[Watchdogs] Conflicting Interests at PEC, and 2007 Legal Expenses
Bill Christensen
billc_lists at greenbuilder.com
Sat Jul 26 23:33:02 CDT 2008
Hey folks,
This is a re-send of Milton's post from earlier today, which
apparently came through to Watchdogs as raw code and was broken into
three pieces to boot. This version should be more readable.
Begin original post:
----------------------
Friends of PEC,
You have probably heard or read by now that questions are being asked
about the fact that PEC does banking business with Cattleman's
National Bank despite the fact that the PEC Board president, Mr. R.B.
Felps, and another voting director, Mr. Val Smith, sit on Cattleman's
Board of Directors. In fact, they are paid for their service by
Cattleman's Bank, and Mr. Felps has admitted that he owns stock in
the bank. I've copied the lineup from the bank web site at 9:22 this
morning, July 26:
Directors
Will S. Moursund
Chairman of the Board
Rory Boatright
H.E. "Butch" Crofts
R.B. Felps
Elman Fuchs
Gary Gruben
Steve Nash
F.M. "Fuzzy" Reagor
Val Smith
Advisory Directors
Bennie Fuelberg
Mark Hodges
Ingrid Moursund
Mary M. Moursund
Notice that a Bennie Fuelberg is listed as an Advisor to the other
directors and officers of the bank. This is the same Bennie
Fuelberg, sometime general manager of PEC, who recently evaded a
congressional subpoena to avoid testifying about "questionable
practices" at PEC during his tenure as general manager. According to
reports about the hearing, Mr. Fuelberg's criminal attorney informed
Congressman Waxman that Mr. Fuelberg would have to assert his Fifth
Amendment right against self-incrimination were he forced to appear
at the hearing.
Thus we have Mr. Fuelberg advising Mr. Felps and Mr. Smith. And of
course he advises the chairman of the board of directors, Mr. Will S.
Moursund.
Now that would be the same Mr. Moursund who has an interest in the
Moursund Insurance Agency, which also does business with PEC.
And that would be the same Mr. Moursund who, along with his wife and
sister, does legal work as the firm Moursund, Moursund, and Moursund.
And again, the firm of Moursund, Moursund, and Moursund does business
with PEC.
Of further interest is the fact that Mr. Felps has just appointed Mr.
Moursund to two Board committees: the Bylaws Committee and the Legal
Committee. PEC's conflict-of-interest policy, such as it is, is
established in the Bylaws, which the voting members of the Board can
change at any time.
Some details follow, but this is just a small part of this story of
curious connections and intersecting interests.
If you have questions, please do not ask me for explanations. And
Juan Garza and Paul Hilgers and all the other good folks at PEC are
not the ones who approved all this mixture of interests.
Instead, ask the directors of your Cooperative. They work for you,
after all. You pay their fees and expenses. And you just voted for
five new ones this year. Ask them for answers. I think you'll see
that we're talking some serious money here!
PS: If the Excel document below arrives unaligned, I'd be happy to
send it to you directly. Just let me know.]
The information below was provided by PEC personnel. I have quoted
it as it was received. - Milton
I have the answers to your various legal and financial questions.
Legal
The $4 million of legal fees to be paid pursuant to the settlement
agreement is for payment of the plaintiffs' legal fees, not for PEC's
defense costs, and that $4 million is not reflected on the list you
received. These amounts have been expensed through May 27, 2008, but
not all have been paid yet. PEC's insurance carrier is paying for
PEC's defense costs related to the Worrall litigation.
From the list sent earlier, the only contractual relationships PEC
has are with Kimberly Paffe, as PEC's general counsel and legal
services manager, and with David Sibley, as a consultant on
legislative matters. Mr. Silbley's contract runs through December
2008, and he is paid $7000 per month. Ms. Paffe is PEC's only
in-house attorney, and she attends all Board meetings. Her contract
runs through February 2010, and her annual salary is $200,400 with a
car allowance of $1200 per month.
PEDERNALES ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.
