in a news release that "Independent tests of sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant -- distributed free to gardeners since 2007 by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "organic biosolids compost" giveaway program -- have found appreciable concentrations of contaminants with endocrine-disruptive properties. The independent tests were conducted for the Food Rights Networkby Dr. Robert C. Hale of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences."In an August 6, 2010, letter reporting on his findings to the Food Rights Network Robert Hale wrote: "A sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant, distributed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "compost give away" program, was analyzed for synthetic pollutants. Several classes of emerging contaminants with endocrine disruptive properties were detected in appreciable concentrations, including polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, nonylphenols (NPs) detergent breakdown products and the antibacterial agent triclosan." PDFs are attached here of the letter and the data: [2] [3] [4] [5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Rowland
EXCERPT:
John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957 in Waterbury, Connecticut) was the 86th Governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004; he is a member of the Republican Party. He is married to Patty Rowland, his second wife, and the couple have five children between them. In 2004, Rowland resigned from office during a corruption investigation, and later pleaded guilty in federal court to a one-count indictment for conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, mail fraud and tax fraud.[1][2] He was the first Connecticut governor to be elected to three terms since 1784.
He served ten months in a federal prison until February 10, 2006, followed by four months house arrest at his home in West Hartford, Connecticut, until June 2006. His lieutenant governor was M. Jodi Rell, now the governor of Connecticut.
http://peureport.blogspot.com/2010/04/carlyle-group-spreads-one-tentacle-at.html
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Carlyle Group Spreads: One Tentacle at a Time
Two local papers ran pieces on The Carlyle Group, a politically connected private equity underwriter (PEU). The Stamford Advocate story, "Fiscal Impact of Rest-Stop Contract Questioned by Lawmakers," concerned Carlyle's sweetheart deal with the State of Connecticut over 23 rest stops. The deal would help Dunkin' Donuts, a Carlyle Group affiliate, and Subway, franchised by Carlyle's joint venture partner.
The Galveston County Daily News ran "Port of Galveston Seeks Private Partners," mentioning Carlyle's proposal to the State of Virginia to run its port operations. The Galveston port previously courted private investors. It was in discussions with a Hong Kong firm when the Dubai Ports World brouhaha broke out. Those talks failed.
Oddly, while the nation stormed over ports sales, Carlyle sold two U.S. aviation firms, Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero, to Dubai Aerospace. Not a peep, as members of Congress rallied to Carlyle's defense.
Connecticut has a sordid history with The Carlyle Group. Carlyle cheated Connecticut pensioners with kickbacks. The Hartford Business Journal reported:
The Stamford article mentions "an evaluation of the deal done by Matrix Capital Markets Group (MCMG) and paid for by the state." Matrix describes the firm on their website:
Texas has more exposure to Carlyle than Galveston's port. Carlyle's Vought Aircraft Industries took $35 million from Texas taxpayers in 2004, promising to deliver 3,000 new jobs by 2009. They sent those jobs to South Carolina, financing a Charleston plant with Texas money. 2010 arrived with Vought not employing company-wide, its Texas commitment of 6,300 workers. Texas gave Vought $1 million per job eliminated.
Like their Connecticut counterparts, Texas legislators weren't even in the stadium when Governor Rick Perry rewrote the contract on Carlyle's behalf. Vought repaid a mere $900,000, 25% of the principal at zero interest. Carlyle plans to sell the final piece of Vought to Triumph. Previously, Boeing purchased two Vought divisions that had gunked up 787 Dreamliner production.
Yet, two more states warrant mention, Michigan and Louisiana. Carlyle affiliate Synagro Technologies bribed Detroit City Council woman, Monica Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers. The bribes happened under Carlyle Group ownership, which comes with debt burdens, increased interest expense, high profit expectations and expensive management fees.
