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Showing posts sorted by date for query hntb. Sort by relevance Show all posts

6/24/2008

CTRMA payments made to Grier-Bankett Consulting, Inc.

I just got a response from CTRMA on how much Grier Bankett was paid (Stacey Rhone Dukes company), sister of Rep. Dawnna Dukes from 7/04 to 11/06 as a subcontractor through HNTB. The total comes to $123,200+. This does NOT include and money from TxDOT.

See the article, "TxDOT's Executive Director is Corrupt" to see how Stacey has been meeting with TxDOT's Executive Director.

4/03/2008

TxDOT Says "Perfect Storm" Caused $1.1 Billion Error

TxDOT District Engineer Bob Daigh, to the left,
arrived at a 2006 CAMPO
meeting with HNTB's Richard Ridings.
Ridings is a 183A toll road contractor who billed CTRMA $7.2 million
in the first year - The $7.2 million was paid
for with our tax dollars
.

Austin District Engineer Bob Daigh (evidence of ties with a convicted criminal here), who has blamed the need for double tax toll roads on the $10 Billion dollar a month Iraq war, explains HOW TxDOT made a $1.1 Billion dollar error in the recent Community Impact Newspaper:
"We blew it. You have to understand it isn't one thing. It is the perfect storm of events..."
...and...
"...an unfortunate, honest mistake, where evidently, monies were allocated to pay for both some projects that have been let (already started), and also simultaneously allocated for some future builds. Wow, what an embarrassment. And it took a long time to find it."
Note that not one individual was fired over this error $1.1 Billion error. Do you think YOU could make a $1.1 Billion dollar error at your job — and NOT get fired?

Also, Bob Daigh, as a member of CAMPO presented the Phase II toll plan to Sen. Kirk Watson's CAMPO, then voted YES to his own plan. A plan that would toll Austin freeways using diverted tax dollars.

12/14/2007

Rep. Dawnna Dukes Must Be Removed Like The Cancer That She Is.


Big time freeway toller State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, is correcting reports on her campaign and office-holder spending dating to 2000, her campaign consultant said Thursday, according to a Statesman report today:

In those years, Dukes spent almost $300,000 of campaign donations on lodging, travel, gifts, gasoline and other items.

Almost a third of that was on credit cards, reported without detailing how much she had spent on each item, as required by the Texas Ethics Commission.

Based on that one bold red line of type above, it appears that Dukes violated state law.

Dukes was also caught this past week playing hookey in Vegas. According to blogger Matt Glazer (see the pic of her playing the one arm bandit), Dawnna was playing the slots in Las Vegas, when she was scheduled to be in an important Medicaid hearing last week:

The committee was scheduled to meet last Thursday. It met and the video and minutes are here.

Who is the only thing missing from the hearing? Dawnna Dukes. Who needs a boring hearing on Medicaid when the seductive lure of the Las Vegas slots beckons.

This is nothing new for Dawnna, remember when she missed a critical vote on education because she was on vacation in France?

Dukes continued irresponsible behavior is all good news for Brian Thompson, a lawyer who works at McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore who is considering a run at Dukes in the D primary.

In January of 2004, Dukes voted to toll MoPAC (a toll lane coming soon - they plan on reducing current lanes to "shoehorn" in a toll lane!)

On 9/13/2004, at a public transportation hearing, I exposed the payola that State Representative Dawnna Dukes received for her YES vote, to toll hundreds of millions of dollars worth of our public highways (see VIDEO here).


Rep. Dawnna Dukes expects her low income East Austin constituents to pay the steep cost of $1,000’s more a year, as the Dukes family receives freeway toll contracts, including a NO BID contract paid for with our tax dollars.


Dawnna Duke's sister, Stacy Dukes-Rhone, received a contract with the toll authority the morning after Dawnna Dukes voted YES for the Freeway tolls, after 93% of the public feedback opposed the plan

The nepotism revelation I made, and the TV news reports that followed, caused the Statesman to do a article on 9/18/04:

"Rhone (Stacey Dukes-Rhone), according to records and interviews with mobility authority officials, has been doing public relations work since February for the mobility authority under a contract with HNTB, the mobility authority's general engineering contractor for its first project, the U.S. 183-A toll road. That tollway, already under construction, was unrelated to her sister's vote in July.

But Rhone also worked on public outreach on the seven-road plan in the runup to the July 12 vote. Her contract allows her to receive as much as $44,400.

According to Richard Ridings with HNTB, the lead engineer on the project, she has been paid $26,000 so far and has billed an additional $6,000.

Her contract specifies her start date as Feb. 1 this year, and the agency, in a letter to Barrientos released Friday, said Rhone has worked for the authority since Feb. 18. But Rhone did not sign the contract with HNTB until July 7. Ridings signed on July 13, the morning after the toll road vote."
Rep. Dawnna Dukes vote included placing tolls on East Austin's 183 & 71 freeway expressways, which are already 100% fully funded with our gas tax dollars. These roads can open as free roads faster than if they were toll roads. Rep. Dukes also voted for freeway tolls again in 2005.

As expected, Stacey Dukes-Rhone has received additional contracts as well. Including a NO BID toll contract for tens of thousands of dollars as listed in the Special Investigation the Texas Comptroller produced in 2005.

Comptroller’s report also found that Rep. Dawnna Dukes approved tolls costing up to $1 a mile. Eleven (11) times the national average. The Comptroller’s investigation illustrates how freeway tolls are “Favoritism and Self-Enrichment” and “Double Taxation without Accountability”.

Dawnna Dukes, the daughter of Eastside power broker Ben Dukes Sr., even places her vote above our Federal Law.

Federal law, Title VI
(Environmental Justice):

We must avoid
disproportionately
high
economic effects on
low-income populations.


Title VI also states that we must “prevent the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits by minority populations and low-income populations.”

