It's just money

Has the Security and Exchange Commission discovered what some of us were told and believed for a long time, that Laidlaw was a shady operation? Over the years I’ve had several conversations with people who had first hand experiences dealing with Laidlaw management and almost everybody had the same impressions of the Laidlaw management style, sly, slippery and loose with the facts. I was told by Ellicottville NY officials that the company fabricated numbers and made false claims on a regular basis. On several occasions over the past 4 years, I’ve written posts on this subject and warned both investors and public officials that this was a company that needed close attention and scrutiny. I have no inside information about the latest move by the SEC and I haven’t placed any calls to discover what led the SEC to believe that Laidlaw may have violated the law or the rules. As I’ve posted in the past, “leopards don’t shed their spots”, so this incident doesn’t surprise me in the least. Personally, my interest in Laidlaw has waned over the past few months for several reasons. First was the election of mayor Grenier in Berlin who ran on a pro Laidlaw platform and refused to take into consideration the Laidlaw track record. (Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up.) Second, the hearings with the Site Evaluation Committee and the Public Utilities Commission were public forums for all to see and form their own opinions. Third was my conclusion that Laidlaw had been bought out, dealt out or forced out of the Berlin project, therefore the leopard was less and less of a threat to Berlin. It’s my opinion that Laidlaw no longer has any influence on the Berlin Station project and that Cate Street is in full ownership and control while Laidlaw and its managers are off to new adventures. Where this leaves the investors in Laidlaw/LLEG is unknown since the details of the liquidation of the Berlin project by Laidlaw has not been explained in detail, not even to the shareholders. If I was an investor in Laidlaw I would be extremely concerned about my investment and I hope they didn’t invest more than they could afford to lose.

Comments

[warren,]

.

[Rocky]

Finally, something that makes sense from Warren.

[Chet]

Its the most intelligent post I've seen from warren and he mowed his lawn too. Eventful week.

Rocky, I sure wish I was a fly on the wall at the SEC. I would love to know what they have on old Barty. I also would sure like to know whether there is a connection between MBBLLEG and BigbucksFl. Their modis operandi is the same and they're both from florida. The name Chad Curtis comes to mind. Someone said MBBLLEG and Curtis were one and the same. Remember back a couple of years ago the name, Dwight Flatt, popped up on Barty's website,. He was the guy you called for information. Someone, it may have been Jon, identified him as a crony to this guy Chad Curtis in Florida. Within an hour the name disappeared from the webpage. At the time I wrote the two names down on my address book cover and they're still there.

[Rocky]

Oh what a tangled web we weave when...............

[warren,]

.......Rocky sets out to to Deceive......

- Chet, It must have been your Puppet Master, jon the other night.

Our Pig sure is Progressing! Keep Talking about the past boy's, I guess that is all you have left on the score card.

Looking forward to Our Little Town's Big Future,

[warren,]

Google aint so bad after all, Today would have been Les Paul's 96th Birthday. June 9th 1915 - August 12th 2009.
Go to Your Google Page and Play the Guitar, Rocky. It might be the Only Constructive thing You do Today. May I suggest the Blue's, as You watch the work progressing in Our Little Downtown?

[Rocky]

Reading from The Berlin Daily Sun (6/9/11)a released statement from Richard Cyr of Berlin Biopower; "Laidlaw Energy Group no longer has any interest or role in our project. Laidlaw has not been involved in Berlin Biopower since September 2010". In other words, the investors/shareholders who have been on pins and needles about the PUC and SEC decisions have been wasting their time. So those of you from I-HUB reading this today better start asking your CEO some tough questions.

[warren,]

water under the bridge, Rocky. water under the bridge....

I can count the people who care ( at Byte & Chew ) on One Hand.
So. What are the Future Prospects for Our Tourist Economy? The Northern Forrest Heritage Park is still very much Open for business, and I see ATV's buzzing around Berlin...stopping to buy gas & cigarette's every day. The Moose Tour's are still going? Main St. is Busy, with the exception of Several Building's Owned by Someone who thinks the former Occupant's should've Footed the ENTIRE Bill for Maintenance & Updates...
J.C.Penny moved in to White Mtn. Lumber Giving Rent to Mr. Kelly.....Now That Must've really Burned an A$$ !

