‘...unbelievable’--$87-millon resort ‘speaks volumes for the state’ (more Mollohan (D-WV) earmarks?)

FAIRMONT — The children of three Morgantown developers pulled away tarps to reveal giant renderings of an $87-million development proposed at the site of a former coke plant Monday afternoon.

The brainchild of developers Michael Vecchio, Mark Tampoya and David Rees, who make up The Water Works LLC, Volcano Island Indoor Waterpark Resort is only the first phase of a redevelopment plan for the 107-acre property on the site of the former Sharon Steel plant on the East Side of Fairmont.

The children will probably be among the first to

experience the 12 water slides, surf machine, water roller coaster, the giant bowl slide that erupts water periodically on passersby and many of the other features at the indoor/outdoor waterpark.

But they may have to stand in line behind a U.S. congressman, the state’s governor and the county commission president, all who expressed an interest in being the first down the water slide at the resort when it opens in the fall of 2008.

There will be more than just water features when the resort opens. In addition to the 50,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, the 107-acre planned development will include a 30,000-square-foot conference center, 300-suite hotel, an outdoor waterpark, marina and recreational lake. The master plan also includes millions of dollars in retail development, an additional hotel, an RV park, multiple restaurants, a day spa, movie theater and more.

That’s a huge step for a site listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s national priorities list for cleanup. The land had been used since 1918 as a coke works plant, and dangerous byproducts had left their mark there. Turning coal into coke produces coal tar, ammonium, benzene, toluene, xylene and coke oven gas.

Since 1993, the site has been on the radar of federal and state environmental agencies. Cleanup activities continue there, though the 25 acres where the first phase of the Volcano Island resort have been released.

Three years ago this month, property owner ExxonMobil, the EPA, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Fairmont signed a custodial trust agreement, pledging to bring the property back to a beneficial use for the community. Throughout this process, the Fairmont Community Liaison Panel and later the Real Property Management Committee began to investigate the redevelopment of the property.

“I can tell you that ExxonMobil has been an active and a nurturing partner for this site and our panel and this community,” said Mayor Nick Fantasia, a member of the property management committee. “They’ve made a great effort stepping up and taking responsibility for what has occurred here. And they’ve made an even greater effort in making sure that this site will become an asset to this community.”

The transformation of the Sharon Steel site from an industrial use to a destination resort is one of the state’s greatest examples of brownfield development, Gov. Joe Manchin said.

“Good, flat land is precious here,” Manchin said. “Good land that has amenities and infrastructure is even more precious. Most of it has been used before. We’re showing you how you can reuse it.”

The governor described the Volcano Island Indoor Waterpark Resort as “the model for our continued brownfield development across the great state. We’re using industrial and commercial land.

“As governor, I have been quite passionate about brownfield development because I know the great potential of the lands we have sitting idle right now,” he said.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Manchin said following the event. “It speaks volumes for the state. We’ve had a lot of obstacles, and we’ve overcome them. The quality of life is going to change in this area.”

Manchin also applauded the Volcano Island developers, who have used private financing to make this project work.

“The good thing about economic transformation is that once it gets going, it feeds off of itself,” U.S. Rep. Alan B. Mollohan said in a letter read during the event. The congressman was unable to attend the event Monday because of a previous commitment.

“One project begets another project. One plan expansion brings new services and new employees, which builds the infrastructure and further expansion and so on,” Mollohan said. “You would be hard pressed to find a better example of this transformation than turning an old coke works project into a destination resort that will bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars to the local economy.”

Features of the indoor/outdoor waterpark include:

I used question marks because it needs to be looked at, considering the many other cases in WV involving Mollohan, i.e. were his friends again involved with the cleanup, how does this small town come up with $87 mil for THIS, and will it really pay for itself--see post #3 and other deals below.