Last year CAMPO removed large sections of its Environmental Justice website page. But, altering a web page doesn't not alter federal law. Rep. Dawnna Dukes is unfazed by the recent reports of the dangers of toll roads and toll booths, as the disproportionate accidents and deaths of her constituents are on the line.

6/11/2007

TxDOT Engineer, Bob Daigh: Secret Deals, Lies and a Convicted Criminal

TxDOT District Engineer Bob Daigh, to the left, arrived at the CAMPO
meeting with Richard Ridings of HNTB (183A contractor) seen at right.
This article is reprinted from this blog 1 year ago.


I went to TxDOT this week (8/14/06) to pick up documents I asked for via a public information request. I requested cell phone records of TxDOT District Engineer Bob Daigh (more about what I found in the next paragraphs).

While I was at the I 35 and 183 TxDOT campus Monday, I was asked to sign in. I noticed that CRA International, who was hired to do the Independent Review of the Double Tax toll roads, had signed in at least two people to meet with TxDOT District Engineer Bob Daigh. At the same time, at 1pm, the toll authorities executive director (CTRMA), Mike Heiligenstein also signed in to meet with Bob Daigh and CRA. I assume CRA was meeting with TxDOT and CTRMA to gather information for the City of Austin Independent Review. Both CRA and Heiligenstein signed out at 4pm. I was shocked to see that no neutral party joined this meeting.

Three hours is plenty of time alone to discuss Phase II (Double Tax Toll) details and maybe even cut a deal. It would give the public a little confidence if these meetings were either made public, or at least had some neutral person, or a reporter attending.

I emailed Councilmember Brewster McCracken this information and my opinion, since he spearheaded the Independent Study, and he sent me this response,
“Thanks for letting me know, Sal. This stuff needs to be done in public, in my opinion.”
And, the beat goes on.

Back to that pile of 450 pages of Bob Daigh’s (567-1059) cell phone records.

Get this. Convicted criminal Amos “Pete” Peters cell phone number, 415-6037, shows up over and over on Bob Daigh’s cell phone records. These records show the two actually spoke numerous times a day, right up until the comptrollers report came out in early 2005. Then the calls became less frequent. But, as the months have passed, calls between the two have picked up again to a rate of many times a month, at times, more than a dozen times a week. Bob Daigh’s appointment calendars also reflect many face to face meetings with this convicted criminal.

20 year Convicted Criminal Amos "Pete" Peters

Why is this important? When folks are trying to toll roads we’ve already paid for, and a convicted criminal is at the heart of it, something stinks like month old fish.

Pete Peter’s numerous contacts Daigh could represent communications directly with a member of the executive branch to influence administrative action. It is a violation of Texas Law to do so, without registering as a lobbyist.

Peters is not registered as a lobbyist. It is illegal for a convicted criminal to lobby in the state of Texas. But that never stopped ol Pete, as he’s been seen over past years hanging out at the capital, only to tell those who know better that, “I’m not lobbying here” while in the capital.

Page 45 of State Comptroller report on Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority: A Need for a Higher Standard, March 2005 states this about a Peters communication that points to his lobbying:
“HNTB subcontractor Amos “Pete” Peters stated that “elected officials have been shored-up and alliances have been formed to see the HWY 183-A through to completion.” "
Peters, as per the Comptroller’s investigative report, has received numerous NO BID toll road contracts from Mike Heiligenstein’s unaccountable freeway tolling authority.

You would think stealing tax funded public highways and shifting them to tollways would be enough to make the freeway toll plan make good business sense, but it’s not. To sell this pig in a poke, you need to LIE BIG as well.

CTRMA's Mike Heiligenstein

In March of 2004, Bob Daigh and the toll authorities Mike Heiligenstein LIED to the public and CAMPO when they went to dozens of neighborhoods with a scare tactic (as well as included the LIE in a press release) about the alternative to double tax tolls, "...the alternative of paying a two-to-three-dollar per-gallon gas tax would never be accepted." In 2005 CAMPO Executive Director, Michael Aulick, estimated it would cost only an additional 2 cents per-gallon gas tax for the same plan without tolls.

In the summer of 2004, Bob Daigh and Mike Heiligenstein LIED again as they claimed it would cost 12 to 15 cents a mile to drive on the freeway toll roads (the national average is 9 cents a mile). Confidential CTRMA documents show the actual cost at 44 to 64 cents a mile.

I’m sure Dob Daigh will be rewarded well. History has shown the revolving door swings best for those who lie, cheat and steal from the public.

5/17/2007

TOLL ROAD LOBBY THREATENS TEXAS BLOGGER WITH LAWSUIT


In a response to a Muckraker blog article I published on 5/9/07 (see below), Hillco Partners, one of the most powerful lobby firms in Texas sent a letter to threaten me with a lawsuit.

I see this threat letter as a deliberate attempt to squelch my freedom of speech by those who seek to shift our Texas freeways to tollways. HillCo is connected to Rep. Mike Krusee, Gov. Rick Perry and other toll road profiteers such as PBS&J, Goldman Sachs and Fluor.


HILLCO PARTNERS LAWSUIT THREAT LETTER
Download and read the threat letter by clicking orange headline.

The censorship letter refers to the blog article called “TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS” (see below). It’s about Melinda Wheatley, the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas and her unique influence with married State Rep. Mike Krusee.

Interestingly, the HillCo Partners letter targets only one paragraph of the blog article:

“A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and sidestep filing more legally required lobbyist reports).”
The HillCo letter, from Attorney J. Hapton Skelton of the Law offices of Skelton and Moody, says:
“This statement is false in every respect.”
After we exchanged emails, I now wonder if HillCo is suggesting that my reliable source didn’t give me such information. Or, perhaps HillCo thinks my contact of two years is just an imaginary friend?

Since I received the original threat letter, I spoke with my contact again to confirm. My inside source tells me that she was told first hand that Wheatley did “work for HillCo”. Perhaps that could mean HillCo Partners, or a sister company called HillCo Media (also known as HillCo Media Southwest), or HillCo Direct, all with the same 823 Congress Ave in Austin address. I don’t know.