[toonist]

warren, warren, warren...the writing is on the wall. I don't even live there anymore but I can read it. P.T. Barnum said: "There's a sucker born every minute."

[warren,]

I Liked that Portrayal of Steve Griffin and the IPP's last week. So, minus the threadbare ( it was worn out 20 years ago ) quote. I do not see a point to your comment, toonist. With respect, You omitted the subject matter. You refer to ?

[HLH]

Energy company's trading suspended (Update form concord monitor web)
It has ties to Bass, Berlin proposal

By Monitor staff
June 10, 2011

The Securities and Exchange Commission has suspended trading of a company with ties to U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass and a wood-chip-burning energy plant proposed in Berlin.

Citing concerns about the adequacy and accuracy of statements made about its finances, operations and stock promotion activities, the SEC barred Laidlaw Energy Group Inc. from trading Tuesday. The 10-day suspension, part of one issued to 17 microcap companies this week, will end June 20. But the companies, also referred to as penny stocks, need to meet certain requirements before they can resume trading.

In its "order of suspension of trading," the SEC said questions had arisen about the accuracy and adequacy of press releases concerning the company's operations as well as the accuracy of its financial statements and stock promoting activities. SEC representatives declined to specify which of the firm's statements were inaccurate or inadequate, or when they occurred. But Laidlaw President and CEO Michael Bartoszek said he was confident the company will address all concerns raised by the SEC.

"We're disappointed about the SEC action," Bartoszek said in an interview with the Monitor. "Our attorneys have talked with the SEC, and we feel this is a misunderstanding."

According to his website and the company itself, Bass served as senior adviser to management and was a nonvoting member of the board of directors for Laidlaw Energy Group, whose trading was suspended. Bass's position was unpaid. Bartoszek donated $4,800 to Bass's campaign in 2010.

But in his work with an affiliated company, Laidlaw Berlin BioPower, Bass made a total of $101,500 over 2009 and 2010, according to financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission. He began the work in May 2007, a spokesman said.

Bass left both positions after his election in 2010.

"He resigned from Laidlaw Energy when he was elected to Congress again last fall," said Scott Tranchemontagne, a Bass spokesman.

Laidlaw Energy Group does not trade on a stock exchange but is involved in direct, or over-the-counter, trades. The SEC suspends trading in a company to inform investors it has serious questions about the reliability of available information.

The move is not a punishment or an allegation of wrongdoing, officials said, but a move to inform investors.

Bartoszek said the SEC informed his firm of five specific questions about its communications that needed clarification. None involved Bass or the Berlin project, Bartoszek said.

Bartoszek described one of the SEC's questions. The company's website, laidlawenergy.com, featured a picture of a power plant in New York the company has invested in. The SEC had been told the project was canceled, but Bartoszek said his firm is still involved with the proposed power plant. The SEC's other four concerns are similar and can be addressed with simple housekeeping, Bartoszek said.

"We feel that we are unfairly being painted with the same brush as a number of other questionable microcap companies," he said.

Until the afternoon of its suspension, the website listed Bass under "Management and Employees" but said in Bass's biography that he had resigned months earlier. Any reference to Bass had been removed by Wednesday.

At least one industry site, investorshub.com, was still listing Bass as a member of the board yesterday afternoon.

Bass's congressional website, bass.house.gov, also included outdated information about Laidlaw Energy until the day after the suspension.

On Wednesday, even though Laidlaw Energy Group has not been responsible for the Berlin project since September 2010, Bass's website said he was a senior adviser to Laidlaw Energy Group, "a company that is converting the former Fraser and Paper site in Berlin to a clean, wood-chip burning energy plant."

"It sounds like a lot of websites need some content updating," Tranchemontagne said.

Bass's congressional website was updated yesterday, saying Laidlaw Energy Group "initiated the project to convert" the former paper site in Berlin to a wood-chip-burning plant.

The project Bass consulted on, the Berlin BioPower project, is well-known in the area for its 2006 purchase of a former Fraser paper mill in Berlin and its plans to build a wood-chip-burning plant that would power more than 60,000 homes.

