The Free Press’s Mike Donoghue has confirmed that the FBI has taken an interest in the Burlington Telecom Scandal. Bad, bad news for Mayor Bob Kiss & company.
Why? After conversing with folks who have some understanding of how the FBI works, I’m informed that the Feds simply would not engage with this matter unless the blood was right there in the water. The FBI doesn’t get involved with bad checks or broken promises – nor do they get involved in any way with state investigations, such as the one underway out of the Attorney General’s office. Given the Kiss administration’s default on the lease with Citibank, however, it’s a whole new, multimillion dollar ballgame.
The Feds take interest if they’re thinking a large corporation (Citibank) was defrauded for a lot of money. The fact that we’re talking about a bank makes it even more their kind of thing. This could mean something in the Racketeering & Corrupt Organizations area, but the Feds have been moving away from prosecutions under that broad statute. I’m told something in the Bank Fraud or Wire Fraud arena is more likely.
All of which is to say that the fantasy bubble Bob Kiss is still living in – where Citibank will simply come put their leased equipment back in the box, roll up the cables, and part with a handshake while Burlington just goes and gets replacement equipment from Radio Shack or something – is about to be burst in a serious way.
It is so past time to take up the bailout offer from the Reboot Burlington Telecom group – an offer which was recently remade. But pride, territoriality and politics still stand in the way. Given the tense Progressive/Democrat dynamics unique to the Queen City, it’s hard not to conclude that the offer hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves because the image of a bunch of Democrats swooping in to save the city from mismanagement by a Progressive administration is just too much to bear.
All of which walks dangerously close to an if we can’t have it, nobody will attitude. One wonders if even potential federal criminal charges could be enough to break through the Prog-Dem battlements in Burlington.
I have a copy of the letter the Reboot folks sent the city last week at BurlingtonPol here.
Their proposal to buy BT seems like the best option available to the City now. Burlington has to get this thing off its books. And personally I don’t want to lose my fiber connection.
This whole fiasco reeks of stupidity. It is really sad that, for whatever reasons, the Kiss administration boondoggled this one bad and tried to walk away with the money. It would been great to shed comcast, for instance, and have a local Vermont company in its place for Vermont. Wishful thinking, I know. Thanks for the piece here.
Burlington keeps saying that once they give back the collateral for the loan that will wipe out the debt.
Has anyone familiar with the contract been able to verify that?
Just saw the newly unveiled Jim Douglas portrait and the phrase “Which hand is winning” popped to mind. No ribbons and scissors pictured either. That’s really his legacy isn’t it?