I don’t know anything more about Wheatley working with or not working with either HillCo company. What I do know is that my source has proven to be reliable - time after time.

My source also told me that they would not be surprised if Krusee and/or Wheatley complained to HillCo Partners to do something to shut me up, perhaps send a letter from an attorney.

The lawsuit threat letter does NOT deny anything else in the article. It does not deny that HillCo Partner’s J. McCartt has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. Nor does the letter deny that McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J, an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects.

MORE ABOUT HILLCO

Aside from the numerous connections I lay out in the original article (see below) HillCo’s J. McCartt was the treasurer of a the political action committee that pushed for an amendment to finance highway construction through the Gov. Perry’s Texas Mobility Fund in 2001. One of the first pieces of the puzzle to steal and toll our freeways.

A Texas Observer report says this of HillCo Partner’s power:
...HillCo Partners stands apart. It has an influence and reach—stretching from the statehouse to the state Supreme Court—that almost gives it the status of a shadow government.
THREAT LETTERS TO CENSOR BLOGGERS

Special interests have been known to send threat letters to bloggers to squelch our free speech.

It’s happened to me twice in two years. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (whose unpopular freeway toll vote came the morning after her sisters contract was signed with the tolling authority) and Everett Owen (a “No Bid” Contractor with the tolling authority) both threatened to sue as a way to shut me up. Both times, my attorney told me they were both full of shit, that they were trying to shut me up. I called their bluff, and no lawsuits were filed.

Stay tuned.

BLOG ARTICLE PUBLISHED 5/9/07

TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS.


THE MOST WANTED LOBBYIST IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS UNIQUE INFLUENCE WITH THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION CHAIR MIKE KRUSEE.

For years, the married republican State Rep. Mike Krusee, the chair of the House Transportation committee, and lobbyist Melinda Wheatley’s have had an intimate relationship.

A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and side-step filing more legally required lobbyist reports).

According to reports, HillCo’s J. McCartt, a former aide to Gov. Perry, has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J—an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects. McCartt flew Krusee to Washington in 2005 to address a conference on public-private partnerships. McCartt also flew Krusee to Las Vegas to deliver the keynote address at a PBS&J toll summit a week after the 2005 regular session ended.

About ten (10) months ago, I filed a formal “sworn complaint” with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) on Melinda Wheatley’s failure to file legally required lobbying reports for many months and years.

I fully expected Wheatley to pay off her chronically delinquent TEC fines soon after I filed the complaint. But she did not.

KRUSEE'S MISTRESS WHEATLEY IS THE MOST WANTED LOBBYIST IN TEXAS TODAY!

Shockingly, after 10 months, the brazen Wheatley has NOT paid any of the past delinquent fines with the TEC. Not only that, but according to the TEC’s own website, she is the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas today! Maybe that should not be a surprise.

AG’S OFFICE SUED WHEATLEY. WHEATLEY REFUSES TO PAY DEFAULT JUDGMENT AFTER 7 YEARS.

In 1999, the Attorney General’s office sued Melinda Wheatley for failing to pay yet another TEC delinquent account from the 1990’s. The Bankruptcy and Collections division of the AG’s office won a Travis County Court judgment that includes attorney’s fees and court costs. Wheatley has refused to pay the default judgment as well as the 10% annual interest that continues to mount each year. The AG’s office tells me a personal lien is also in place but Wheatley has not reported any ownership of property in the past seven years.

The formal complaint I filed 10 months ago was finally presented to the TEC on April 13th, 2007. The complaint has yet to be resolved or dismissed and a TEC attorney says the hearing could take place soon.

HISTORY OF KRUSEE AND WHEATLEY

Melinda Wheatley and Rep. Mike Krusee began working together on education issues in the late 90’s. In 2003 Krusee became the Chair of the House Transportation Committee after former chair Joe Pickett refused to go along with the unaccountable transportation legislation Gov. Perry wanted pushed. That same year, records show Wheatley began to lobby on Transportation issues.

Over the years, the Wheatley (12/6/1967) has kept many of the details of who she works for, and how much she gets paid, a secret.

WHEATLEY’S UNIQUE INFLUENCE WITH KRUSEE EQUALS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS FOR HER TOLL ROAD CLIENTS.

Limited state records show Wheatley earned between $70k and $150k in the first two months 2005. Wheatley listed TransCore, Texas Council of Engineering Companies, Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas and City of Austin as her transportation clients.

TransCore, one of Wheatley’s many transportation clients received a multimillion dollar contract with TxDOT in Sept. 2005. The contract for eGo Plus RFID tags, branded locally as TxTag, is for 2 million tags over two years.

Another transportation client of Wheatley, the Texas Council of Engineering Companies (TCEC) included URS, HNTB, PBS&J & Carter & Burgess, Inc. All of which have received numerous multimillion dollar toll contracts.

WHEATLEY GETS NO BID CONTRACT FROM TOLL AUTHORITY

Comptroller Strayhorn’s investigative report on the freeway tolling authority shows Wheatley’s Informative Efforts, LLC, now defunct, was given a NO BID contract (see app. #5) for freeway toll road work. It was Mike Krusee’s legislation that created the freeway tolling authority.

Wheatley ignored Texas law and additional conflicts of interests when she failed to list J.P. Morgan as one of her clients in 2004. The Comptroller’s Report states:
“Informative Efforts: The principals of this public relations firm are Cathy Howell and Melinda Wheatley, who are subcontractors for Nancy Ledbetter Associates, which in turn contracts with HNTB. Their relationship with the transportation industry may represent a potential conflict of interest. Informative Efforts had a consulting arrangement with JP Morgan Securities Inc., a CTRMA contractor, and was paid a retainer fee of $7,000 per month plus expenses. The Austin office of JP Morgan Securities indicated that Informative Efforts performed lobbying work and that it was a short-term contract terminated around March 2004. Melinda Wheatley was Informative Efforts’ primary contact with JP Morgan Securities. Wheatley was listed on the 2004 Texas Ethics Commission lobby list for only one client, TransCore, a sponsor of Team Texas. This company provides services and products that enable toll authorities to manage transactions using toll tags. As such, TransCore is a potential CTRMA contractor.”
How has J.P. Morgan been fairing in Krusee’s Toll Road Deals?

