Tribal Member Disputes Claim of Sacred Ground

Harnessing the wind IS spitual. Each turbine could be totem pole remembrances to the first nations of the first light both on Horseshoe shoals and onisland.
Added underwater structure on the shoals will increase habitat for fish et. al.
Need to rethink the positives vs. the negatives for Cape Wind.

Cape Wind, Dividing Communities and Families since 2001…

Cape Wind et al has a no “bid deal” for Nantucket Sound. Thusly, Cape Wind has not been “vetted” in a competitive bidding process. This scenario exposes the environment, rate and taxpayers to unacceptable risks. It’s reprehensible that the regulators have never asked the question:

Who are these guys, Cape Wind, EMI, UPC, First Wind, IVPC?

The answer is quite alarming.

http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/23/3941508-who-are-these-guys-cape-wind-emi-upc-first-wind-ivpc

Barbara:

Read the information at your link and did find it alarming. The question is, is all of this true? It’s something for our journalists here to look into. For everyone’s information I’ve posted your complete column here…

Thank you for the heads up.
Who are these guys? Cape Wind, EMI, UPC, First Wind, IVPC?
News Type: Event — Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:12 PM EST
technology
Barbara Durkin

Q: Who are these wind industry guys?
Cape, Wind, EMI, UPC, First Wind, IVPC, Brian Caffyn, Paul Gaynor, Oreste Vigorito et al?
FOX NEWS MAY 2009
Prosecutor Roberto Scarpinato told the Financial Times, and this verbiage frames the issues:
“This is the amazing thing — that developers got public money to build wind farms that did not produce electricity,” he said.
Furthermore, locally-built wind farms are often bought up by multinational energy firms from other parts of Europe, none of which know the true identities of the original owners.
“A handful of people control the wind sector,” said Scarpinato. “Many companies exist, but it is the same people behind them.” Eight arrests have already been made.”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519000,00.html
Under the Green Communities Act, UPC First Wind Paul Gaynor is an Appointee of the Patrick Administration writing policy in Massachusetts to direct wind energy development as a Boston based wind developer.
[BOSTON – Wednesday, July 2, 2008 – Governor Deval Patrick today signed the Green Communities Act, a comprehensive energy reform bill resulting from close collaboration with House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi…”]
[Former House Speaker DiMasi indicted on corruption charges – Local …Jun 2, 2009 … Former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and three friends were indicted today by a federal grand jury for allegedly …
www.boston.com/news/local/…/06/former_speaker_1.html ]
“Patrick-Murray Administration Appoints Business, Science Leaders to Chair Climate Advisory Committee”
“Group will advise on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate development of green jobs”
“As mandated by the Act, the Climate Protection and Green Economy Advisory Committee includes members representing the following sectors: commercial, industrial and manufacturing; transportation; low-income consumers; energy generation and distribution; environmental protection; energy efficiency and renewable energy; local government; and academic institutions. Additional appointments are pending, but those members announced today are:”
“Energy efficiency and renewable energy;”
“Paul Gaynor, President and CEO, First Wind”
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoeeapressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Eoeea&b=pressrelease&f=090330_pr_cac&csid=Eoeea
“In the most recent arrests, according to the European Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, Oreste Vigorito has ties to Brian Caffyn, a former investor in the Cape Wind project, which has been criticized as a poor investment for taxpayers, reports Dakota Voice.
Vigorito once owned IVPC with Brian Caffyn, founder of Cape Wind and First Wind, according to the Boston Herald.
The “Gone with the Wind” sting operation, started in 2007, netted 11 others who were charged but were not arrested. Italian police told Financial Times that the fraud charges are related to obtaining millions of dollars in public subsidies to construct wind farms that never worked.
Fraud appears to be an emerging problem in the nascent clean energy sector.”
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/11/17/mafia-tied-to-wind-fraud-in-italy/
http://www.windtaskforce.org/photo/mafias-oreste-vigorito
WHO VETTED PAUL GAYNOR UPC FIRST WIND AS THE PATRICK ADMIN. ADVISOR ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY???
