The Family Business

The Citizens Voice ^ | 06/03/2007 | Dave Janoski

[Tinian]

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski touted Cornerstone Technologies LLC as a way to spin anthracite into lightweight carbon fibers, building a high-tech future from Northeastern Pennsylvania’s coal-mining past.

But eight years after it was launched by Kanjorski’s relatives, the firm has collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving behind bad debt, embittered former employees and lingering ethics questions about $10 million in federal contracts Kanjorski helped secure for Cornerstone. The company’s vision of producing advanced materials for the Navy never left the drawing board.

University researchers and government officials who worked with Cornerstone say its core idea — using jets of high-pressure water to pulverize coal and other materials into minute particles — was sound. But some say the company’s leadership — a quartet of Kanjorski’s nephews for the most part — was ill-suited and ill-prepared for the rigors of scientific research.

“It was just like the Three Stooges meet anthracite,” said Penn State fuel sciences professor Harold Schobert, who worked on a federal contract with the firm. “These guys didn’t know how to order chemicals. They didn’t understand even the most fundamental aspects of how to conduct experiments.

“The Kanjorskis probably should have got someone pretty sharp on the technical side to run that and faded into the background … They didn’t find a technical guy they were willing to trust.

“If they wanted to collect six- and seven-figure salaries, more power to them. I think the company was doomed from the get-go.”

At least two of Kanjorski’s nephews were on the Cornerstone payroll, according to the congressman and a former company official. Their total compensation has never been made public.

[Tinian]

Funny how articles about corrupt Democrats always seem to get published a year and a half before the next election.

[Cricket24]

Rep Paul Kanjorski has always been a sleeze ball but still gets re-elected time after time. Now if he were a Republican, this would have been front page news for YEARS!

[oldbill]

Kanjorski is a Congressman for life because his district is heavily Democrat and the Republican party there has been non-existent since the Goldwater race.

Perhaps immigration will rescue that area from this Democrat pox and corruption. Also in that District is a politician named Lou Barletta, who not only wins Republican races, but wins Democrat races by write-ins.

It would be nice to see him run against Kanjorski, but with his stand against illegal immigration the Bush people and the RNC would starve him of any support or financing. Just like they did to the conservative who ran against Specter.