In 2005 the CTRMA invested $284 million in a J.P. Morgan Money Market. J.P. Morgan Securities is also part of the Cintra Trans Texas Corridor Team.

Up to $1 billion dollars of TxDOT Fund 6 bonds is controlled by J.P. Morgan Securities, which acts as the senior manager for the initial issuance. Fund 6 revenue bonds are backed by state highway revenues and anticipated federal transportation appropriations.

By refusing to file lobbyist reports, what are Wheatley (and Krusee) hiding?

What kind of partnership does Melinda Wheatley have with Mike Krusee?

Should Mike Krusee and Melinda Wheatley be investigated by the District Attorney?

Should the press ignore the fact that the House Transportation Chair’s mistress, the most wanted lobbyist in the State of Texas, has landed multi-million dollar contracts?

CLICK THE ENVELOPE ICON
BELOW TO SEND TO OTHERS

5/10/2007

The “Take On Traffic” Con Men - More Lies for Toll Profits


Gary Farmer and John Langmore assist Sen. Kirk Watson in
the tolling freeways scam with Take on Traffic (TOT).


They call themselves a “coalition of concerned citizens”, but the profiteers from Take On Traffic (TOT) are far from your ordinary citizens, and they've spent gobs of money with a campaign intended with numerous glossy direct mail pieces to trick real citizens. They are special interest profiteers advocating for a toll plan that allow them to line their own pockets.

Who is the local toll lobby?

And, those who fund the exorbitant TOT campaign are unknown, as they hide behind loopholes in the law, so they don’t have to report where the money comes from. These charlatans are so desperate to profit off our families via the unaccountable tolls on roads we’ve already paid for - they can’t tell the truth about the numbers. Just like TxDOT, they have to fluff the numbers to sell tolls.

UPDATED: LYNDA RIFE CONTRACTS FOR TOT CAMPIAGN

TOT FUNNY NUMBERS

TOT
throws out absolutely ridiculous numbers that are not anchored in any reality. TOT’s website, created by Mark Nathan (campaign manager for many freeway tollers such as Mayor Will Wynn), says “we need to find at least $12.7 Billion in funding” in the next 20 years. (that’s like $1.7 million a day!)

CAMPO once claimed $13.8 billion as the "funding gap" and then agreed $3.7 billion was a "math mistake". Then the auditor’s office chopped down the number further and said $4.9 billion isn't going to actually improve traffic.

TOT LIES IGNORE THE FACTS!

THE TOT LIE SAYS we’d have to raise our gas tax “between $1.20 and $1.77 a gallon” even after the Texas Transportation Institute report says just pennies of an indexed gas tax would be needed. The TTI report states tolls are NOT needed at all, that indexing the gas tax and placing the incremental revenue in the mobility fund to pay off bonds allows us to build the roads we need now.

Here’s just another example of the cooked up numbers from the profiteers. Actual State Comptroller’s fuel sales numbers:

730 million gallons gasoline annual in 2005
200 million gallons diesel annual in 2005

Compare the actual numbers above to TakeOnTraffic lies found at their website in a calculations link on a page called (get this) “How did we get our numbers” (I think they pulled these numbers out of their ass):

148 million gallons gasoline annual in 2006
345 million gallons gasoline annual in 2006

TakeOnTraffic significantly underestimates the revenue generation from the gas tax to scare citizens into thinking double tax tolls are needed. And they call the double tax a “user fee”, even though the tolls go directly into their pockets, and anything left over goes into slush funds. Who’s being used here?

How many hundreds of thousands of homes have they polluted with these direct mail toller lies?

WHO IS TAKE ON TRAFFIC (TOT)?

The profiteers happen to include the same old snake salesman that tried to force Phase II freeway tolls on Central Texas from the start of 2004 (Toll Lobby). TOT is the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and it looks like Capital Area Transportation Coalition (CATC) and RECA are there to support as well. TOT is working in conjunction with Sen. Kirk Watson and former leader of the Chamber, to usher in his plan B tolls/managed lanes (coming soon).

TAKE ON TRAFFIC (TOT) is made up of Road Engineering firms, Toll Road builders, Banks, Attorneys, Developers and others who profit off the freeway tolling scam:

John Langmore (TOT Spokesman, TOT Chair and Rep. Mike Krusee associate)
Gary Farmer
Bury + Partners
Carter & Burgess
Heritage Title
HNTB
Martin & Salinas Public Affairs, Inc.
Home Builders Association
JPMorganChase
Locke Liddell & Sapp
Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc.
PBS&J
RECA
URS
Frost Bank
Jackson Walker LLP
Endeavor Real Estate Group
Temple-Inland, Inc.
Wells Fargo Bank

According to this news report John Langmore is the Chair of TOT.

Langmore played a principal role in formulating and drafting Krusee’s freeway toll bill, HB 3588. Langmore impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert to continue to rake in fat contracts, even though he has NO education in transportation planning, not even an online college course.


John Langmore was the campaign treasurer, campaign manager and PR contact for SafeRail PAC, a political action committee that had success in altering our Texas Constitution in 2005 which allows unlimited tax dollars (blank checks) and debt to be syphon for new corporate rail in the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC). State records show Zachry Construction (of Cintra Zachry), Herzog Construction, HNTB , PBS&J, Carter Burgess, Pate Engineer and TateAustin contributed to SafeRail PAC.

Will the Austin American-Statesman expose the funny numbers? You tell me. The Statesman is on the Chambers executive committee.

When will a reporter ask them where all that campaign money comes from? And, how many hundreds of thousands of dollars they have spent?