Carlyle's bad luck came with Hurricane Katrina. Their LifeCare Hospital affiliate in New Orleans lost 25 patients in the storm's toxic aftermath. Carlyle lawyers tried to Joseph Hazelwood an ENT doctor and two non-employee nurses. Carlyle's legal defense doesn't mention LifeCare physicians and staff, those with a duty to care for patients, even in horrendous conditions.
Their innovative legal strategy claims patients became wards of the federal government when FEMA evacuation teams set up in New Orleans. This is patently laughable, like the White House Lessons Learned report, which makes no mention of the hospital with the highest patient death toll.
Recall the lobbyist who figured prominently in Carlyle's first pension scandal, Wayne Berman. He lobbied for LifeCare, along with Obama supporter Moses Mercado. Berman survived the Silverster taint, enough to get Carlyle Group lobbying business from 2005 to 2009.
Carlyle spent big money in 2007 on Berman and his associates. They lobbied hard on Carlyle's "quiet sale" of Standard Aero and Landmark Aviation to Dubai Aerospace. They worked Congress to keep private equity's preferred taxation on carried interest. Wayne lobbied for Carlyle's purchase of huge nursing home provider, ManorCare. They kept Carlyle's LifeCare failures out of public hearings on the matter.
Berman must be tight with Senator Chuck Schumer, a frequent PEU water carrier. Schumer defended carried interest until the industry could find a workaround. He flipped on foreign ownership, calling the sale of 6 ports outrageous but buying over 50 U.S. airport services "not as much of a risk."
Local becomes state, which becomes federal. Carlyle is interested in one thing, making lots and lots of money. When PEU's are the answer to America's ills in healthcare, infrastructure and banking, our country is truly sick. Targeted 30% annual returns come on someone's back. Ask Dunkin' Donuts franchisees, New Orleans LifeCare hospital patients, or Texas taxpayers.
For those who believe the Blue Team is any better than the Reds note the PEU receiving line at the White House. A PEU reformed health care from the White House, via back room deals. Pay attention to the Virginia state health director, now #2 at the Obama's Center for Medicare/Medicaid. She changed Old Dominion health services based on a "privately funded study," one Governor Tim Kaine refused to make public. Kaine is now Chair of the DNC.
Every time you hear the flutter of a bird's wing, a PEU rings the bell at White House or Capital Building. Red or blue, they'll team up to get their green.
P.S. Carlyle may soon ring the register on Dunkin' Donuts.
The Galveston County Daily News ran "Port of Galveston Seeks Private Partners," mentioning Carlyle's proposal to the State of Virginia to run its port operations. The Galveston port previously courted private investors. It was in discussions with a Hong Kong firm when the Dubai Ports World brouhaha broke out. Those talks failed.
Oddly, while the nation stormed over ports sales, Carlyle sold two U.S. aviation firms, Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero, to Dubai Aerospace. Not a peep, as members of Congress rallied to Carlyle's defense.
Connecticut has a sordid history with The Carlyle Group. Carlyle cheated Connecticut pensioners with kickbacks. The Hartford Business Journal reported:
Carlyle didn't change in cheating New England/Mid Atlantic retirees the last decade. It and Riverstone Holdings, a joint venture energy partner, settled with the New York Attorney General for $70 million in combined compensation. But Connecticut made Carlyle promise they hadn't paid anybody off.Carlyle a decade ago figured prominently in what was known as the “Silvester scandal,” in which it and other investment firms paid lucrative “finder’s fees” to associates of the corrupt former state Treasurer Paul Silvester to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in state pension fund investments.Silvester, who was sent to federal prison after his conviction on federal racketeering and money laundering charges, testified that in connection with one such deal he had Carlyle pay a prominent lobbyist and major Republican fundraiser, Wayne L. Berman. Berman subsequently hired Silvester and his mistress after Silvester lost his 1998-election bid, but Berman fired them both as the FBI’s investigation of the scandal deepened.
