Blogs

The European Union (EU) is now in a full-scale panic over how to arrange financial bailouts for its least capable members. Yet few officials within the 27-nation federation have pondered the possibility that the best arrangement may be no bailout - and no EU as well. The recent experience of Iceland, which isn't a member (yet), could serve as a lesson for both Europe and the U.S. This contrasts with the subsidized nations elsewhere in Europe whose conditions are approaching a breaking point, most of all, in riot-torn Greece, on the cusp of secession (or expulsion) from the EU. Not far behind are Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The comparison should serve as a lesson on why governments, here or abroad, shouldn't insulate businesses from the consequences of bad decisions.

I recently reported that the Houlihan Lokey group suspiciously received a $1.35 million contract from the Energy Department to track the government money lent to Fisker Automotive and Beacon Power Corp. Houlihan Lokey was the institutional bondholder representative which smoothed the way for the General Motors' bankruptcy process by endorsing the Obama Administration's 363 bankruptcy plan. I have now uncovered three more firms that cooperated in the GM bankruptcy process that have subsequently been awarded Energy Department contracts.

As taxpayer-backed electric car battery-maker A123 Systems reported a $125 million 1^st quarter loss this week and its stock price dipped to near its 52-week low, the executives that were just awarded big raises and parachutes look like they want to cash in and sell the company.

Officials with the Massachusetts-based manufacturer, which received a $249.1 million grant from the Department of Energy but this week said the ability for the company to continue is a “going concern,” also announced they retained an outside adviser for “evaluation of strategic alternatives.” Translation: they’re looking to sell. If they are successful, A123 President David Vieau and his colleagues stand to reap a windfall even after they laid off 125 factory workers ("Green jobs") in November.

On May 1, Ernest Milewski, former president of United Food and Commercial Workers, Northeast District Council, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling funds from the Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based council and a related health benefit program. He also will have to pay $257,590.26 in restitution and a $200 special assessment. Milewski pleaded guilty last August after being charged that July. The actions follow a joint probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards, Employee Benefits Security Administration and Office of Inspector General.

On April 30, Victor Rovani III, former business representative for United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Local 454, pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to embezzling $8,322 in funds from the Philadelphia union. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On April 27, Jill Ragland, former president of Ohio Association of Public School Employees Chapter 782, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), was indicted in the Court of Common Pleas, Ross County (Ohio), on one count of theft in an amount of $1,385 from the Portsmouth-based union. The indictment follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

As Americans grow increasingly skeptical about global warming, and the availability of shale oil and natural gas is greater than ever in the U.S., a federal official based in Colorado says the climate threat is so dire that electric utilities should not plan long-term for the development of natural gas power plants.

The Department of Transportation and NHTSA have announced that a "technical symposium" will be held on May 18^th "to discuss safety considerations for electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries." In addition to NHTSA's presentations, the Department of Energy, automotive manufacturers and battery makers will participate. Given the bias of the participants, the symposium sounds like it is going to be less informational and more infomercial.

On April 25, Jeff Agee, former business representative of International Association of Machinists Lodge 10, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in an information count with embezzling funds from the Richmond-based union in the amount of $4,181.62. The charge follows an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On April 24, Salvador Carney, a former employee at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on 16 counts of embezzlement from the union totaling $7,258.92. The charges follow a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.