5/09/2007

TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS.


THE MOST WANTED LOBBYIST IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS UNIQUE INFLUENCE WITH THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION CHAIR MIKE KRUSEE.

For years, the married republican State Rep. Mike Krusee, the chair of the House Transportation committee, and lobbyist Melinda Wheatley’s have had an intimate relationship.

A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and side-step filing more legally required lobbyist reports).

According to reports, HillCo’s J. McCartt, a former aide to Gov. Perry, has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J—an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects. McCartt flew Krusee to Washington in 2005 to address a conference on public-private partnerships. McCartt also flew Krusee to Las Vegas to deliver the keynote address at a PBS&J toll summit a week after the 2005 regular session ended.

About ten (10) months ago, I filed a formal “sworn complaint” with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) on Melinda Wheatley’s failure to file legally required lobbying reports for many months and years.

I fully expected Wheatley to pay off her chronically delinquent TEC fines soon after I filed the complaint. But she did not.

KRUSEE'S MISTRESS WHEATLEY IS THE MOST WANTED LOBBYIST IN TEXAS TODAY!

Shockingly, after 10 months, the brazen Wheatley has NOT paid any of the past delinquent fines with the TEC. Not only that, but according to the TEC’s own website, she is the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas today! Maybe that should not be a surprise.

AG’S OFFICE SUED WHEATLEY. WHEATLEY REFUSES TO PAY DEFAULT JUDGMENT AFTER 7 YEARS.

In 1999, the Attorney General’s office sued Melinda Wheatley for failing to pay yet another TEC delinquent account from the 1990’s. The Bankruptcy and Collections division of the AG’s office won a Travis County Court judgment that includes attorney’s fees and court costs. Wheatley has refused to pay the default judgment as well as the 10% annual interest that continues to mount each year. The AG’s office tells me a personal lien is also in place but Wheatley has not reported any ownership of property in the past seven years.

The formal complaint I filed 10 months ago was finally presented to the TEC on April 13th, 2007. The complaint has yet to be resolved or dismissed and a TEC attorney says the hearing could take place soon.

HISTORY OF KRUSEE AND WHEATLEY

Melinda Wheatley and Rep. Mike Krusee began working together on education issues in the late 90’s. In 2003 Krusee became the Chair of the House Transportation Committee after former chair Joe Pickett refused to go along with the unaccountable transportation legislation Gov. Perry wanted pushed. That same year, records show Wheatley began to lobby on Transportation issues.

Over the years, the Wheatley (12/6/1967) has kept many of the details of who she works for, and how much she gets paid, a secret.

WHEATLEY’S UNIQUE INFLUENCE WITH KRUSEE EQUALS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS FOR HER TOLL ROAD CLIENTS.

Limited state records show Wheatley earned between $70k and $150k in the first two months 2005. Wheatley listed TransCore, Texas Council of Engineering Companies, Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas and City of Austin as her transportation clients.

TransCore, one of Wheatley’s many transportation clients received a multimillion dollar contract with TxDOT in Sept. 2005. The contract for eGo Plus RFID tags, branded locally as TxTag, is for 2 million tags over two years.

Another transportation client of Wheatley, the Texas Council of Engineering Companies (TCEC) included URS, HNTB, PBS&J & Carter & Burgess, Inc. All of which have received numerous multimillion dollar toll contracts.

WHEATLEY GETS NO BID CONTRACT FROM TOLL AUTHORITY

Comptroller Strayhorn’s investigative report on the freeway tolling authority shows Wheatley’s Informative Efforts, LLC, now defunct, was given a NO BID contract (see app. #5) for freeway toll road work. It was Mike Krusee’s legislation that created the freeway tolling authority.

Wheatley ignored Texas law and additional conflicts of interests when she failed to list J.P. Morgan as one of her clients in 2004. The Comptroller’s Report states:
“Informative Efforts: The principals of this public relations firm are Cathy Howell and Melinda Wheatley, who are subcontractors for Nancy Ledbetter Associates, which in turn contracts with HNTB. Their relationship with the transportation industry may represent a potential conflict of interest. Informative Efforts had a consulting arrangement with JP Morgan Securities Inc., a CTRMA contractor, and was paid a retainer fee of $7,000 per month plus expenses. The Austin office of JP Morgan Securities indicated that Informative Efforts performed lobbying work and that it was a short-term contract terminated around March 2004. Melinda Wheatley was Informative Efforts’ primary contact with JP Morgan Securities. Wheatley was listed on the 2004 Texas Ethics Commission lobby list for only one client, TransCore, a sponsor of Team Texas. This company provides services and products that enable toll authorities to manage transactions using toll tags. As such, TransCore is a potential CTRMA contractor.”
How has J.P. Morgan been fairing in Krusee’s Toll Road Deals?

In 2005 the CTRMA invested $284 million in a J.P. Morgan Money Market. J.P. Morgan Securities is also part of the Cintra Trans Texas Corridor Team.

Up to $1 billion dollars of TxDOT Fund 6 bonds is controlled by J.P. Morgan Securities, which acts as the senior manager for the initial issuance. Fund 6 revenue bonds are backed by state highway revenues and anticipated federal transportation appropriations.

By refusing to file lobbyist reports, what are Wheatley (and Krusee) hiding?

What kind of partnership does Melinda Wheatley have with Mike Krusee?

Should Mike Krusee and Melinda Wheatley be investigated by the District Attorney?

Should the press ignore the fact that the House Transportation Chair’s mistress, the most wanted lobbyist in the State of Texas, has landed multi-million dollar contracts?

UPDATE AS OF 5/16/07....

TOLL ROAD LOBBY THREATENS TEXAS BLOGGER WITH LAWSUIT


In a response to a Muckraker blog article I published on 5/9/07 (see below), Hillco Partners, one of the most powerful lobby firms in Texas sent a letter to threaten me with a lawsuit. I see this threat letter as a deliberate attempt to squelch my freedom of speech by HillCo, who are connected with Rep. Mike Krusee, Gov. Rick Perry and other toll road profiteers PBS&J, Goldman Sachs and Fluor.