The Stamford article mentions "an evaluation of the deal done by Matrix Capital Markets Group (MCMG) and paid for by the state." Matrix describes the firm on their website:
Matrix has been advising private business owners and private equity-controlled companiesMCMG advises the "greed and leverage boys" in their ceaseless drive for more EBDITA. MCMG's specialty said nothing about ensuring governments get a fair deal. I'm sure Carlyle was pleased that Connecticut picked up the tab.
Texas has more exposure to Carlyle than Galveston's port. Carlyle's Vought Aircraft Industries took $35 million from Texas taxpayers in 2004, promising to deliver 3,000 new jobs by 2009. They sent those jobs to South Carolina, financing a Charleston plant with Texas money. 2010 arrived with Vought not employing company-wide, its Texas commitment of 6,300 workers. Texas gave Vought $1 million per job eliminated.
Like their Connecticut counterparts, Texas legislators weren't even in the stadium when Governor Rick Perry rewrote the contract on Carlyle's behalf. Vought repaid a mere $900,000, 25% of the principal at zero interest. Carlyle plans to sell the final piece of Vought to Triumph. Previously, Boeing purchased two Vought divisions that had gunked up 787 Dreamliner production.
Yet, two more states warrant mention, Michigan and Louisiana. Carlyle affiliate Synagro Technologies bribed Detroit City Council woman, Monica Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers. The bribes happened under Carlyle Group ownership, which comes with debt burdens, increased interest expense, high profit expectations and expensive management fees.
Carlyle's bad luck came with Hurricane Katrina. Their LifeCare Hospital affiliate in New Orleans lost 25 patients in the storm's toxic aftermath. Carlyle lawyers tried to Joseph Hazelwood an ENT doctor and two non-employee nurses. Carlyle's legal defense doesn't mention LifeCare physicians and staff, those with a duty to care for patients, even in horrendous conditions.
Their innovative legal strategy claims patients became wards of the federal government when FEMA evacuation teams set up in New Orleans. This is patently laughable, like the White House Lessons Learned report, which makes no mention of the hospital with the highest patient death toll.
Recall the lobbyist who figured prominently in Carlyle's first pension scandal, Wayne Berman. He lobbied for LifeCare, along with Obama supporter Moses Mercado. Berman survived the Silverster taint, enough to get Carlyle Group lobbying business from 2005 to 2009.
Carlyle spent big money in 2007 on Berman and his associates. They lobbied hard on Carlyle's "quiet sale" of Standard Aero and Landmark Aviation to Dubai Aerospace. They worked Congress to keep private equity's preferred taxation on carried interest. Wayne lobbied for Carlyle's purchase of huge nursing home provider, ManorCare. They kept Carlyle's LifeCare failures out of public hearings on the matter.
Berman must be tight with Senator Chuck Schumer, a frequent PEU water carrier. Schumer defended carried interest until the industry could find a workaround. He flipped on foreign ownership, calling the sale of 6 ports outrageous but buying over 50 U.S. airport services "not as much of a risk."
Local becomes state, which becomes federal. Carlyle is interested in one thing, making lots and lots of money. When PEU's are the answer to America's ills in healthcare, infrastructure and banking, our country is truly sick. Targeted 30% annual returns come on someone's back. Ask Dunkin' Donuts franchisees, New Orleans LifeCare hospital patients, or Texas taxpayers.
For those who believe the Blue Team is any better than the Reds note the PEU receiving line at the White House. A PEU reformed health care from the White House, via back room deals. Pay attention to the Virginia state health director, now #2 at the Obama's Center for Medicare/Medicaid. She changed Old Dominion health services based on a "privately funded study," one Governor Tim Kaine refused to make public. Kaine is now Chair of the DNC.
Every time you hear the flutter of a bird's wing, a PEU rings the bell at White House or Capital Building. Red or blue, they'll team up to get their green.
P.S. Carlyle may soon ring the register on Dunkin' Donuts.
No comments:
Post a Comment