Antitrust Complaint Filed
Coalition of Citizens File Antitrust Complaint with the Department of Justice Against the Wind Energy Industry
Naples NY, April 25, 2007
A grass roots coalition of nearly 100 citizens from New York, Vermont, and other states have filed a federal Antitrust Complaint alleging that an international cartel comprised of foreign and domestic business entities have conspired to eliminate competition in the newly emerging U.S. wind energy sector.
This Complaint, filed today with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, maintains that windfarm developers, suppliers, consultants, investors, and in some cases public officials have engaged in illegal geographic Market Allocation, Price Fixing and Bid Rigging in direct violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
As a result of this illegal conspiracy thousands of landowners and hundreds of municipalities have been denied substantial monetary gains that otherwise would be available in a free and competitive market.
The 94 citizen Complainants expect that the Department of Justice will act quickly to assign appropriate resources necessary to investigate and prosecute these allegations and to punish any and all criminal wrongdoing to the full extent of the law. The Complainants also expect that the Department will take appropriate measures to ensure that the members of this international cartel are prevented from retaliating against any of the listed Complainants.
According to the Department of Justice, price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation by individuals or companies are felonies currently punishable by maximum individual fines of $1 million, maximum corporate fines of $100 million, and maximum jail terms of 10 years.
Citizens from the following locales in New York are participating: Naples, Cohocton, Wayland, Cape Vincent, Lowville, Stamford, Malone, Wyoming, Cherry Valley, Addison, Canisteo, Allegany, Rochester, North Bangor, Little Falls, Hornell, Fairport, Webster, and Prattsburgh. Citizens from the following locales in Vermont are participating: Sheffield, East Burke, Sutton, and Peacham.
Questions regarding this Complaint (available in PDF form here) may be directed to:
Bradley E. Jones
3996 Donley Road
Naples NY 14512
585-374-2627 (H), 585-233-8539 (M)
perplus1@aol.com
Labels: Legal Issues, Money, New York, Process
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Friends and neighbors,
The Antitrust Complaint seems to have successfully been received by hundreds of people across New York, Vermont, and Pennsylvania. We have learned of quite a few wind proposals and advocacy groups that are new to us. In talking with many of these fine folks the last couple of days we have received strong confirmation that the Market Allocation alleged in the towns in our Complaint (and the subsequent price fixing) is replicated in all of the other locales as well. So the magnitude of the problem, and the size of the conspiracy, is even greater than we knew.
Several individuals/groups have asked if they should also file Complaints. My response is that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would certainly be interested in objective and factual information which reflects or indicates violations of federal statute. The DOJ website has two very useful documents that lay out the law and the process for filing a complaint. I would encourage interested parties to check these links:
Reporting Antitrust Concerns
An Antitrust Primer
As an alternative to preparing your own Complaint (which we know to be quite time-consuming), individuals or groups may consider filing an Addendum to our Complaint that:
1. Expresses your support for the Complaint.
2. Describes why you believe the developers have carried out market allocation or price fixing in your locale. I would suggest including all the facts that you have including names, dates, business structure or ownership, inappropriate interface with public officials, attempts to harass or intimidate ... any issues or situations that you believe to be pertinent to the Complaint.
3. Includes names and addresses of all involved in the addendum.
Complaints or Addendums may be submitted by email here.
Please bounce back with any comments or questions. We will be glad to assist you in any way that we can. Also, if you have not yet had a chance to get the Press Release out to all the media outlets you can think of please take a few minutes to get the word out.
Thank you all for your help and participation
Brad and Linda Jones
PerformancePlus Business Consultants
3996 Donley Road, Naples, NY 14512
585-233-8539 (Cell) or 585-374-2627 (Office)