Tag: Albert Kelly

In statements, Pruitt gave no immediate reasons why the security chief, Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, and Superfund manager, Albert Kelly, were leaving. EPA spokespeople Jahan Wilcox and Liz Bowman did not immediately respond to questions about whether the departures were related to federal investigations. Pruitt’s spending on security, and some of the security contracts with Perrotta, are among the subjects of more than a dozen federal investigations involving the EPA under Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general. He thanked Kelly for what he said was his “tremendous impact” in a year overseeing the nation’s Superfund program, charged with handling the cleanup of toxic waste sites. Pruitt hired Kelly, an Oklahoma banker, after federal banking regulators banned the man from banking for life over unspecified lending matters. Albert Kelly was never qualified to run Superfund, his banking ban was a huge red flag Don Beyer, Democrat from Virginia Last week, Pruitt weathered six hours of grilling from congressional Democrats over the steady flow of news reports and announcements of new investigations involving alleged ethical lapses at his agency, including spending for round-the-clock security guards, first-class plane tickets and a $43,000 soundproof telephone booth. Pruitt repeatedly deflected blame, saying subordinates had taken the questioned actions without his knowledge. Scott Peters, a California Democrat, pressed Pruitt for more details about why exactly Kelly had been sanctioned by regulators. “I think Mr Kelly, if he’s willing to share that with you, he should do that,” Pruitt said. As the architect of a program of rollbacks of Obama-era environmental regulations, Pruitt has retained the support of Donald Trump.

and runs the agency’s Superfund program. The Oklahoma City deal, which has not been previously reported, was one of several instances in which Mr. Pruitt appeared to have benefited from his relationships with Mr. Kelly and Mr. Wagner while in state politics. Mr. Kelly’s bank, SpiritBank, would be there for much of it — providing financing for Mr. Pruitt’s Tulsa home and his stake in the baseball team, as well as the mortgage for the Oklahoma City house. career employees across the country. She said she had known nothing about the involvement of the shell company and did not recall the final sale price. As president of SBC Oklahoma and a registered lobbyist, Ms. Lindsey said she entertained lawmakers at her home. Mr. Wagner also purchased a small stake, and Mr. Kelly’s bank provided financing for the deal, as first reported by The Intercept, which also disclosed the bank’s loans for one of Mr. Pruitt’s suburban Tulsa homes. The Attorney General Years During his six years as attorney general, Mr. Pruitt blazed a path of spending that holds new meaning now that his E.P.A. And he channeled state contracts to Mr. Wagner’s law firm, which was already doing business with the state. An analysis of expenditure disclosures by the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit that pushes for stricter rules governing money in politics, shows that just 9 percent of the PAC’s spending was devoted to other candidates.