Hey kids! Governor Manchin here! Sometimes the business of West Virginia is so big, West Virginia is not big enough to hold it! So me, my chief of staff, our wives, half the state Senate, and eight members of the House of Delegates are all down here in Puerto Rico trying to get our business done! But it's hard, especially with the language barrier! I ran into one fellow who started talking to me, and I couldn't understand a word he said! I found out later it was Billy Wayne Bailey! Oh well!
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Monday, June 11, 2007
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The company for which state Sen. John Unger works is part of a web of interelated corporations benefitting from millions of dollars in federal earmarks from Congressman Alan Mollohan.
A search of public records and statements by Mollohan himself, make clear that EG&G and other related corporations located in Mollohan's district thrive mostly because of federal dollars directed their way by the congressman from the 1st District.
While Unger represents a state senate district in the Eastern Panhandle and also lives in Charleston, the company he listed with at least one organization as the primary source of his professional experience -- EG&G -- is located in Morgantown.
In fact, EG&G apparently shares an industrial park with two related corporations, both with ties to Mollohan, one called Eagle Facility Management Services, the other being the National Energy Technology Laboratory, which Unger often names as the company to which he is an "advisor."
EG&G lists its address as 3604 Collins Ferry Road in Morgantown, while both Eagle Facility Management Services and the National Energy Technology Laboratory list their address as 3610 Collins Ferry Road.
All three are connected in various fashion with the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation, the founding of which has been described as a "Mollohan initiative" and is housed in Fairmont at the Alan B. Mollohan Innovation Center. Many of the research initiatives connected with these corporations are tied with West Virginia University projects.
All these entities have been the beneficiaries of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars in federal funding, much of which Mollohan has proudly boasted of in his own press releases.
During 2006 alone, Eagle Facility Management Services was among the top 10 corporations in West Virginia receiving federal funds, totaling almost $10 million for just that year. In 2005, EFMS received about $7 million in federal earmarks. Meanwhile, WVHTC raked in more than $20 million in federal dollars last year, thanks to Mollohan.
EG&G, for whom Unger works, received a relatively paltry $3,000 in direct federal funds last year. But indirectly, the company fares much better. For example, in 2003, Mollohan announced an earmark of $270,000 for an energy research project. The funding went first to the WVHTC Foundation, but as Mollohan's press release noted, "Its prime subcontractor is the Morgantown office of EG&G."
Mollohan's press release proudly noted, "Mollohan earmarked money for the project through his position as top-ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds EPA."
While Unger typically calls himself an "advisor" to the National Energy Technology Laboratory, his advisory role apparently stems from his connection with EG&G. On a recent Project Vote Smart questionnaire, Unger listed EG&G first in answer to a question about his professional experience, followed by the NETL, calling himself a "senior advisor" there since 2003.
But a 2004 Charleston Daily Mail story, possibly depending on careful wording provided by Unger himself, said Unger was "manager of homeland security and economic development for EG&G Technical Services in association with the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown."
Unger just recently attended a "Teaming to Win" seminar in Wheeling as a representative of EG&G. (Interestingly, Unger signed up for all the meals but none of the activities at the seminar.) EG&G was also listed as a corporate sponsor of the event, along with the WVHTC Foundation and other related groups.
Last year, Jim Estep, president and CEO of WVHTC, wrote a guest column in The State Journal defending Mollohan's earmarks, saying, "What do the thousands of technology workers at the FBI complex in Clarksburg, I-79 Technology Park and NASA IV facility in Fairmont, at the Biometric Fusion Center in Clarksburg and at the National Energy Technology Lab in Morgantown think of earmarking?" Mollohan proudly displayed the column on his own website.
EG&G, the company to which Unger is most directly connected, is actually a subsidiary of a corporation called URS, "one of the largest engineering design firms worldwide and a leading U.S. federal government contractor," according to its own website.
In a 2003 press release, URS, the EG&G parent, announced it was "a major subcontractor on two other projects recently awarded by DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)."
EG&G is described as "a leading provider of management and technical services to the U.S. government. Our staff of more than 12,300 employees provides program management, systems engineering and technical assistance, and operations and maintenance services to a variety of federal agencies, primarily the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security," thereby providing Unger with the basis for his claims as having some kind of connection to Homeland Security.
