Claims of Cronyism in $300 Million Puerto Rico Recovery Contract Awarded to Admin-Connected Firm

a reply to: RalagaNarHallas

Thanks man, I'm in Wyoming at the moment working my way up to Montana making stops along the way at Zion, Bryce Canyon, Tetons and Yellowstone.

It really pisses me off about what Zinke and by extension Trump are trying to do to our national parks. It's disgusting and shows how little they care about Mother Nature.

Puerto Rico people made the decision to use this company, not the White house or Republicans. From the news I guess that congress approved their selection. But I am sure that Congress didn't want to go against Puerto Rico's choice either, it is not their job.

This does not seem to be politically motivated. I think our government should have run a check on the company though, having only two employees sounds like there was a problem there with verification. I think Puerto Rico officials should have looked into this company more before approving it. Our government is not responsible for this, Puerto Rico's people are to blame. If there would have been better communication between our government and Puerto Rico, then our government could have checked the company out. I am sure there are hardheads in Puerto Rico who did not want to admit they needed help with this. Our government is not supposed to be responsible to go over the heads of puerto Rico's or any states government like this, they are just supposed to give assistance, not take over.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
I'm actually in the process of moving to Whitefish as we speak so this whole thing is a bit surreal. Whitefish is a beautiful town and I hope this doesn't bring any bad press or animosity to the place. The people are great, don't let this sway your opinion of the place.

Hey, their only two experienced electrical employees are gone to Puerto Rico. I hope they did not send their meter reader down there too. You really do not need electricity in your house there do you?

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

The news cycle took an abrupt turn this evening so this got orphaned but thanks for the additional information. I'm going to have to mull it over a bit.

I don't think that anyone is surprised that a utility is corrupt, particularly on island (is it just me or do islands seem inherently prone to corruption?). The link to the Brazilian firms is definitely worth looking into.

The sat phone explanation seems... odd.

We'll have to see what develops.

This should not be rocket science, there should be procedures in place for these situations. When spending this much public money everthing from start to finish should be well documented public record. Everything else is just an invitation to screw over the taxpayer

originally posted by: dashen
Whitefish is a red herring.
the Puerto Rican electric company made this decision.
And we all know how electric companies are inscrutable pinnacles of ethics and honesty

We have a saying in Scotland: wads of cash stuffed into wee brown envelopes.

a reply to: theantediluvian

I see an entire anti Trump post with no actual connection to trump.

UPDATE:
The contract has reportedly been canceled.

The Puerto Rico electric power company said Sunday that it is canceling a controversial $300 million contract it had signed with a small Montana-based company and tasked with a central role in repairing the territory’s hurricane-ravaged electric grid.

The move came after Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the contract was a distraction and should be canceled after critics in the electric power industry, Congress and the Federal Emergency Management Agency raised questions about whether the company, Whitefish Energy, was well equipped to respond to the hurricane damage.

Puerto Rico’s utility cancels controversial contract with Montana firm to repair electric grid