Legal Expenses For The Year Ended 12/31/07
Object
Legal Expenses For The Year Ended 12/31/07
Date Object Account Amount Payee Description JDE Address
1/23/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Legal
Services - 07 Retainer 72963
2/21/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Services-Legal 72963
3/19/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Legal-Retainer 72963
4/17/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Services -
Legal Retainer 72963
5/15/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Legal-Retainer 72963
6/14/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Services -
Legal 72963
7/16/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Services -
Consulting 72963
8/14/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Legal Services 72963
9/4/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Legal-Retainer 72963
10/4/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Legal-Retainer 72963
11/4/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton Legal-Retainer 72963
12/4/07 821 750.00 Blackburn, William Keaton
Legal-Retainer 72963
9,000.00
1/24/07 821 826.00 Clark Thomas & Winters Services-Professional 69378
1/24/07 821 2,628.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
1/24/07 821 38,706.84 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
2/12/07 821 5,660.50 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services -Professional 69378
2/12/07 821 2,705.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services -Professional 69378
2/12/07 821 31,913.75 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services -Professional 69378
2/12/07 821 5,842.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services -Professional 69378
3/19/07 821 15,008.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 712.00 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 227.50 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 1,235.50 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 437.90 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 4,594.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 3,423.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 11,723.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 4,528.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
3/19/07 821 12,576.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
4/19/07 821 6,043.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 3,749.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 72.31 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 18,101.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 4,958.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 15,861.50 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 2,986.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 790.83 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 2,366.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 16,895.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 348.00 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 1,741.50 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
4/19/07 821 13,471.50 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
5/18/07 821 6,866.04 Clark Thomas & Winters Legal
Services 69378
5/18/07 821 53,510.25 Clark Thomas & Winters Legal
Services 69378
5/18/07 821 58,470.04 Clark Thomas & Winters Legal
Services 69378
5/18/07 821 666.92 Clark Thomas & Winters Legal Services 69378
5/18/07 821 678.40 Clark Thomas & Winters Legal Services 69378
5/21/07 821 3,923.84 Clark Thomas & Winters Legal
Services 69378
6/20/07 821 1,173.02 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 19,486.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 72,929.43 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 490.34 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 361.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 434.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 2,356.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 1,777.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 7,130.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 3,731.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 754.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
6/20/07 821 528.17 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
7/ 2/07 821 125,000.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
7/19/07 821 60.98 Clark Thomas & Winters Services-Legal 69378
7/19/07 821 215.50 Clark Thomas & Winters Services-Legal 69378
7/19/07 821 21,219.97 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Legal 69378
7/19/07 821 61,587.87 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Legal 69378
7/19/07 821 663.50 Clark Thomas & Winters Services-Legal 69378
8/3/07 821 110,282.11 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Professional 69378
8/23/07 821 185.57 Clark Thomas & Winters Services-Legal 69378
8/23/07 821 9,521.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Legal 69378
8/23/07 821 70,469.78 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Legal 69378
8/23/07 821 18,360.89 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Legal 69378
8/27/07 821 73,899.38 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
9/27/07 821 94,131.86 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
9/28/07 821 -1,754.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Correct G/L Acct # 69378
9/28/07 821 -1,575.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Correct G/L Acct # 69378
9/28/07 821 -1,080.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Correct G/L Acct # 69378
10/1/07 821 63,117.92 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
10/1/07 821 8,674.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
10/1/07 821 177.10 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Legal 69378
10/1/07 821 53,855.66 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
10/1/07 821 65.00 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Legal 69378
10/1/07 821 32,659.50 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
10/22/07 821 105,498.27 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Legal 69378
10/22/07 821 232.60 Clark Thomas & Winters Services-Legal 69378
10/29/07 821 47,961.26 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
10/29/07 821 2,303.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
10/29/07 821 63,404.73 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
11/21/07 821 3,301.50 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
11/21/07 821 54,004.11 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Legal 69378
11/21/07 821 657.00 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Legal 69378
11/27/07 821 112,560.18 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
11/27/07 821 3,176.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
11/27/07 821 97,308.66 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services-Professional 69378
12/19/07 821 252.40 Clark Thomas & Winters Services -
Professional 69378
12/19/07 821 49,813.16 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
12/19/07 821 2,651.31 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services - Professional 69378
12/19/07 821 1,055.00 Clark Thomas & Winters
Services -Professional 69378
12/31/07 821 124,893.92 Clark Thomas & Winters AP
Unpaid Accrual Dec 07 69378
12/31/07 821 197,085.25 Clark Thomas & Winters AP
