Report: Ed Rendell PA Lottery Scheme Scams Taxpayers

Former Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell may be loading his own pockets up with taxpayer money via a privatization overhaul of the PA state lottery system, Breitbart News has learned.

One of Rendell’s lucrative post-gubernatorial gigs is as a “senior adviser” to financial services firm Greenhill and Co. When he was hired in early 2011, firm chairman Robert Greenhill and CEO Scott Bok cited in a joint statement that Rendell’s “broad network of important relationships and his deep experience in government, particularly as it relates to public- private partnerships and infrastructure” as an asset to the firm.

A series of news reports and contracting system change documents show Rendell’s team has manipulated the bidding system via a series of sole-source contracts and insider deals. Rendell's team profits from that system.

On December 6, 2011, Greenhill and Co. was awarded a sole-source financial services contract. The contract was for Greenhill to work with Pennsylvania Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s Budget Office to help identify “potential projects for privatization, public-private partnerships, and managed competition” and then help the government actually implement those recommendations deemed worthy.

A February 21, 2012, state government document – the “Statement of Work Number 1” issued as part of the sole-source contract Rendell’s firm had secured with the state government a couple of months earlier – shows that the first such project recommendation Rendell’s team pushed for that Corbett’s team deemed worthy was “pursuing private management of the Pennsylvania lottery.”

The state lottery overhaul involves a four-step process. At the end of each step, Rendell's firm clears hundreds of thousands of dollars. The state treasury published those documents here.

The deal is reportedly lingering right now before the final step – which, if implemented, the local Pennsylvania Patriot News newspaper reports, would land Rendell’s firm an even bigger payday: about $3 million.

The Patriot News notes that “highly paid consultants” crafted the plan as currently structured.

“It's striking that if the state moves forward with privatization, financial adviser Greenhill and Co. will make $3 million more,” the Patriot News reported. “That's a highly perverse incentive in place for consultants to push for privatization, even if it's not in the best interests of Pennsylvania citizens.”

On Friday, the Associated Press estimated the gains for the consultants like Rendell’s firm as much higher – in the “tens of millions.” The AP ripped both Democrats and Republicans involved in the current push for their lack of transparency surrounding this deal, but failed to mention Rendell’s involvement atop Greenhill.

According to the documents published by the Pennsylvania State Treasury, Rendell’s firm actually stands to make as much as $40 million off the deal according to the “success fee” model laid out in their contracts with the state. That means that as the contracting process moves forward and Corbett’s administration implements parts of Rendell’s firm’s plans, Rendell’s team makes more and more money off the contract – as opposed to the contract’s original $150,000 signing fee.

Fast Eddie has been fleecing this state since he was running Philthy. No one will do anything about it because they want to get their snouts in the trough after they leave office too.

Haven't they all pretty much been doing that?