HILLCO PARTNERS LAWSUIT THREAT LETTER
Download and read the threat letter by clicking orange headline.

The censorship letter refers to the blog article called “TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS” (see below). It’s about Melinda Wheatley, the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas and her unique influence with married State Rep. Mike Krusee.

Interestingly, the HillCo Partners letter targets only one paragraph of the blog article:
“A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and sidestep filing more legally required lobbyist reports).”
The HillCo letter, from Attorney J. Hapton Skelton of the Law offices of Skelton and Moody, says:
“This statement is false in every respect.”
After we exchanged emails, I now wonder if HillCo is suggesting that my reliable source didn’t give me such information. Or, perhaps HillCo thinks my contact of two years is just an imaginary friend?

Since I received the original threat letter, I spoke with my contact again to confirm. My inside source tells me that she was told first hand that Wheatley did “work for HillCo”. Perhaps that could mean HillCo Partners, or a sister company called HillCo Media. I don’t know.

I don’t know anything more about Wheatley working with or not working with either HillCo company. What I do know is that my source has proven to be reliable - time after time.

My source also told me that they would not be surprised if Krusee and/or Wheatley complained to HillCo Partners to do something to shut me up, perhaps send a letter from an attorney.

The lawsuit threat letter does NOT deny anything else in the article. It does not deny that HillCo Partner’s J. McCartt has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. Nor does the letter deny that McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J, an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects.

MORE ABOUT HILLCO

Aside from the numerous connections I lay out in the original article (see below) HillCo’s J. McCartt was the treasurer of a the political action committee that pushed for an amendment to finance highway construction through the Gov. Perry’s Texas Mobility Fund in 2001. One of the first pieces of the puzzle to steal and toll our freeways.

A Texas Observer report says this of HillCo Partner’s power:
...HillCo Partners stands apart. It has an influence and reach—stretching from the statehouse to the state Supreme Court—that almost gives it the status of a shadow government.
THREAT LETTERS TO CENSOR BLOGGERS

Special interests have been known to send threat letters to bloggers to squelch our free speech.

It’s happened to me twice in two years. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (whose unpopular freeway toll vote came the morning after her sisters contract was signed with the tolling authority) and Everett Owen (a “No Bid” Contractor with the tolling authority) both threatened to sue as a way to shut me up. Both times, my attorney told me they were both full of shit, that they were trying to shut me up. I called their bluff, and no lawsuits were filed.

Stay tuned.

How Krusee Cohort, John Langmore, Syphons Tax Dollars.

This is Attorney John H. Langmore, one of the key confidence tricksters behind the Krusee & Perry TTC Land Grab and Freeway Double Tax Tolls. Langmore is a key player for the Special Interests.

Attorney John Henley Langmore (DOB 11/30/1962) was the Policy Director for the Texas House Transportation Committee during the 78th Legislative Session in 2003. Langmore played a principal role in formulating and drafting State Rep. Mike Krusse’s HB 3588, one of the most comprehensive transportation bills ever passed in the state of Texas, it completely altered the accountability of transportation projects. New powers were given as unelected bureaucratic mini-TxDOTs were created to toll already funded freeways. This “Frankenstein” law also allowed the TTC to take private land for foreign profits.

Many elected officials had no idea that 3588 was a Trojan horse. Most only skim the summary of a bill and use trust as a barometer.

Today, John Langmore continues the confidence game as he impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert to continue to bilk taxpayers for his special interest pals as well as get insider contracts for himself.

But, shockingly, Attorney Langmore has NO education in transportation planning, not even an online college course.

The snakelike Langmore has gone beyond the call of special interest duty. Since creating HB 3588, he’s slithered his way into the deep nooks and crannies of the unaccountable deals his legal language helped to create.

Langmore's SafeRail PAC Opens the Door for Looters.
Langmore was the one man band for SafeRail PAC. He was the campaign treasurer, campaign manager and PR contact for SafeRail PAC, a political action committee that had success in altering our Texas Constitution in 2005. Prop 1 in 2005 allowed unlimited tax dollars and debt to be syphon for new corporate rail in the TTC.

A quick glimpse of state records show Zachry Construction (of Cintra Zachry) gave SafeRail PAC $10,000, Herzog Construction gave $10,000, HNTB gave $6,000, PBS&J, Carter Burgess, Pate Engineer folks each gave $5,000 each.

TateAustin received over $12,000 for PR and Langmore’s SafeRail PAC spent over $32,000 on a radio buy in Houston to trick voters. Langmore contributed $471.31 in cash and $10,000 of campaign management and public relations services, sure to be repaid with thank you contracts.

The Proposition 1 constitutional amendment that Langmore helped to secure (53% to 47%) is a simple open-ended corporate subsidy scheme --- literally a blank check. Taxpayers will pay unlimited tax dollars (and generations of debt) to move private corporation rail lines into Gov. Perry's Trans Texas Corridor (and this after the governor had promised Texans that no public funds would be used for the TTC). Unaccountable people will decide how the taxpayer based rail fund will be spent, as corporations profit.

Langmore registered as a Texas lobbyist in 2005 representing Toll & Road Lobby companies such as Pate Engineering and Infrastructure Corporation of America. Pate and Langmore contributed to Krusee in 2005. Some say “that’s how the wheels stay greased”. Langmore has contributed to other politicos like Gonzalo Barrientos and Kirk Watson as well.

Is the system built for corruption and incestuous deals?

AND, how does Langmore get himself placed on every committee Krusee is not already on? He's also on the CAMPO Growth Subcommittee.

The address that Langmore submitted to the State for lobbying is interestingly the same address as Mike Weaver’s Prime Strategies, 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Mike Weaver helped to create the local freeway tolling authority (CTRMA) and gave his own company, Prime Strategies, the first Toll Authority NO BID contract. Comptroller Strayhorn’s report shows Weaver's company billed the CTRMA for well over $600,000 from 2002 to 2005. The NO BID contract was paid for with tax dollars.