The examples of the interplay and the common source of federal funding between EG&G, NETL, EFMS, WVHTC and other organizations can be found in endless searches on the web. Defenders likely paint these relationships as a positive example of networking and cooperation. But others might simply describe it as incestuous, and an elaborate web designed to funnel federal earmarks through a variety of outlets while the money all essentially ends up in the same pot. And the heads of many of these organizations turn out to be contributors to Mollohan's reelection campaigns, including Brent Armstrong of EG&G, Tina Belt, Aaron Hartzell and Craig Hartzell of Azimuth, and several employees of WVHTC, including CEO Estep.
But a 2006 article from Azimuth Inc., another corporation similar to the ones described above, contained a comment from Azimuth CEO Craig Hartzell making clear that being under the umbrella of the Mollohan-created WVHTC has its perks. Said Hartzell, "Being on a team of preferred supplier lists with large organizations like these gives you a good advantage and is significant for any small business."
No records could be found of how much money Unger is paid for the duties he performs on behalf of EG&G, or exactly what those duties are. But a 2006 NETL presentation said EG&G has $900 million in annual revenue, while its parent company's annual revenue exceeds $3 billion.
The flow chart below was also part of that presentation about a year ago by NETL at a small business workshop. Both EG&G and WVHTC are part of what NETL considers its network.
State Sen. John Unger, left, was joined by Congressman Alan Mollohan, right, on May 31 when Unger announced his run for Congress.
Company for which Unger works tied to fed earmarks by Mollohan
Millions earmarked for companies with cozy relationships around 1st District
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Table games failure in Jefferson County slams entire reasoning for bill passage
The failure of the table games vote in Jefferson County essentially kills the promise made to the whole state when the measure was passed earlier this year by the Legislature.
The revenues promised to governments all over the state were predicated on table games passing in each of the four racetrack counties. But since Jefferson accounts for nearly 50 percent of all
gambling revenue in the state, its failure there severely curtails what the state hoped to reap by preying on citizens' weakness for gambling.
Even with passage in Ohio County, and even if the measure eventually passes in Kanawha and Hancock, the failure in Jefferson is a major blow to those who defended the legislation because of its positive economic impact.
Predictable attacks will try to discredit Moran-Cooper
On Thursday when I was discussing the firing of Mia Moran-Cooper with a state legislator, he was wondering how Lottery officials and Ms. Moran-Cooper's employer, First Choice, could possibly defend the turn of events.
I told him, "Don't worry. They'll go after her. They'll come up with some kind of allegations against her."
What we can expect to see are a long list of suddenly discovered grievances against Moran-Cooper in response to her testimony suggesting that Lottery officials unduly interfered with the work of the Problem Gamblers Help Network.
News of a Lottery audit back in 2005 of Moran-Cooper's company, reported over the weekend in The Charleston Gazette, is likely a hint of things to come.
Never mind that the audit was two years old, and was somehow unpublicized -- not to mention whatever problems were found considered relatively minor -- until now. After Moran-Cooper testified on Tuesday about pressure and interference from Lottery officials, she found herself in the middle of a great big Lottery bullseye.
When she traveled right after her testimony to Kansas City, Mo., for a long-planned conference by an organization of which she is an officer, she suddenly found her travel itinerary and company credit card canceled.
Up until last week, Moran-Cooper was apparently a highly regarded, well-respected employee of First Choice, the company hired to operate the problem gamblers network, with funding from the Lottery.
But that was before she said what everyone else already knows as a matter of common sense: allowing the Lottery to grab closer control of the help network would be a disaster, as already demonstrated by past actions.
What we can expect now is dirt being thrown in Ms. Moran-Cooper's direction. The easiest way to deflect a message is to impugn the messenger. Regardless of any sideshow antics, Mia Moran-Cooper's allegations deserve to stay in the spotlight.
Adams to be a guest on WEPM
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Adams will be a guest 9 a.m. Wednesday on "Panhandle Live" on WEPM in Martinsburg.
Adams, who declared his candidacy for the GOP nomination last week, will be interviewed by WEPM's Chris Strovel and Judy Boykins.