Mollohan Charity Charges Mighty Green Fee
By Paul Kiel - June 22, 2006, 5:17 PM
Bloomberg News got ahold of the donor list for Rep. Alan Mollohan's (D-WV) charity, and what do you know -- it's stocked full of contributions from companies that have benefitted from Mollohan's widely-renowned earmarking abilities.
Mollohan steers tax money their way, they steer some to his charity.
According to Bloomberg, over the past six years Mollohan, who's under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C., has earmarked $179 million for companies and nonprofits that gave to his charity. All that went to "21 companies and nonprofit groups that contributed $225,427 to the Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation in 2004 -- almost half of the charity's revenue." Nine of the top 10 contributors to Mollohan's reelection campaign in 2004 also gave to the charity.
And in a set-up reminiscent of a certain former congressman's favored charity, it costs donors $10,000 to pay for a foursome to join Rep. Mollohan during his annual golf tournament.
Those at the foundation deny that donors are buying access, of course -- they just really want to see that West Virginia kids go to college. There's one gem of a quote along those lines from one of Mollohan's corporate donors. The poor guy is trying to rally to Mollohan's defense, but just doesn't seem to realize that he does more harm than good:
"Generally these kind of contributions are made by successful businesspeople.... An awful lot of successful businesspeople in this state know Congressman Mollohan."

Yes, I bet they do...Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Alan Mollohan: Congressman and Real Estate Guru
By Paul Kiel - June 14, 2006, 4:50 PM
You there, at home. How would you like to take $25,000 and leverage it into a multimillion dollar share of a condominium complex in just ten years? Or to put it another way, how would you like to see a 9,000 percent appreciation on your investment in just four years? Well, if you follow the example of Rep. Allan Mollohan (D-WV), your dream can come true.
Here's your road map. It's a chronology of Mollohan's real estate investments, which he released yesterday as part of his effort to prove that he's got nothing to hide. In early April, you may remember, news broke that Mollohan was under investigation by the FBI for his investments and earmarking activity.
A big part of the complaint by the conservative National Legal and Policy Center that triggered the investigation was the allegation that Mollohan had tried to hide his vast increase in wealth by failing to properly disclose his real estate investments. So Mollohan, in anticipation of releasing his disclosure tomorrow, made some relatively minor corrections to his past disclosures and included a timeline of his past real estate investments. Hey, Mollohan's saying, I got rich the honest way. Or as he puts it:
... we received a sizable inheritance, took on considerable financial risks, and had the good fortune to be investing in a rising real estate market. It is those factors that are responsible for the increase of our assets.

I assume that Mollohan employs a squad of accountants, because whenever I sit down to review his investments, it sets my head spinning. Like his earmarking activities, nothing's simple.
Mollohan has partnered 50-50 with a number of people, all of them in some way beneificiaries from his earmarks, on a number of different real estate investments. That, in and of itself, is an ethics no-no - and Mollohan admitted as much when he said he'd exhibited an ethical "blind spot."
But blind spot or not, Mollohan says that the money's clean. Eventually the FBI, which has been busily issuing subpoenas in the investigation, will have its own say on that.Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Mollohan Subpoena-fest Continues
By Paul Kiel - May 17, 2006, 1:15 PM
From today's Charleston Daily Mail:
More than two dozen organizations in northcentral West Virginia with ties to Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) reportedly have been subpoenaed, and one nonprofit has reportedly shipped 160 cartons of documents to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Mollohan Scandal, Now Featuring Skeeter and Aunt Tib
By Justin Rood - May 17, 2006, 9:37 AM
As a scandal's details become known, it develops its own flavor. In today's New York Times, we get our first real taste of the Mollohan scandal, and it's clear this one will carry the heartiness of the West Virginia mountains from which Mollohan hails.
The paper reports today that the feds are curious about a mess of condominiums Mollohan purchased with his "cousin." Having roots in West Virginia, I can tell you that "cousin" there is used as an inclusive, not an exclusive, term. It's thrown around to mean just about anyone you're in any way related to who isn't your parent, grandparent, great-grandparent or your child.
Indeed, Mollohan and his investment-partner "cousin" Joe Jarvis aren't immediate cousins. In a case like theirs, it's a favorite West Virginia game to sit around and figure out exactly how two such characters share blood -- as the New York Times dutifully engages:
Mr. Jarvis, 74, and Mr. Mollohan, 63, share a great-great grandfather, and Mr. Jarvis's son, Skeeter, said his grandmother Mildred and Mr. Mollohan's Aunt Tib were best friends who lived next door.