“Complaint Filed With the Department Of Justice Under the Sherman Antitrust Act By Concerned Citizen From The States of New York, Vermont, Maryland, and California (filed April 25, 2007)”
“Nature of Complaint”
“This is an Antitrust Complaint alleging that an International Cartel is engaged in Market Allocation, Price Fixing and Big Rigging in Windfarm Developments in New York and Vermont, as well as other states across the nation. This Complaint was submitted by 94 concerned citizens via email to the U.S. Department of Justice, Anti-Trust Division on April 25, 2007.”
“UPC Wind Management LLC: “an American subsidiary of UPC Group”, formerly known as Wind Management LLC, founded by Brian Caffyn for U.S. developments.”
BJD editor’s note, Cape Wind is identified as a UPC subsidiary through partnerships in this Antitrust complaint signed by 94 non-NIMBYS.
http://batr.net/cohoctonwindwatch/Windfarms-antitrust%20complaint-FINAL.d oc
The MA Ocean Advisory Commission identifies Paul Gaynor is advising them regarding their draft plan for MA coastal areas within 3-miles to shore for alternative use.
First Wind, formerly UPC, is a Boston based wind developer writing policy to direct wind development in MA.
Boston Herald
‘Wind law could benefit company’
November 6, 2010
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2009/11/06/wind-law-could-benefit-company/
Stimulus money for a $25 million for a Charlestown wind turbine blade testing facility arrives!
Announced on On May 12, 2009: Governor Patrick and First Wind Paul Gaynor were were interviewed by Alison King of NECN Radio, along with Steven Lockard CEO TPI Composites, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and Ian Bowles Environment and Energy Secretary. Alison King introduced Paul Gaynor as “CEO of First Wind, the largest wind energy producer in New England”.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/Business/2009/05/12/Wind-turbines-to-be-tested-in/1242160830.html
Who is Patrick Admin. Advisor Paul Gaynor? Worcester Polytech Institute (Gaynor is an alumnus) article 2005:
“As president and CEO of UPC Wind Management, located in Newton, Mass., Gaynor was tapped to bring the success of the parent company, UPC Group, to North America. In Europe and North Africa, UPC affiliates—including Italian Vento Power Corporation—have raised over $900 million in financing and installed some 900 utility-scale wind turbine generators (WTGs), with a total capacity of more than 635 megawatts. UPC subsidiary companies, positioned across the United States and in Toronto, are currently pursing some 2,000 megawatts in projects from Maine to Maui.”
Back on the East Coast, UPC’s major focus includes more than a half dozen active developments in New England and New York. UPC has added a West Coast presence, in San Diego.”
“While New Englanders debate the aesthetic impact of a proposed offshore project on Nantucket Sound, Gaynor—who owns a home on Nantucket—points out the aging power plants that dot the New England coastline. “People are so used to looking at those old power plants that they don’t even think about them,” he says. “Would you rather see more of those dirty coal and oil plants spewing smoke, or would you rather look at wind turbines, which produce clean power?” Noting the emissions from Cape Cod’s Canal Power Station, Gaynor suggests, “Next time you drive over the Sagamore Bridge, take a look to the east. I’d rather look at an offshore wind farm than look at that power plant for the next 20 years.”
http://www.wpi.edu/News/Transformations/2005Summer/windpower.html
Cape Wind, UPC, (now called First Wind) shell corporations connection.
New York Times
Offshore Harvest of Wind Is Proposed for Cape Cod
By KAREN LEE ZINER
Published: April 16, 2002
“Cape Wind Associates, a joint venture between Energy Management Inc. and Wind Management Inc. (a subsidiary of UPC, a European-based wind-energy company) of Boston”
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/science/offshore-harvest-of-wind-is-proposed-for-cape-cod.html
(The Cartel’s “Report Card” by press accounts)
The Union Leader
April 6, 2009
“According to a March 26, 2008 report by the Daily News in Bangor, Maine, UPC Wind president and CEO Paul Gaynor said the company would do a better job in the future about letting local residents know what to expect from wind farms.
“I know there was an expectation (in Mars Hill) about what these were going to sound like,” Gaynor told the Daily News. “These are big structures and they do make sound.”