In 2006, I witnessed the special interest trio, Mike Weaver, John Langmore and Bill Burnett (former CAMPO board member who voted to toll roads we’ve already paid for) as they told Travis County Commissioners that Hays, Williamson County and two dozen other local governments across Texas are moving forward with a common sense NO TOLL option (pass through financing) while Travis must tolls on roads we’ve already paid for. The Commissioners bought it hook line and sinker.

As a very close associate of Mike Krusee, like Melinda Wheatley, Langmore cleans up on "Good Old Boy" transportation contracts. So many transportation contracts came his way, including Zachry, in 2004 that he needed to create a new business as a Transportation Consultant. He calls it “John Langmore Consulting” and it to offices out of 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Langmore has also received toll road related marketing contracts through TateAustin, paid for with our tax dollars.

Having NO education in Transportation doesn’t stop Langmore. Hey, Mike Krusee has NO college degree, and that doesn’t stop him. Langmore is a Co-Chair of Envision Central Texas Transportation and Land Use Committee, which is now focused on planning the details of the primer for the TTC, the $1.5 Billion dollar SH 130. Mike Heiligenstein joins Langmore as a board member of ECT.

After graduating from UT’s School of Law and Graduate School of Business in 1989, John began his career working in Akin Gump’s Washington D.C. office. Langmore was Licensed in Texas in 1991 (State Bar Card Number 11922650), but, as of this year his license is inactive. Langmore had an executive role with Caterpillar in Tennessee for 11 years and a short stint as a photographer in San Antonio.

Langmore’s past also includes two (2) DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) CONVICTIONS, at least 24 months of probation and hundreds of dollars in fines.

Public records show Langmore and his wife Catherine Langmore owning 1408 Preston Ave. Austin TX 78703-1902, with an assessed value of about $500.000.

John Langmore has altered our Texas Laws and our State Constitution to where it is now legal to steal our roads, our land, our tax's and even generations of debt for the Toll Road Mafia's Personal Enrichment Program.

To this day Langmore, continues to influence where and how our tax dollars are spent, as he skims a bit for himself and impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert.

This article is part 10 of a 10 part series called “Circle of Parasites”. Freeways have never been tolled in the history of the U.S., but that doesn’t stop a close circle of self serving individuals with a long history of looking out for themselves at the expense of others.

Read the other “Circle of Parasites” articles (just click below):

1 of 10: Deadbeat Mike Heiligenstein Runs Freeway Tolling Authority

2 of 10: Two Toll Authority Board Members Refuse to Resign

3 of 10: Austin American Snakesman

4 of 10: Convicted CRIMINAL, Pete Peters, Connected to Freeway Tolls

5 of 10: Rep. Mike Krusee and Lobbyist Melinda Wheatley.

6 of 10: Ghost Organization Voted to Toll Austin Freeways

7 of 10: State Rep. Dawnna Dukes Payolla Toll Vote Ignores Constituents and Federal Law

8 of 10: County Commissioner Limmer and Convicted Criminal formally do business.

9 of 10: TxDOT Engineer, Bob Daigh: Secret Deals, Lies and a Convicted Criminal

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3/17/2007

TxDOT Beat the Clock to sell Dallas Freeway (121) to Cintra

City of Frisco Mayor Pro Tem, Maher Maso, has been fighting the SH 121 double tax toll deal months before Cintra got the contract.

You can tell by TxDOT's rushed timeline that they were trying to beat the clock on the March 1st Senate hearing. This is unbelievable even for TxDOT.

February 26, 2007 - Public hearing.
February 27, 2007 - Press release.
February 28, 2007 - Comprehensive Development Agreement (CDA) was awarded to Cintras by the Texas Transportation Commission.

Maher Maso stated:

“Of course, you also saw what was wrong with that picture, asking the public for their opinion while, at the same time, having the press announcement and then awarding the CDA all in two days!”
The City of Frisco also sent a letter in response to the SH 121 “Environmental Reevaluation” analysis produced by contractor HNTB. HNTB has the contract for 183A toll in Central Texas, and others. Frisco found a whopping total of 130 issues with HNTB's work! Here are only the first 2 of the 130...

#1 says that a rushed public hearing took place, with notice given only 3 weeks in advance - instead of the legally required 30 day notice.

CONTRACTOR HNTB PLAGIARIZED WORK!

It also appears the contractor, HNTB plagiarized past work (and will most probably bill TxDOT an exorbitant amount for the theft). As stated in the PDF:
"2. This entire document is in many cases an exact word for word copy of the SH 121 Denton County Environmental Assessment which accounts for many of the errors in the document. There is little to distinguish it as an individual project separate from the Denton County project. Many of the references are more accurate to the Denton County project than the Collin County project for the majority of the document. Shouldn’t each Environmental Assessment be unique to the corridor and not a boiler plate document?"
Click here to download the whole PDF. Recent 121 toll news HERE.
.

2/05/2007

PPP White House Summit with Krusee, Macquarie, HNTB and others

PPP = Private Public Partnerships = Theft of Public Assets

8/24/2006

10 of 12: How Krusee Cohort, John Langmore, syphons tax dollars for special interests.

This is Attorney John H. Langmore, one of the key confidence tricksters behind the Krusee & Perry TTC Land Grab and Freeway Double Tax Tolls. Langmore is a key player for the Special Interests.

Attorney John Henley Langmore (DOB 11/30/1962) was the Policy Director for the Texas House Transportation Committee during the 78th Legislative Session in 2003. Langmore played a principal role in formulating and drafting State Rep. Mike Krusse’s HB 3588, one of the most comprehensive transportation bills ever passed in the state of Texas, it completely altered the accountability of transportation projects. New powers were given as unelected bureaucratic mini-TxDOTs were created to toll already funded freeways. This “Frankenstein” law also allowed the TTC to take private land for foreign profits.

