Many enablers led to indictments in scandal
Austin American-Statesman
Saturday, June 20, 2009
It
took a civil case, a criminal investigation and relentless reporting by
the American-Statesman to shed light on how the ousted leadership of
the Pedernales Electric Cooperative spent ratepayer money.
All of that probing and digging resulted in a civil settlement, a
stack of newspaper articles and now criminal indictments accusing
Bennie Fuelberg, the former PEC general manager, and Walter Demond, the
co-op's longtime legal adviser, of felonies. If convicted, both men are
looking at lengthy prison terms.
Pedernales settlement makes sense -- on the whole
State District Judge John Dietz this week approved a settlement in
the civil suit against Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc. that
should, on the whole, be regarded as a good one for the co-op's 220,000
member-owners. The suit accomplished its most important mission, which
was major reform of the co-op's governance, even if it fell short in
its effort to force out all of the board members and make them and top
managers - now retired and gone - pay back some misspent co-op money.