Village mulling criminal charges
POTSDAM — Village officials may seek criminal charges against Canadian Turbines Inc. owner Richard Kuiper for allegedly skipping town with more than $1 million in taxpayer money and failing to provide components for the municipality's West Dam Hydroelectric Station.
The village filed a civil breach of contract suit against the company in July seeking $1,109,945 for undelivered goods, along with damages incurred by the village of $800,000, for not delivering most of the hydro station's key components on time.
The village has received just $290,000 in parts and equipment from Canadian Turbines, after signing a $1,387,432 contract with the company in June 2007.
But while the village's civil action is still pending in state Supreme Court, officials are simultaneously considering having legal authorities file criminal charges against Mr. Kuiper as well. If criminal charges are filed, the move could seek the company president's extradition from Canada to the U.S. to stand trial.
A likely charge would be fraud, according to village officials.
"In my opinion, Mr. Kuiper, as president of Canadian Turbines, has cheated the people of Potsdam and is costing us a lot of money," Trustee Steven W. Yurgartis said. "I think he should lose whatever unearned assets he has and then spend some time in jail, and I intend to do what I can to see justice done."
Trustee Stephen J. Warr supports more legal pressure on Mr. Kuiper. He said he thinks a charge of fraud is warranted.
"We are sitting here with a potential $3.5 million debt to the village for a dam that isn't running because Canadian Turbines didn't live up to their part of the bargain," Mr. Warr said. "I believe we should bring every bit of resource we have to bear — civil, criminal pressure from all sorts, all sides — to get justice for the people in the village of Potsdam. If that involves him losing everything, going to jail, I don't care. That's not our problem."
Attorneys representing Mr. Kuiper sent Village Administrator Michael D. Weil a letter Aug. 16 containing what is believed to be a partial list of components needed to finish the Potsdam project and their locations. The letter was in response to the village's civil suit seeking the whereabouts of the equipment.
But Mr. Weil refused to make a copy of the letter available to the newspaper Tuesday, saying the correspondence is not in the public domain because of the ongoing legal battle between the village and Canadian Turbines.
"I consulted with village counsel on your request and gave him copies of the documents to evaluate," Mr. Weil told a reporter. "As he has prepared and filed the actions, it is his opinion that the records should not be turned over, as to do so would interfere with the law enforcement investigation or judicial proceedings."
Robert J. Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government, said Mr. Weil is violating state law by denying the public access to the latest correspondence from Mr. Kuiper and his representatives.
Mr. Freeman said there is very little information involving court proceedings and investigations that can legally be blocked from public scrutiny.
"You can walk into the courthouse and anything that is filed with the judge or with the court is public. The only items that can typically be withheld in relation to litigation would be materials that are subject to the attorney-client privilege or materials that are prepared solely for litigation," Mr. Freeman said.
He also said the village's assertion that releasing the documents could hamper its investigation into Canadian Turbines doesn't pass legal muster because the documents being sought were provided by Mr. Kuiper himself.
"How could a letter from the person you are investigating, if disclosed, interfere with the investigation?" Mr. Freeman asked.
"If the village acquires information that the guy who is being investigated doesn't know about, yeah, spilling the beans could interfere with an investigation. But here we are talking about something that was supplied by the person that is under investigation. I don't see that as a valid basis for denying access."
As of Tuesday, Mr. Weil also had not given a copy of the letter to the elected Board of Trustees — despite having it in his possession for more than two weeks.
Mayor Rheinhold J. Tischler, Mr. Yurgartis and Mr. Warr all said they have not yet seen the Aug. 16 correspondence.
In the meantime, Mr. Yurgartis said, the village is making plans to at least enclose the Maple Street building, where the new West Dam hydro station is being built, even though the components to make electricity aren't available.
"We are probably going to go ahead and have the site work completed, as much as possible, and get the roof installed before the snow flies. Otherwise, we have to wait for the legal process to take its course," he said.