Shortly after Gaynor spoke to the Maine newspaper, the firm changed its name to First Wind. It was formerly known as Global Winds Harvest/UPC.
http://www.the-leader.com/homepage/x1931060317
Hawaii’s Energy Future – Wind Energy
“…Kahuku Wind Power, a subsidiary of First Wind, plans to build and operate the wind farm near the site of a previous wind farm built in the 1980s. First Wind expects to begin construction in 2010. Plans call for the wind farm to consist of 12 Clipper Liberty wind turbines each having 2.5-MW capacity…”
http://www.hawaiisenergyfuture.com/articles/Wind_Energy.html
Nixon Peabody law firm Trade Secret request regarding Clipper Wind Liberty wind turbines to be used in Hawaii by First Wind:
“…This information is not publicly available,
and would, if disclosed, cause Clipper substantial competitive injury. As a result,
we would ask that this information be treated as a trade secret or information
which, if disclosed, could cause injury to Clipper’s competitive position pursuant to
Public Officer’s Law Sections 87.2(d) and 89(5) and 16 NYCRR Section 6-1…”
http://documents.dps.state.ny.us/public/Common/ViewDoc.aspx?DocRefId=%7B33FA561C-ACE8-4F21-BEB3-D6DBF37F4892%7D
Hawaii Free Press
Monday, February 15, 2010
Wind Energy’s Ghosts
“The voices of Kamaoa cry out their warning as a new batch of colonists, having looted the taxpayers of Spain, Portugal, and Greece, seeks to expand upon their multi-billion-dollar foothold half a world away on the shores of the distant Potomac River. European wind developers are fleeing the EU’s expiring wind subsidies, shuttering factories, laying off workers, and leaving billions of Euros of sovereign debt and a continent-wide financial crisis in their wake. But their game is not over. Already they are tapping a new vein of lucre from the taxpayers and ratepayers of the United States.”
http://hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1698/Wind-Energys-Ghosts.aspx
Thousands of Jobs Scammed or Created (focus on First Wind connections to the White House and project failures)
by Ben Shapiro
November 18, 2000
“…The biggest problem, amazingly enough, isn’t the Obama administration’s incredible creation of districts from scratch. It’s the Obama administration’s use of stimulus funds to pay off its political allies.
On Sept. 11, 2009, Democrat Rep. Eric Massa of the 29th Congressional District of New York – yes, this district actually exists – wrote President Obama a letter regarding the Obama administration’s $74.6 million grant to Canandaigua Power Partners, LLC, and Canandaigua Power Partners II, LLC, in Cohocton, N.Y. These companies, according to Massa, “act as shell companies that deceptively operate on behalf of First Wind, which is currently under investigation by New York State Attorney General Cuomo for corruption charges in Cohocton and across the Northeast.”
In fact, wrote Massa, “Constituents in our region see these projects as criminal actions … the award of $74.6 million to corrupt companies that have changed names time and again forming new LLCs and new Inc.s but maintaining their business model of lie, cheat and corrupt at the expense of taxpayers has stirred great unrest.” Remember, this is a Democratic congressman.
First Wind is a green power company that produces windmills, the giant pieces of idiocy littering our landscapes. Its project in Cohocton, N.Y. – the project Massa rips – was so poorly done originally that residents reported that the turbines sounded like jet engines.
From March 31, 2007, to March 31, 2008, First Wind had revenue of $12 million and net losses of $73 million. Those losses forced First Wind to take out loans in the amount of $191 million. And up until October, the New York attorney general’s office was investigating First Wind for its possible participation in bribery of public officials for land-use purposes.
Broke and under investigation. Not exactly a great candidate for stimulus. But that didn’t stop the Obama administration. Why? Because First Wind is supported principally by Madison Dearborn Partners and the D.E. Shaw Group.
Madison Dearborn Partners, not coincidentally, is Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s “best source of funds,” according to the Washington Examiner. During his congressional career, employees of Madison Dearborn gave Emanuel $93,600. And Emanuel is instrumental in oversight of the stimulus.
As for D.E. Shaw, White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers was paid $5.2 million in 2008 and 2007 by the company – to work for one day a week, according to the New York Times. Also according to the Times, “Summers said in an interview that his experience at Shaw, however brief, gave him valuable insight into the practical realities of Wall Street, insight he is now putting to use in shaping economic policy in the White House.”