Oh, this is going to be a fun one. West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home. Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Mollohan: Oops
By Paul Kiel - May 15, 2006, 3:13 PM
The Washington Post went front page today with Rep. Alan Mollohan's (D-WV) ethical troubles, and boy, he doesn't do himself one bit of good.
Mollohan's troubles mostly stem from his habit of engaging in real estate deals with the beneficiaries of his many, many earmarks. He bought a farm, for instance, with an old friend soon after landing him an earmark. And he bought beachfront property with a woman who runs one of his nonprofits - a nonprofit which (you guessed it) relies on Mollohan's earmarked largesse.
Well, gee, he says, I guess I should have thought twice about that:
In an interview, Mollohan said he is unapologetic and proud of the thousands of jobs he has brought to West Virginia [the earmarks] and that, legally speaking, everything he has done to secure them is "squeaky clean." But he acknowledged that his actions might look incriminating and that he may have had an ethical "blind spot" that prevented him from questioning whether he, as a government official and vice chairman of the ethics panel, should have invested with such close associates.
"I would have done things differently," he said as he drove through West Virginia's northern panhandle. "It puts you in a position where people could say there's something untoward going on."
The House ethics committee warns lawmakers to avoid exactly those kinds of situations. Its Web site admonishes federal officials not to accept favors or benefits "in circumstances that might create the appearance of influencing the performance of official duties."

You can just imagine the Post's Jeffrey Birnbaum rolling his eyes as he wrote that last paragraph. "Blind spot?" Jeez.
And it looks like it's going to continue to get worse for Mollohan before it gets better. The original complaint that kicked off the Mollohan investigation, from the conservative National Legal and Policy Center, alleged that he'd misreported his assets and debts on his disclosure form. No, no, no, said Mollohan. But now, according to the Post, Mollohan will be amending his disclosure filings to reflect misstatements. Unfortunately for Mollohan, that won't make the problem go away - such a misstatement could still be charged as a crime.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues apace. One of Mollohan's nonprofits was recently subpoenaed - and two more are likely to follow.
Oh, and one more thing. "Mollohan promises a report soon that will explain how he so quickly became a multimillionaire." Can't wait. Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Mollohan Investigation Intensifies
By Paul Kiel - April 28, 2006, 1:46 PM
OK, we all knew Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) was in trouble, but today's news in the Times makes it look all the worse. At the center of Mollohan's problems is a system of nonprofits that he's set up in West Virginia - three of them have recently received word from the FBI that they'll be subpoenaed.
As a taxpayer, you can't feel good about the fact that over the last ten years Mollohan's been able to funnel via earmarks almost half a billion dollars to a handful of his choice nonprofits. Unfortunately, it's perfectly legal. What isn't legal - and, in Mollohan's case, not yet proven - is profiting directly from earmarks or scheming to rewire appropriations as campaign contributions.
We know that Mollohan had a tendency to go in for real estate deals with people who benefited from his earmarks, but so far that smoking gun hasn't emerged. Maybe the FBI has an idea of where to find it.
Details on Mollohan's nonprofits below the fold.
From the NY Times earlier this month:
Alan B. Mollohan's Congressional district in West Virginia has received $480 million in special spending allocations known as earmarks since 1995. About half the money has gone to these five organizations, all of which Mr. Mollohan set up.
West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation
FOUNDED: 1990
EMPLOYEES: 148
TOP SALARY: $260,000
ACTIVITIES: Runs its own research projects and works with companies to seed hightech projects. Planning a technology park.
EARMARKS SINCE 1995: $39 million from HUD, S.B.A. and the Justice Department
Institute for Scientific Research
FOUNDED: 1990
EMPLOYEES: 57
TOP SALARY: $362,286
ACTIVITIES:Conducts basic information technology and engineering research for federal agencies.
EARMARKS SINCE 1995: $108 million from NASA and HUD
Canaan Valley Institute
FOUNDED: 1995
EMPLOYEES: 49
TOP SALARY: $147,450
ACTIVITIES: Partners with local groups on environmental problems, particularly stream restoration and wastewater treatment.
EARMARKS SINCE 1995: $71 million (awarded funds) from E.P.A. and NOAA
Vandalia Heritage Foundation
FOUNDED: 1998
EMPLOYEES: 12
TOP SALARY: $102,000
ACTIVITIES: Restores historic buildings, acquires property for development and runs ''legacy'' projects of oral histories.
EARMARKS SINCE 1995: $28 million from HUD
MountainMade Foundation
FOUNDED: 2000
EMPLOYEES: 19
TOP SALARY: $65,565
ACTIVITIES: Helps local artisans sell wares. Runs craft workshops.
EARMARKS SINCE 1995: $8 million from S.B.A.
Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Mollohan Bought Farm with Earmark Buddy; FBI Sniffs around West Virginia
By Paul Kiel - April 25, 2006, 6:12 PM
Today's Wall Street Journal piece adds more fuel to the fire under Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), reporting that Mollohan partnered with an old friend of his to buy a 300-acre farm just months after securing an earmark for his friend's company. And it confirms that federal agents are on the case.
Here are the basic facts on the farm deal: sometime in late 2004, Mollohan inserted a $2.1 million earmark for FMW, a company headed by his friend Dale McBride. On May 31,2005, Mollohan and McBride teamed up to buy a $900,000 farm together.
There's no evidence that the money for the earmark kicked back to Mollohan himself, but, as the WSJ reports, "House ethics guidelines warn lawmakers to avoid business deals with those who benefit from their official acts." Mollohan was the ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee until last Friday, remember. One wonders if this forthcoming piece had anything to do with his stepping down - according to the Journal, his spokesman responded to the reporter's questions last Friday, so he knew it was coming.
Perhaps the most newsworthy nugget in the piece is that FBI agents seem to be making the rounds, asking questions:
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have begun asking questions in Washington and West Virginia about the lawmaker's holdings and whether they were properly disclosed, according to people who have been contacted in recent days.