Many elected officials had no idea that 3588 was a Trojan horse. Most only skim the summary of a bill and use trust as a barometer.

Today, John Langmore continues the confidence game as he impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert to continue to bilk taxpayers for his special interest pals as well as get insider contracts for himself.

But, shockingly, Attorney Langmore has NO education in transportation planning, not even an online college course.

The snakelike Langmore has gone beyond the call of special interest duty. Since creating HB 3588, he’s slithered his way into the deep nooks and crannies of the unaccountable deals his legal language helped to create.

Langmore's SafeRail PAC Opens the Door for Looters.
Langmore was the one man band for SafeRail PAC. He was the campaign treasurer, campaign manager and PR contact for SafeRail PAC, a political action committee that had success in altering our Texas Constitution in 2005. Prop 1 in 2005 allowed unlimited tax dollars and debt to be syphon for new corporate rail in the TTC.

A quick glimpse of state records show Zachry Construction (of Cintra Zachry) gave SafeRail PAC $10,000, Herzog Construction gave $10,000, HNTB gave $6,000, PBS&J, Carter Burgess, Pate Engineer folks each gave $5,000 each.

TateAustin received over $12,000 for PR and Langmore’s SafeRail PAC spent over $32,000 on a radio buy in Houston to trick voters. Langmore contributed $471.31 in cash and $10,000 of campaign management and public relations services, sure to be repaid with thank you contracts.

The Proposition 1 constitutional amendment that Langmore helped to secure (53% to 47%) is a simple open-ended corporate subsidy scheme --- literally a blank check. Taxpayers will pay unlimited tax dollars (and generations of debt) to move private corporation rail lines into Gov. Perry's Trans Texas Corridor (and this after the governor had promised Texans that no public funds would be used for the TTC). Unaccountable people will decide how the taxpayer based rail fund will be spent, as corporations profit.

Langmore registered as a Texas lobbyist in 2005 representing Toll & Road Lobby companies such as Pate Engineering and Infrastructure Corporation of America. Pate and Langmore contributed to Krusee in 2005. Some say “that’s how the wheels stay greased”. Langmore has contributed to other politicos like Gonzalo Barrientos and Kirk Watson as well.

Is the system built for corruption and incestuous deals?

AND, how does Langmore get himself placed on every committee Krusee is not already on? He's also on the CAMPO Growth Subcommittee.

The address that Langmore submitted to the State for lobbying is interestingly the same address as Mike Weaver’s Prime Strategies, 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Mike Weaver helped to create the local freeway tolling authority (CTRMA) and gave his own company, Prime Strategies, the first Toll Authority NO BID contract. Comptroller Strayhorn’s report shows Weaver's company billed the CTRMA for well over $600,000 from 2002 to 2005. The NO BID contract was paid for with tax dollars.

In 2006, I witnessed the special interest trio, Mike Weaver, John Langmore and Bill Burnett (former CAMPO board member who voted to toll roads we’ve already paid for) as they told Travis County Commissioners that Hays, Williamson County and two dozen other local governments across Texas are moving forward with a common sense NO TOLL option (pass through financing) while Travis must tolls on roads we’ve already paid for. The Commissioners bought it hook line and sinker.

As a very close associate of Mike Krusee, like Melinda Wheatley, Langmore cleans up on "Good Old Boy" transportation contracts. So many transportation contracts came his way, including Zachry, in 2004 that he needed to create a new business as a Transportation Consultant. He calls it “John Langmore Consulting” and it to offices out of 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Langmore has also received toll road related marketing contracts through TateAustin, paid for with our tax dollars.

Having NO education in Transportation doesn’t stop Langmore. Hey, Mike Krusee has NO college degree, and that doesn’t stop him. Langmore is a Co-Chair of Envision Central Texas Transportation and Land Use Committee, which is now focused on planning the details of the primer for the TTC, the $1.5 Billion dollar SH 130. Mike Heiligenstein joins Langmore as a board member of ECT.

After graduating from UT’s School of Law and Graduate School of Business in 1989, John began his career working in Akin Gump’s Washington D.C. office. Langmore was Licensed in Texas in 1991 (State Bar Card Number 11922650), but, as of this year his license is inactive. Langmore had an executive role with Caterpillar in Tennessee for 11 years and a short stint as a photographer in San Antonio.

Langmore’s past also includes two (2) DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) CONVICTIONS, at least 24 months of probation and hundreds of dollars in fines.

Public records show Langmore and his wife Catherine Langmore owning 1408 Preston Ave. Austin TX 78703-1902, with an assessed value of about $500.000.

John Langmore has altered our Texas Laws and our State Constitution to where it is now legal to steal our roads, our land, our tax's and even generations of debt for the Toll Road Mafia's Personal Enrichment Program.

To this day Langmore, continues to influence where and how our tax dollars are spent, as he skims a bit for himself and impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert.

This article is part 10 of a 10 part series called “Circle of Parasites”. Freeways have never been tolled in the history of the U.S., but that doesn’t stop a close circle of self serving individuals with a long history of looking out for themselves at the expense of others.

Read the other “Circle of Parasites” articles (just click below):

1 of 10: Deadbeat Mike Heiligenstein Runs Freeway Tolling Authority

2 of 10: Two Toll Authority Board Members Refuse to Resign

3 of 10: Austin American Snakesman

4 of 10: Convicted CRIMINAL, Pete Peters, Connected to Freeway Tolls

5 of 10: Rep. Mike Krusee and Lobbyist Melinda Wheatley.

6 of 10: Ghost Organization Voted to Toll Austin Freeways

7 of 10: State Rep. Dawnna Dukes Payolla Toll Vote Ignores Constituents and Federal Law

8 of 10: County Commissioner Limmer and Convicted Criminal formally do business.

9 of 10: TxDOT Engineer, Bob Daigh: Secret Deals, Lies and a Convicted Criminal

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