The Obama administration is so dominated by obfuscatory aureate and magniloquent verbosity that it believes it can get away with literally anything. This administration creates dollars out of thin air to pay fictitious employees in figmental places. It’s no wonder that so far, the Obama administration has stimulated precisely nothing in the real world.
Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School. In “Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth,” Ben shows how students are duped into becoming socialists, atheists, race-baiters and narcissists. His latest book is “Project President: Bad Hair and Botox on the Road to the White House.”
http://townhall.com/columnists/BenShapiro/2009/11/18/thousands_of_jobs_scammed_or_created
Congressman Massa calls upon President Obama to investigate First Wind granted $115 million in stimulus money by the Department of Treasury.
Congressman Massa’s letter to President Obama:
http://batr.net/cohoctonwindwatch/CohoctonWindmillsTOObama.pdf
As reported on July 16, 2008 by Wall Street Journal:
“New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has opened a probe of two companies that develop and operate wind farms over allegations of improper dealings with public officials and anticompetitive behavior.Mr. Cuomo said his office has subpoenaed First Wind — formerly UPC Wind — and Noble Environmental Power LLC, which has filed with the Securities and Exchange …”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121617758961057329.html
New York AG identified First Wind SEC Filing states:
“On July 15, 2008, we were served with a civil subpoena by the New York State Attorney General relating to an investigation into our activities in the State of New York. The subpoena we received contains broad requests for documents and information relating to: (i) whether we improperly sought or obtained land-use agreements with citizens and public officials, (ii) whether improper benefits were given to public officials to influence their actions and (iii) whether we and our competitors entered into anti-competitive agreements or practices. ”
http://www.windaction.org/news/17290
The Press Republican on July 15, 2008 reports
“We’ve had a number of complaints from counties all over the state, from Franklin all the way over to Erie,” said John Milgrim, spokesman for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne was among “DAs from eight counties, public officials and citizens” who bombarded Albany with complaints about Noble and Massachusetts-based First Wind, formerly known as UPC Wind, he said.”
http://www.pressrepublican.com/0100_news/local_story_197230037.html
The Evening Tribune
May 19, 2009
Atlanta, NY.
‘Cracked blades lead to likely showdown between town, First Wind’
“With construction ramping up again unexpectedly in Cohocton, town officials are looking at their legal options in keeping the work by developer First Wind in line with agreements signed between the parties — even if it means a court date.
Town Supervisor Jack Zigenfus announced at Monday night’s town board meeting major work is being performed on the 50-turbine wind-powered electricity generation project on Pine, Lent and Dutch hills. The turbines, he said, need to be overhauled, leading to traffic, road damage and late nights of work — which may be in violation of the agreements between the town and First Wind.
“It’s my belief every blade has to come off,” he said. “It requires another round of construction and heavy traffic.”
Some of the problems come from cracking or the potential of cracking on the turbines where the blades attach to the nacelles in the center — the same basic problem that required the dismantling of the Steel Winds project in Lackawanna, which was a First Wind project using the same Clipper turbines used in Cohocton…”
http://www.eveningtribune.com/news/x340408144/Cracked-blades-lead-to-likely-showdown-between-town-First-Wind
SNL Financial on January 9, 2008 reported:
‘Power-Operations and Strategy
Clipper’s 2.5 MW Liberty wind turbines malfunction’
[BJD editor’s note, Michael Alvarez is the President of First Wind]
The largest wind turbine manufactured in the United States is running into some technical difficulty…”
Clipper Windpower Inc.’s 2.5-MW Liberty wind turbines at the 20-MW Steel Winds facility in Lackawanna, N.Y., are malfunctioning due to faulty gear sets.
“At first, we were receiving great performance from the turbines,” said Michael Alvarez, executive vice president and COO of UPC Wind Partners LLC, which co-owns the facility with BQ Energy LLC. “Over the summer, a gear-timing issue in the drive train’s secondary stage was detected in some of Clipper Windpower’s Liberty wind turbines at the Steel Winds site. The cause was found to be a supplier quality deficiency in the drive train attributable to the suppliers’ manufacturing process. As part of Clipper’s warranty, upgraded drive trains will be installed into all eight turbines at the Steel Winds site. Currently, two turbines are in operation.”