Unpaid Accrual Dec 07 69378
12/31/07 821 27,936.82 Clark Thomas & Winters AP
Unpaid Accrual Dec 07-Final 69378
12/31/07 821 943.81 Clark Thomas & Winters AP Unpaid
Accrual Dec 07-Final 69378
2,100,173.65
1/30/07 826 4,511.25 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services -
Professional 157781
2/8/07 826 21.00 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Legal Services 157781
2/23/07 826 14,931.87 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services -
Professional 157781
4/3/07 826 17,603.30 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services -
Professional 157781
4/24/07 826 10,538.05 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services -
Professional 157781
5/16/07 826 12,082.65 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services-Legal 157781
6/19/07 826 4,575.00 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services -
Consulting 157781
7/24/07 826 6,737.55 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services -
Consulting 157781
8/23/07 826 8,481.93 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services-Legal 157781
10/1/07 826 1,831.50 Cox Smith Matthews Inc Services -
Legal 157781
10/22/07 826 2,962.50 Cox Smith Matthews Inc
Services-Legal 157781
11/26/07 826 25,989.50 Cox Smith Matthews Inc
Services - Legal 157781
12/26/07 826 16,513.25 Cox Smith Matthews Inc
Services-Professional 157781
126,779.35
1/24/07 826 433.75 Fulbright & Jaworski LLP Services -
Professional 70205
2/14/07 826 553.56 Fulbright & Jaworski LLP Services -
Professional 70205
4/3/07 826 588.55 Fulbright & Jaworski LLP Services -
Professional 70205
1,575.86
9/17/07 821 396.46 Irion, Terrence L Services-Legal 171496
1/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
2/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
3/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
4/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
5/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
6/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
7/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
8/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
9/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
10/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
11/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
12/1/07 821 16,772.04 Moursund Moursund and Moursund
Legal-Retainer Fee 107004
201,264.48
4/23/07 821 4,675.18 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak &
Labor-Internal Investigations 166382
7/17/07 821 2,257.23 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak &
Services - Legal 166382
7/18/07 826 224.00 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak & Services -
Legal 166382
8/10/07 826 96.70 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak & Services -
Legal 166382
8/10/07 821 2,529.12 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak &
Services-Legal 166382
9/12/07 821 5,813.30 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak &
Services - Legal 166382
9/18/07 821 64.00 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak & Services-Legal 166382
10/10/07 821 130.25 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak &
Services-Legal 166382
11/15/07 821 480.81 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak &
Services - Legal 166382
12/31/07 821 192.00 Ogletree,Deakins,Nash,Smoak & AP
Unpaid Accrual Dec 07-Final 166382
16,462.59
1/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
1/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
2/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
2/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
2/20/07 821 815.35 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Reimbursement 124614
3/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
3/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
4/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
4/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
5/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
5/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
6/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
6/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
7/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
7/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
7/30/07 821 675.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Reimbursement 124614
8/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
8/1/07 821 21,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Legal Services 124614
8/1/07 821 14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
8/1/07 821 -14,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Services-Legal 124614
8/13/07 821 901.41 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Reimbursement 124614
8/21/07 821 680.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Reimbursement 124614
8/30/07 821 385.23 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Reimbursement 124614
9/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
9/1/07 821 21,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Legal Services 124614
10/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
10/1/07 821 21,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Legal Services 124614
11/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
11/1/07 821 21,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Legal Services 124614
12/1/07 821 1,200.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Car Allowance 124614
12/1/07 821 21,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J Legal Services 124614
12/31/07 821 12,000.00 Paffe Esq, Kimberly J
Administrative Costs 124614
232,856.99
1/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
2/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
3/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
4/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
5/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
6/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
7/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
8/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
9/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
10/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
11/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
12/1/07 821 2,000.00 Parker PC, Carl A Legal Services 70397
24,000.00
12/20/07 821 1,999.25 Richards & Elder LLP
Services-Legal 174361
12/19/07 821 2,700.00 Scott Douglass & McConnico
LLP Services - Legal 174266
9/14/07 821 1,375.00 Sheila Gladstone, Attorney
at Services-Legal 171536
10/10/07 821 1,500.00 Sheila Gladstone, Attorney
at Services-Legal 171536
2,875.00
1/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
2/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
3/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
4/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
5/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
6/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
7/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
8/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
9/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
10/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
11/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
12/1/07 821 5,000.00 Sibley, David Retainer 109696
60,000.00
2,780,083.63
--
Bill Christensen
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