by JENNIFER BIUNDO
A tumultuous era at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative drew to a close last week, as State District Judge Dan Mills sentenced Bennie Fuelberg to ten months in county jail after a Gillespie County jury found the former PEC General Manager guilty of stealing co-op funds.
In addition to his 300-day jail term, Mills also ordered Fuelberg to complete five years probation, 1,000 hours of community service and pay $126,000 in restitution to Clark, Thomas and Winters, PEC’s former law firm.
Though the co-op will not receive any restitution under the judge’s sentencing, PEC board members say they plan to seek $8.8 million in restitution.
Fuelberg will serve the sentence in 30-day increments, beginning this summer, to allow him to care for his wife, who is terminally ill with leukemia of the bone marrow.
In December, jurors found Fuelberg guilty of third degree felony charges of money laundering, theft and misappropriation of fiduciary property.
Prosecutors said that between 1996 – 2007, Fuelberg, 66, secretly funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to his brother, lobbyist Curtis Fuelberg, without the knowledge of board members. Curtis Fuelberg testified that he was paid as a consultant to keep PEC abreast of legislation that could impact the co-op. Former PEC outside attorney Walter Demond is set to face similar charges this year.
For three decades, Fuelberg unequivocally ruled PEC, earning $6.3 million in his last 10 years at the co-op. In 2007, a member-led lawsuit blew open the previously cloistered and secretive co-op, leading to the ouster of top officials. Over the course of three elections, PEC members voted out incumbents on the PEC board of directors, replacing them with candidates who campaigned on a reform platform.