The Union Leader on April 6, 2009 reported:
“According to a March 26, 2008 report by the Daily News in Bangor, Maine, UPC Wind president and CEO Paul Gaynor said the company would do a better job in the future about letting local residents know what to expect from wind farms.
“I know there was an expectation (in Mars Hill) about what these were going to sound like,” Gaynor told the Daily News. “These are big structures and they do make sound.”
Shortly after Gaynor spoke to the Maine newspaper, the firm changed its name to First Wind. It was formerly known as Global Winds Harvest/UPC.”
http://www.the-leader.com/homepage/x1931060317
April 1, 2009 by Jack Zigenfus
Summary:
“Cohocton, NY permitted First Wind (formerly UPC Wind) to construct two wind energy facilities in the town on private land. Noise complaints started almost immediately after the turbines became operational. Windaction.org has been notified that the below letter was sent by Cohocton’s town supervisor to First Wind.”
http://www.windaction.org/documents/20702
Author: Kelly, Peter
NOW COME, the Plaintiffs, by and through their attorney, Peter S. Kelley, Esq. and state as follows:
STATEMENT OF FACTS
1. That all Plaintiffs are, and have been, residents of the Town of Mars Hill, except Steven Burtchell, who owns land in Mars Hill but is a resident of Westfield, Maine.
2. The Defendant, FIRST WIND of Massachusetts is a Corporation doing business in the State of Maine and having a wind turbine operation in Mars Hill, Maine. In the past, FIRST WIND has done business as U.P.C. Wind Management, LLC and Evergreen Wind Power, LLC.
3. The Defendant, Sargent Corporation, is a Maine Corporation with a place of business in Stillwater, Maine. It was the general contractor for the construction of the windmills o Mars Hill Mountain in 2006-2007.
4. The Defendant, Maine Drilling and Blasting, Inc., is a Maine Corporation having a place of business in Gardiner, Maine. It was the sub-contractor who blasted portions of Mars Hill Mountain for construction of the wind turbines.
5. The Defendant, Inhabitants of the Town of Mars ill, is a body politic which was the co-applicant to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for construction of said wind turbines.
6. The Plaintiffs are owners and/or residents of their homes which are located near the north and east of Mars Hill Mountain.
7. Prior to 2008, the Defendants, FIRST WIND and the Town of Mars Hill, were co- applicants to D.E.P. for a permit for FIRST WIND to construct windmills on Mars Hill Mountain.
8. It was the legal obligation of the applicants to notify by registered letter, return receipt requested, the owners regarding the application for the permit. This was not done.
9. It was also the obligation of the Mars Hill Town Manager and Town council to use due diligence to consult with its attorney and an engineer to determine if it should be an applicant for the DEP permit and to determine if the operation of the turbines would cause harm to the Plaintiffs. This was not done, thereby denying the Plaintiffs notice, due process of law, and fundamental fairness in the permitting process. A Notice of Claim was served on the Town pursuant to Maine Tort Claims Act in September 2007.
10. D.E.P. approved a permit for the construction and operation of Defendant’s wind turbines. The permitting process was flawed in that fundamental due process under the Maine and Federal Constitutions was denied to the Plaintiffs in that proper notice was not given to Plaintiffs of the construction, blasting, operation, and planning of the wind turbines.
11. In the Summer of 2006, the Defendant, Maine Drilling and Blasting, Inc., performed extensive blasting which not only was extremely loud and disruptive, but which caused physical damage to the Plaintiffs’ property and physical injury to the Plaintiffs’ enjoyment of life and peace. The Piaintiffs were not notified of the times of when the blasting was to occur.
12. Before the blasting and operation of the windmills, the Plaintiffs lived in areas to the north and east of the Mountain in a peaceful, remote, quiet, serene, and visually pleasant setting.
13. When all of the turbines became operational for the first time in late March 2007, it became immediately obvious to the Plaintiffs that the noise from the turbines was invasive and caused them loss of enjoyment of life, loss of peace and quiet, loss of their full use of their home and land. Some Plaintiffs required medical treatment and counseling. Many have, and continue to, lose sleep, suffer headaches, suffer considerable stress, and other physical and emotional ailments.
