Is Covanta influenced by New Jersey's Culture? Will the proposed Poolbeg Incinerator be run using New Jersey's best?The arrests come in a state that is no stranger to political corruption. The former mayors of Newark, Paterson and Camden, to name but a few, have or are serving time in prison. Wayne Bryant, a former state senator, is due to be sentenced for fraud and bribery on Friday. Until recently, “double-dipping”, holding two elected positions, was the norm.
- Handing out public-sector contracts to political donors, “pay to play”, is common practice.
- Cronyism is practically accepted.
- Mob ties are not unusual [blog-edit: especially in waste management and construction].
New Jersey is not Sweden. Covanta is HQ'ed in New Jersey. Which quite possibly has no influence whatsoever on the corporate culture, apart from sharp suits and haircuts. Covanta is not a gonzo outfit. As far as is known Covanta is a mighty fine corporate citizen. Except perhaps for Dioxins violations reported for all of its New Jersey waste incinerators and about 6,000 violations at Ogden and conflicts with employees and other legal concerns in Florida and a recent 'bankruptcy' issue and the odd explosion forcing people to run indoors.
Like Wall Street bankers also based in New Jersey, Covanta's CEO Tony Orlando is heavily bonus driven with recent official compensation of about $3 million.
US websites list the legal political donations made by Covanta staff to local politicians. In 2008 the Irish lawyer for the Poobeg Incinerator Promoters, 'Willem Schipkijk', had a legal fundraiser in his Dalkey house for at least one American Presidential candidate (Obama) in Dublin. Curious?
DCC's choice of operator for the proposed Poolbeg Incinerator is a Covanta entity legalised in the secret banking haven of Luxembourg. Curious?
In Ireland of course the secret contract DCC made with Covanta was not influenced by any form of "pay to play" nor cronyism nor the total dismissal of scientific facts and the public's interest in favour of secret political diktats. The secret contract may involve a "put or pay" contract which will burden the bankrupted taxpayers who are not killed prematurely by incinerator nanoparticles (PM0.1).
Bertie 'Won It On De Horses' Ahern can confirm this, even if it's actually true. So will the public servants now retiring on the world's highest pensions. These are honest men.
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http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14112480
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