Although the Journal follows with the caveat that these types of investigations "often end with no charges filed," for the time being it just doesn't look good for Mollohan. Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Under Fire, Top Dem Leaves Ethics Post
By Justin Rood - April 21, 2006, 4:55 PM
If you can't stand the heat, get off the ethics committee.
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is stepping down from his post as Ranking Member on the House ethics committee, Roll Call's John Bresnahan reports this afternoon, quoting anonymous sources.
Mollohan informed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of his decision in a letter today, and Pelosi "has accepted his decision," a Democratic source said.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) will take the spot, Bresnahan says.
Mollohan's been under scrutiny for numerous allegations of financial misrepresentations on his disclosure forms. Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Top Dem under Investigation - But Why?
By Paul Kiel - April 10, 2006, 4:45 PM
The ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.V.) is under investigation. That much is clear. And politically, there can be no question that it's a black eye for Democrats.
But it's not clear from press accounts what Mollohan is under investigation for. Maybe that's because a Congressman misstating financial assets doesn't make for scintillating news copy?
Here's why Mollohan may be in trouble.
Ken Boehm of the National Legal and Policy Center filed an 81 page complaint (along with more than 400 pages of exhibits) with the U.S. Attorney's Office on February 28th. It's principal allegation was that Mollohan had consistently and repeatedly undervalued or failed to report assets on his financial disclosure reports. If true, Boehm says Mollohan would be in violation of two laws:
1) The False Statements Accountability Act. This would be a criminal violation with a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
2) The Ethics in Government Act. This would be a civil violation that would most likely bring a fine at most.
So that's what Mollohan is being accused of: filing false financial disclosure reports. Simple.
And this seems to be precisely what investigators are interested in, according to "people contacted in the inquiry."
There is the further question as to why Mollohan might have been doing this. Because he was up to no good? Maybe. But there seems to be no answer to that as yet.
There is much more to the story, having to do with the network of nonprofits in West Virginia that Mollohan has funded almost exclusively with earmarks. The vast majority of the Journal's and NY Times' pieces on Mollohan are about these nonprofits, but their relation to the NLPC's complaint is, as even Boehm admits, speculative.
Even the fact that Mollohan has made at least a couple million in recent years, according to what he has reported on his disclosure forms, is beside the point. The question is about what he hasn't reported, not what he has.
For his part, Mollohan has said that he's disclosed everything properly, but won't reply to specific allegations until he's read the complaint, according to West Virginia's Dominion Post. Boehm says that the NLPC plans to release portions of the complaint sometime in the near future. Until then, as long as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) continues to stand by Mollohan, he'll continue to stick it out. Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan
Feds Probe House Dems' Ethics Man
By Justin Rood - April 7, 2006, 3:56 PM
The Justice Department is conducting an inquiry into the financial disclosures of Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), the Wall Street Journal reports today. The National Legal and Policy Center, a right-wing Virginia political watchdog group, brought the matter to investigators' attention, flagging "at least 200 misrepresentations or omissions in Mr. Mollohan's disclosure forms over the years," according to the newspaper.
When TPMmuckraker called the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, their spokeswoman confirmed to us that there is an investigation, but refused to comment further on the nature or extent of it.
Late Update: DC-based government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington calls for Mollohan to step down from the Ethics committee. Permalink | TOPICS: Alan Mollohan

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