14. The real estate values of the Plaintiffs’ homes have been greatly reduced, as is supported by an expert’s opinion, of their property values before and after operation of the turbines.
15. Damage to adjoining wetlands and streams have been altered by the blasting and operation of the turbines.
16. The presence of wildlife has been affected by the construction and the operation of the turbines.
17. The shadow flicker effects from the operation of the turbines have caused injury to the Plaintiffs and disruption of their right to live in a pleasant setting.
18. The visual effects of the presence of the windmills have negatively affected the Plaintiffs’ peace and enjoyment of their remote setting.
19. Defendant’s sound study shows noise levels above 45 and 50 decibels. The noise level from the 2006 blasting and by the turbines operation has been highly disturbing to the Plaintiffs. They have been unable to sit outside in their yard without having their peace disturbed by the Defendant’s wind turbines. They are also often bothered inside their homes as to sleep and comfort.
20. The strobe/shadow effects and blinking red lights have forced the Plaintiffs to keep the blinds on their windows closed. As a result the Plaintiffs have lost the use and enjoyment of the view they used to have from their home.
CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION
COUNT I — CONTINUING PRIVATE NUSIANCE AND TRESPASS
21. The Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all aliegations set forth above.
22. The Defendants’ actions in constructing and operating its wind turbines on Mars Hill Mountain have caused and do cause disturbing noises, flashing red lights, strobe/shadow effect and the unreasonable interference with the Plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their property, causing a continuing private nuisance and trespass to them. TV reception has been adversely affected.
23. The Defendants’ actions continue to cause significant harm to Plaintiffs and their property, including personal discomfort, inconvenience, annoyance, loss of enjoyment of life, and other damages.
COUNT II — NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
24. The Plaintiffs incorporate herein all allegations set forth above.
25. Defendants’ actions have been negligent and unreasonable because the wind turbines have and continue to cause disturbing noises, flashing red lights, and strobe/shadow effects, all of which cause Plaintiffs to suffer emotional distress and the adverse effect on their physical and emotional health and on their property values.
COUNT III — PROPERTY DAMAGE
26. The Plaintiffs incorporate all allegations set forth above.
27. The Defendants’ activity in the construction, blasting, and operation of the wind turbines, has caused the fair market value of Plaintiffs’ property to be diminished for residential and other uses.
COUNT IV — INVERSE CONDEMNATION UNDER THE MAINE CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES AND FIFTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
28. The Plaintiffs incorporate the allegations set forth above.
29. The Defendants’ activities have been undertaken pursuant to the permit granted by D.E.P., a public regulatory agency of the State of Maine, without Plaintiffs’ procedural and substantial due process.
30. The Defendants’ actions and its construction and operation of its wind turbines have resulted in the taking of a negative nuisance easement over the Plaintiffs’ property without compensation or due process of law.
31. The Defendants’ actions constitute inverse condemnation of the Plaintiffs’ property under Maine law and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, the Plaintiffs are entitled to just compensation for the loss of their property.
RELIEF REQUESTED
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court order:
1. Defendant to compensate them for all past and future inconvenience, personal injury, annoyance, discomfort, damage to their wet lands, and other nuisance and emotional distress damages they have and will continue to suffer in the future because of the construction and operation of Defendant’s wind turbines near their property.
2. Defendant to compensate Plaintiffs for the diminution in the fair market value of their property caused by the construction and operation of Defendant’s wind turbines near their property.
3. Defendant to remove one or more of its wind turbines and/or install technological improvements and implement operational controls or procedures to abate the negative noise, ice, flashing red lights, and strobe/shadow effects of Defendant’s wind turbines on the Plaintiffs and their property to the maximum extent possible, as equitable relief.
4. Defendant to compensate Plaintiffs for the fair market value of the property which the Defendant has taken pursuant to the Maine Constitution, and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
5. Defendant to pay Plaintiffs for their attorneys fees, costs and disbursements in this matter.
6. Such other relief as the Court deems fair and equitable.
Dated at Caribou, Maine, this 27th day of March, 2009.