Laidlaw Berlin BioPower quickly distanced itself from its former affiliate after the SEC's announcement, sending a press release Wednesday morning saying the SEC action "has no effect whatsoever" on the project.

But when asked for clarification the following day, Richard Cyr, a spokesman for Laidlaw BioPower, said attorneys needed to draft a new statement, which arrived yesterday afternoon.

In it, Cyr said Laidlaw Energy Group sold its equity interest in Laidlaw Berlin BioPower to Newco Energy LLC in September 2010 for a cash payment at the time and a subsequent payment after the construction loan on the project closed.

Last summer, an economist working for Public Service of New Hampshire told state regulators the $125 million plant could create 470 jobs from its two-year construction phase. Once open, the plant will employ 40 people, and an additional 200 could result from industries fed by the plant, such as logging and forestry.

A decision from the state site evaluation committee about the controversial project is due shortly, a spokesman for the department said.

Cyr said he was frustrated that the attention swirling around Laidlaw Energy Group could reflect poorly on the Berlin project, which has become mired in the approval and appeals process.

On June 20, the suspended companies will be able to file a form with a licensed broker dealer, who will determine whether the questions raised by the SEC were answered. Bartoszek said he expects his company to begin trading shortly but is frustrated because even though the suspension is not a sanction, it can still harm a company's value.

"We're willing to be completely transparent with them and basically show them anything they need to see to feel comfortable with us as a company," Bartoszek said.

[jon]

changing of the guards

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/Profile.aspx?user=5708

[Chet]

Green1957
Share
Friday, June 10, 2011 9:39:10 AM
Re: squidster post# 94960 Post # of 94965
I went out to the GIS page that CTTC had posted. The Ellicottville property has been subdivided into three properties, a carwash, a storage building, and a bunch of dilapidated warehouse buildings now owned by the county. I called the Ellicottville Assesors office and they said LLEG hasn't had anything to do with the site for a "number of years". People on this board have a habit of stating an opinion as if it where fact.

[Antonio Andolini]

Fun for Friday
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/forbidden-table-talk/2011/may/26/howard-deans-mouth-potential-substitute-one-seven-/

[Antonio Andolini]

lurker27 Member Profile lurker27 Share Friday, June 10, 2011 6:09:24 PM
Re: sunspotter post# 95137 Post # of 95144
I agree with you Sun. Reading the posts on here today you would think it is just another day here in LLEG land. I really don't think that people have a grasp of what has happened here. The fact that after hours of banter regarding who owns what companies, and who is making how much from them, people would realize that the whole company/companies structure is one big convoluted mess that is impossible to decipher with the limited information the great MBB has given out. And I am sure that was by design. If this company was all that people think it is, and MBB is the great man they think he is, LLEG would have been off the pinks years ago. Maybe around the time that the Great MBB said it was going to happen. There is a reason he didn't uplist, and I am not referring to the lame--I was to busy--that he gave to the shareholders. I am sure it was more likely that he would lose the shield that the pinks provide him, as opposed to the accountability that would be necessary on the next level.

LLEG management has cost us thousands of dollars, regardless of whether or not some people are prepared to admit it to themselves. The SEC is not the bad guy here. This formal statement that everyone is waiting for will not change anything, and I am sure it will simply read, "we were blindsided. It is all a mistake. We will fight this. And keep in mind I once stood next to Hillary and someone clicked our picture! And I have a great resume! So keep the faith and enhance your calm."

[Antonio Andolini]

The political climate surrounding renewable energy certainly helps to breed the likes of this "promoter."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/10/greenbacks-for-green-energy/

[warren,]

Can Anybody spare $66 million for Stage one ( of three ) for the Conway Bypass? Now here is a Shining Example of Gold Plated Studies to Promote Tourism going nowhere. Anyone out there think a Bypass would NOT go over budget? And get built on time???? It looks like all those tourists will never be able to make it up to Berlin, their wallets will have been emptied of discretionary funds before hand. At least the 110 truck route will happen in a timely fashion. And that I-93 extension is just around the corner. If only President BHO would just stop spending all that money in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya ( Wow, NATO sure is a force to be reckoned with! )...
We could Rebuild Our Own Country.