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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Puerto Rico’s Government Officials Try To Save The Goose That Lays Their Golden Eggs















Commentary

by Richard Lawless


On November 4th, 2015 the Governor of Puerto Rico submitted the
PREPA Revitalization Plan to the Puerto Rico Legislature.  It needed
to be approved by the 12th and it was not.

The revitalization plan was written to gain approval from bond holders
and insurers for a major financial restructure of the utility's balance sheet.

It has been an open secret on the island for many years that PREPA has
been mismanaged.  The utility has been used to redirect as much as $100,
000,000 a year from the people of Puerto Rico to select government offi-
cials.

In 2010 a handful of honest PREPA Directors and employees uncovered
the scheme during a routine audit.  Enough Government Officials were in-
volved that they were able to fire the auditors, change the results of the au-
dit and cover up the on-going theft.

The PREPA Revitalization Plan will not be allowed to pass as written. The
plan gives to much control to “outsiders”.  These outsiders may prevent the
Government Officials from maintaining enough control to continue the theft
of public money and insure its continued cover-up.

The arrogance of these officials is astounding.  They make little effort to
cover-up their efforts to sustain this scheme.  Just take a close look at wh-
ich legislators are trying to water down the control provisions in the Revi-
talization Act.

How can these Government Officials afford the homes, cars, private sch-
ools and vacations they take? The answer is PREPA.  How can they expla-
in their large foreign bank accounts and impressive foreign real estate hol-
dings?  The answer, once again, is PREPA.

These individuals have had their way with PREPA for over a decade. They
believe they are untouchable.

Rest assured, the February, 2015 RICO lawsuit that was filed is paying big
dividends.  Many of the twenty defendants that have been named are rolling
over to save themselves.  It is just a matter of time before the federal prison
system plays host to a significant number of Puerto Rico Legislators.


Richard Lawless is CEO of Commercial Solar Power, Inc. in Temecula, CA. The opinions expressed  in the 
preceding commentary are exclusively his own.



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