PETER S. KELLEY, ESQ.
ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFFS
P.O. BOX 66
CARIBOU, ME 04736
Maine Bar #I940
Download original document: “Mars Hill residents’ suit against First Wind et al.”
Report: Mafia Invests in Sicilian Wind Farms
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
The Mafia may be going green.
Sicilian prosecutors are cracking down on Cosa Nostra involvement in the numerous small firms that build wind farms on the Mediterranean island, the Financial Times reports.
What’s the attraction for organized crime? The best of intentions, of course. The European Union and the Italian government heavily subsidize the construction of alternative-energy facilities, and the operators ar e guaranteed high rates to maximize their profits.
A few wind farms that broke down because of lousy construction still received subsidies, prosecutor Roberto Scarpinato told the Financial Times.
“This is the amazing thing — that developers got public money to build wind farms that did not produce electricity,” he said.
Furthermore, locally-built wind farms are often bought up by multinational energy firms from other parts of Europe, none of which know the true identities of the original owners.
“A handful of people control the wind sector,” said Scarpinato. “Many companies exist, but it is the same people behind them.” Eight arrests have already been made.”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519000,00.html
UPC in Italy:
“UPC personnel had extensive experience in the U.S. with wind energy development, ownership and operation. Avv. Oreste Vigorito has been the Managing Director of IVPC and its subsidiary companies from inception and has become a partner with UPC in its Italian activities. Avv.Vigorito has continually provided the IVPC companies with strong Italian and local management experience.”
http://home.btconnect.com/tipiglen/foreigners.html
Mafia Tied to Wind Fraud in Italy
Posted By Environmental Leader On November 17, 2009 @ 8:11 am
In Carbon Finance & Offsets, Clean Energy, Feature, Financial, Funding & Incentives, Policy & Law, Wind Energy | No Comments
Italian finance police have arrested two prominent businessmen — including one with ties to a former investor in the Cape Wind project in Nantucket — in the wind energy sector on charges of fraud, reports the Financial Times [1]. Arrested were Oreste Vigorito, head of the IVPC energy company and president of Italy’s National Association of Wind Energy, and Vito Nicastri, a Sicilian business associate, according to the article.
According to the European Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow [2], Oreste Vigorito has ties to Brian Caffyn, a former investor in the Cape Wind project [3], which has been criticized as a poor investment for taxpayers, reports Dakota Voice [4].
Vigorito once owned IVPC with Brian Caffyn, founder of Cape Wind and First Wind, according to the Boston Herald [5]. Caffyn sold his interest in Cape Wind in 2002 and sold his interest in IVPC in 2005. Vigorito has never had any involvement in Cape Wind, according to Mark Rodgers, Communications Director for the Cape Wind project.
The Herald reports that Caffyn was surprised to learn of Vigorito’s arrest:
“I read about it in the papers, and I was very surprised,” Brian Caffyn said from Hong Kong, where he is now building wind-energy farms in China and the Philipines.
“I know of no fraud with (former partners) Oreste (Vigorito) and IVPC,” said Caffyn, a Cape Cod native and Babson College graduate.
The “Gone with the Wind” sting operation, started in 2007, netted 11 others who were charged but were not arrested. Italian police told Financial Times that the fraud charges are related to obtaining millions of dollars in public subsidies to construct wind farms that never worked. Police confiscated seven wind farms with 185 turbines in Sicily linked to IVPC, according to the article.
The anti-fraud team also is investigating IVPC’s sales of wind farms to foreign companies, and already has sent requests for documentation to five companies located in the Netherlands and Spain, as well as IVPC’s Italian affiliates in Ireland and the UK, according to the article.
Anti-mafia prosecutors in Sicily also have launched a parallel investigation, reports the Financial Times.
Fraud appears to be an emerging problem in the nascent clean energy sector. Most recently, two clean energy auditors — SGS UK and DNV — were accused [6] of not properly auditing projects in carbon trading markets.
Meanwhile, the UK is dealing [7] with carbon trading credit scams that could cost millions of dollars. In Australia, to prevent bogus carbon offset schemes, federal police agents can now enter [8] company premises and request paperwork to monitor their emissions.
