CVEC "A Shining Star" Cape Cod

Re: CVEC “A Shining Star” According to Mass Clean Energy -- And Recipient of Millions of Dollars of Illegal Transfers of CLC Ratepayer Funds, According to the MA Attorney General

Re: CVEC’s Partners, and Host Towns, Sued by Boston Based Electrical Contractor, Fischbach & Moore, For Failure to Pay

Another day, another CVEC ribbon cutting to celebrate the “success” of CVEC in building renewable energy facilities for the benefit of CVEC Host Towns through the illegal diversion of funds from the ratepayers of the Cape Light Compact.

The Massachusetts Attorney General has stated that the Cape Light Compact’s transfers of $4 million to CVEC were blatantly illegal.

Meanwhile, virtually all of the partners and contractors in CVEC’s Round 1 and Round 2 renewable energy projects -- and all of the Host Towns -- are embroiled in a welter of lawsuits with claims, and counter-claims, for failure on the part of the “financiers” to pay developers; failure of the developers to pay the contractors; failure of “financiers” and developers to pay financial intermediaries; and a multitude of other claims, and counter claims, regarding performance failures and breach of contract issues.

Additionally, there is the looming possibility that the Attorney General, and/or some group of CLC ratepayer litigants, may sue the Compact, CVEC and member municipalities to recover millions of dollars of illegally transferred funds and additional millions of dollars in revenue that was promised to the Cape Light Compact -- in exchange for its illegal financial support of CVEC -- but which was forfeited by a handful of CLC and CVEC Board members acting together, without the knowledge or approval of the Cape Light Compact Governing Board.

At this latest celebration of the CVEC’s “success,” CVEC officials, including Vice President Charles McLaughlin (also Assistant Town Counsel for Barnstable) have once again neglected to mention that the development of this project -- and the stream of benefits flowing to the CVEC Host Town, the Town of Barnstable -- have been made possible through the CLC / CVEC complex’s misappropriation of other people’s money to pay all of the costs.

The equation is quite simple:
--The Cape Light Compact Ratepayers have involuntarily contributed 100% of the development costs of these projects -- through illicit contributions to CVEC -- but will receive 0% of the financial benefits.

--The CVEC Host Towns have contributed 0% of the development costs of the projects, but will receive 100% of the financial benefits that do not accrue to the swarm of private partners (who are currently all suing each other and the CVEC Host Towns).

Mr. McLaughlin -- who has been instrumental, as a founding member, former President and permanent member of the CVEC executive committee, in arranging the illegal diversion of these CLC ratepayer funds to CVEC for the benefit of the Host Towns -- is adamant that there is nothing wrong with this practice.

The Attorney General begs to differ, saying that this is “ not a close case,” and that the coordinated efforts of the interlocking boards of the Cape Light Compact and Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative to steer CLC Ratepayer funds to CVEC, is blatantly illegal.

The Mass Clean Energy Center -- like the CLC / CVEC Member Municipalities who violated their fiduciary responsibility to the CLC Ratepayers and effected the imposition of illegal taxes and illegal transfers of funds to CVEC -- chooses to ignore that inconvenient fact that CVEC’s projects were built with money that was misappropriated from CLC ratepayers for the benefit of the CLC / CVEC towns that control both entities, without providing any benefits to the ratepayers. To the Mass CEC, CVEC is a “shining star.”

But then again, it was the Mass Clean Energy Center that provided us with the Falmouth Wind disaster that has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and has destroyed the health and well-being of dozens of innocent families. That would be the same Mass CEC that responded to Falmouth’s plea for financial relief to defray the cost of decommissioning the wind turbines by providing millions of dollars of additional subsidies to keep the wind turbines running and to pay Falmouth’s legal expenses in suing the victims.

When will the recalcitrant board members and municipalities of CLC and CVEC, the Falmouth Board of Selectmen and the Mass Clean Energy learn that they cannot willfully violate their fiduciary responsibilities to ratepayers and taxpayers, or violate the legitimate rights of private residents, by merely wrapping themselves in the virtuous cloth of “green energy,” proclaiming that because their intentions are noble, any means of achieving their goal is justified.

One can only hope that the day of reckoning -- when the Attorney General and/or Inspector General finally debunk this self-serving charade of a “noble purpose” and demonstrate that CLC, CVEC and their unethical board members and member municipalities and the Town of Falmouth -- have, in fact, all pursued these projects for an obvious, and ignoble, purpose: i.e. for financial gain at the expense of others.

It is time for CLC and CVEC to stop crowing about stealing money from the CLC Ratepayers and gloating over the “benefits” of using someone else’s money -- money that they were entrusted to manage -- to build their projects.
It is time for the Attorney General and Inspector General to put an end to this fraud, waste and abuse of the most potent governmental apparatus ever constructed -- and transparently misused -- on Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard.

Click here to read the other version of this opinion : http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150423/NEWS/150429766/0/Sports