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Bankrupt Pence Family Business Owed $9 million to Indiana
Governor's Appointment of Mike Pence Brother Questioned
When it filed for bankruptcy protection, Kiel Brothers Oil company - run by Gregory Pence, the brother of Congressman Mike Pence (Rep., IN-06) -- owed state and local government bodies in Indiana over 9.3 million dollars, according to recent court filings. The Kiel Bros Oil company, also known as KB Oil and Tobacco Road convenience stores, filed for bankruptcy in June 2004. Kiel Bros was a Sub-S family business, according to financial disclosure statements filed by Congressman Mike Pence. Prior to the bankruptcy, the Congressman claimed stock and ownership in the company valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to the official list of creditors filed September 22, 2006, total claims registered against the Pence family business was in excess of $102 million.
At the time of its bankruptcy, Kiel Bros Oil owed $8.5 million to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The company had a history of oil spills and failure to comply with storage regulations according to public IDEM records. In at least one instance, the company was threatened with "penalties of up to $10,000 per underground storage tank for each day of violation."
Six months after the bankruptcy filing, Governor Mitch Daniels appointed Greg Pence, the former chief executive officer of Kiel Brothers Oil, to be second in command of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
"This was a classic case of setting the fox to guard the hen house," charged Democratic Congressional candidate, Barry Welsh. "Why did the Governor appoint the head of a known polluter to run the state agency that safeguards our environment? Combine this with not taking the correct action and asking the Head of the BMV to step down, and it is obvious why we have to vote in an overwhelming majority of Democratic Candidates into Indiana's Statehouse. Governor Daniel's cronyism must be checked. Congressman Pence, in his early campaigns, was very vocal about his family oil business. Why did Congressman Mike Pence not come clean with the voters about the money his family business owed to the people of Indiana, and the damage to the earth, during the last election? These are questions that demand an answer. The citizens deserve to know, now we all have to question why he would not tell us himself."
A March 17, 2005, story in the Indianapolis Star, reported that Pence's task was to make the environmental agency more friendly to corporate interests:
"Although Greg Pence had no environmental credentials, his job was to use his management expertise to help Commissioner Tom Easterly restructure an agency that had become a lightning rod for industry complaints about being slow to issue permits and having sometimes unfair and confusing rules, Pence and Easterly said."
Greg Pence left the agency after two and one half months, saying he had completed the work. The position draws a $91,000 annual salary.
In addition to the $8,499,537.82 owed to IDEM, Kiel Bros Oil owed the Indiana Department of Revenue $743,820.25. Kiel Bros Oil was also in debt to the following Indiana counties and cities:
Allen County
Bartholomew County
Greenwood City
Henry County
Howard County
Jonesville Volunteer Fire
Madison County
Town of Mooresville
Town of Whiteland
Benton County
Davies County
Jay County
Jennings County
Marion County
Monroe County
Morgan County
Posey County
Ripley County
Tippecanoe County
Vanderburgh County
In addition, Kiel Brothers owed money to the Internal Revenue Service, and the states of Kentucky and Illinois:
Commonwealth of Kentucky Dept for Environmental Protection $ 1,350.75
Illinois Dept of Employment Security Bankruptcy Unit $ 1,730.10
Commonwealth of Kentucky Revenue Cabinet $ 9,545.05
United States Internal Revenue Service $ 108,983.14
Sources
"Official leaving environmental agency: Efficiency czar, who came from oil firm that had been cited by state, says his work is done." By Tammy Webber, Indianapolis Star, March 17, 2005, B03.
Documents related to Kiel Bros Oil bankruptcy proceedings including the September 22, 2006 list of company creditors showing more than $9 million owed to various government agencies in the state of Indiana:
http://www.bmccorp.net/...
Register of Proofs of Claims filed September 22, 2006. against Kiel Bros Oil in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Southern Indiana.
http://docs.bmccorp.net/...
Court Documents for initial bankruptcy filing, June 15, 2004, by Kiel Bros Oil. The list of creditors does not include governmental agencies.
http://docs.bmccorp.net/...
Indiana Department of Environmental Management:
Search tool for enforcement of monthly orders: http://www.in.gov/...
· 2/10/2003 Notice of Violation issued against Greg Pence, Kiel Bros Oil, threatening $10,000/day fine: http://www.state.in.us/...
· 2/12/1999 Agreed Order regarding fuel oil spill, with finding of fact: "Respondent has experienced at least 27 other spills" and yet still did not report the spill in a timely manner: http://www.ai.org/...
Congressman Mike Pence financial disclosures
http://www.opensecrets.org/...
IOKIYAR---NOT!!!
Barry Welsh Indiana 6th District Democratic Congressional Candidate
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