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Article printed from Environmental Leader: http://www.environmentalleader.com
URL to article: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/11/17/mafia-tied-to-wind-fraud-in-italy/
URLs in this post:
[1] Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/59fe9474-cf2b-11de-8a4b-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
[2] European Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow: http://cfact.eu/2009/11/15/gone-with-the-wind-arrests-for-massive-fraud-in-italy/
[3] Cape Wind project: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/08/03/cape-cod-wind-farm-closer-but-still-generating-opposition/
[4] Dakota Voice: http://www.dakotavoice.com/2009/11/trouble-in-green-paradise-wind-farm-scams/
[5] Boston Herald: http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view/20091115ex-partner_of_boston_wind_exec_charged_italians_nab_soccer_club_president_in_energy_fraud/srvc=home&position=4
[6] accused: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/09/11/more-carbon-market-fraud-unearthed/
[7] dealing: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/08/31/unwitting-businesses-may-pay-twice-in-uk-carbon-credit-scam/
[8] enter: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/06/12/australias-carbon-police-may-enter-premises/
“It’s not what you know. It’s who you know.”
“…Another about $115 million of the $503 million went to a company called First Wind, whose owners include the Chicago-based Madison Dearborn Partners and a member of the D.E. Shaw group. This Bloomberg article quotes President Obama’s White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, a congressman at the time the article was published, as saying of Madison Dearborn, “They’ve been not only supporters of mine, they’re friends of mine.” The Bloomberg article says, “Employees of Madison Dearborn have donated $77,500 to Emanuel’s re-election committee since 2001, collectively emerging as the top contributor to his campaigns in his congressional career, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.” D.E. Shaw is the firm at which Mr. Obama’s chief of the National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers, held a $5.2 million a year, one-day-a-week job. The Energy Department did not respond to a query from FutureOfCapitalism.com about whether Messrs. Emanuel or Summers had been involved in the decision to award the grant. The Journal did say that “Government officials said there was no cap on the program and that every qualifying application would be funded,” though, as CIT could tell you, what constitutes a “qualifying” application is often the billion-dollar question in Washington. One company official, however, described the process of applying for the grants as “nondiscretionary,” explaining that all firms whose applications met the terms of the law would receive funding.”
http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/09/clean-energy
“When President Obama announced his memo, he spoke of what he called “a fundamental commitment.” He said, “Decisions about how Recovery Act dollars are spent will be based on the merits. Let me repeat that: Decisions about how Recovery money will be spent will be based on the merits. They will not be made as a way of doing favors for lobbyists. Any lobbyist who wants to talk with a member of my administration about a particular Recovery Act project will have to submit their thoughts in writing, and we will post it on the Internet for all to see. If any member of my administration does meet with a lobbyist about a Recovery Act project, every American will be able to go online and see what that meeting was about. These are unprecedented restrictions that will help ensure that lobbyists don’t stand in the way of our recovery.
If these funds are being awarded “on the merits” and not “as a way of doing favors for lobbyists,” why are presumably rational business owners paying lobbyists hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees to lobby for them?
FutureOfCapitalism.com will be seeking answers to these questions from some of the relevant players in the coming days.
It’s worth noting, too, that Mr. Obama’s stated goal of transparency in the spending of the stimulus money has fallen far by the wayside. The joint Treasury and Energy Department release announcing the $503 million in alternative energy funds includes neither the words “First Wind” or “Iberdrola.” It does include the mysterious entities “Canadaigua Power Partners, LLC” and “Canadaigua Power Partners II, LLC.” Google them, and you find documents indicating they are subsidiaries of UPC Wind, which changed its name in May to First Wind. Search on the Obama administration’s “Recovery.gov” Web site for First Wind or Iberdrola, and nothing comes up. Remember, this isn’t some $30,000 pothole repair; it’s hundreds of millions of dollars…”
“Decisions about how Recovery money will be spent will be based on the merits. They will not be made as a way of doing favors for lobbyists. It’s hard to imagine all those little taxpayers aren’t going to be disappointed when they learn what happened to their hard-earned money.”
http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/09/clean-energy-ii

What’s with the name crossed out on the letter to Salazar: change of heart?