According to The Daily Beast, Joe Colonnetta – a businessman who contributed large sums of money to Donald Trump – just landed a $300 million contract for the restoration of Puerto Rico’s power grid. Colonnetta is the founder of the private equity firm that finances the small utility company, Whitefish Energy Holdings, in which he serves a general partner.
Trump fatigue helps scandals like #Whitefish go completely unnoticed. How did a new, 2 person company land a bid for rebuilding Puerto Rico? https://t.co/Sg98HVB5dw
— Neale (@AbeFroman) October 24, 2017
This apparent case of nepotism is not the most disturbing thing about the situation. What baffled journalists is the fact that Whitefish had a staff of only two full-time employees when Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory.
One could argue that a company as small as Whitefish is not equipped to handle the enormous task of restoring power to the 3.5 million U.S. citizens that reside on the island. Usually, much larger utility companies get contracts to for restoration efforts that follow natural disasters like Hurricane Maria.
It’s astonishing— these two “Guys From #WhiteFish #MT” are making a killing — gross dereliction @fema @SecretaryZinke
— Jack Hutton 🇺🇸 @[email protected] (@jackhutton) October 24, 2017
An explanation for this odd bidding can be found on the Federal Elections Commission data compiled by The Daily Beast.
It shows that Colonnetta contributed $20,000 to the Trump Victory PAC during the election, as well as $5,400 between Trump’s primary and general election campaign.
He donated a total of $30,700 to the Republican National Committee in 2016, plus $33,400 that Colonnetta’s wife, Kimberly, donated to the same Committee shortly after Trump’s victory.
The natural habitat for #whitefish is The Swamp. Guess the drain is clogged.
— Marc Aperio (@MarcAperio) October 24, 2017
The Washington Post is investigating this case and has found out that Whitefish Chief Executive Officer, Andy Techmanski – one of the two full-time employees – is friends with Ryan Zinke – Trump’s Interior Secretary.
Zinke is actually from Whitefish, Montana, the town where the small utility company is located.
Luis Vega-Ramos, a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, got upset at the shady bidding and spoke to The Daily Beast about the situation.
“Whitefish’s most important expertise or assets seems to have been having the U.S. secretary of the interior, Ryan Zinke, as their former congressman and current ally, and having the wisdom to retain the services of key people close to the governor [of Puerto Rico].”
#whitefish has a track record of working in difficult terrains of Montana. Do not besmirch them because of your bias – they R Americans
— jilldavis (@Jillrocksyou1) October 24, 2017
“Whitefish seems to be nothing more than a glorified middleman to get the real providers of the services, with which PREPA [the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority] could have contracted directly,” Vega-Ramos accused. “It is a cozy sweetheart deal in which Whitefish gets a gratuity for subcontracting the actual providers.”
.@RepRaulGrijalva wants answers on why #Whitefish contract was awarded & questions whether there were more cost-effective options available pic.twitter.com/RtSae5WoYH
— Natural Resources Democrats (@NRDems) October 24, 2017
FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are usually responsible for evaluating contracts awarded to companies who will participate in restoration efforts after a natural disaster. Neither agency was able to comment on the Whitefish bidding.
“It is reprehensible that shameless profiteering is going on literally on the back of the devastated people of Puerto Rico. It is beyond contempt and people should answer for it,” said Vegas-Ramos.
#Watergate… #Whitewater… #Whitefish… next @potus has to bring us #Fishgate so we can close this wormhole. #WhitefishEnergyPayola
— Nasty Otter (@bluejeankim) October 24, 2017
Article inspired by The Daily Beast // $300M Puerto Rico Recovery Contract Awarded to Tiny Utility Company Linked to Major Trump Donor