Upcoming City of Victorville Board & Council Meeting on January 17, 2012: Wael Al Mazeedi still insists on spending the BTU Power Company investors' money on 300 acres of desert!

Observations from a blogger covering Victorville-area politics: 

"Victorville is just a magnet for people with shady backgrounds: Mr. Wael Al Mazeedi and QGen Ltd."

Wael Al Mazeedi sure is damned persistent in his efforts to buy desert land in California with the BTU Power Company investors' money!

• City of Victorville Board & Council Meeting ‐ Agenda for January 17, 2012
• City Negotiators: Doug Robertson, City Manager, or authorized designee
• Negotiating Parties: Authorized Representatives of QGen Ltd.
• Under Negotiation: Price, and terms of payment

Another blog that covers politics in that region of California summarized the QGen Ltd. attempts to purchase that glorious chunk of desert as follows:

High Desert Politics | Victorville Scrambles To Cover Their Assets | Victorville | Hesperia | Apple Valley | California:

"The parcels and price are being negotiated by current city manager Doug Robertson and a company called QGen Ltd. Who is that? Remember Johns was trying to pull the wool over Councilwoman Valles when former city manager Jim Cox failed to identify to her that Johns was secretly involved in the solar plant that would have been constructed on the parcels? Victorville is just a magnet for people with shady backgrounds: Mr. Wael Al Mazeedi and QGen Ltd.: Does Robertson know who he is dealing with?"

Question?

Wael and the Chief Investment Officer for QGen Ltd. (Tibor Toth) sure are hot to trot for that piece of desert. Why?  Must be some angle in this that results in significant cash flow for you know who...  In any event, we are not the only ones who are curious regarding what's going on.  Other bloggers have picked up on this topic.  Also, we have it on good authority that members of the city council, together with the VV legal dept, are probing very closely into this malodorous transaction.

Lots of people interested in Victorville

• A Grand Jury was convened in San Bernardino County (SBC) regarding Victorville finances (they are nearly insolvent although they have a $250 million annual budget)
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation regarding bond offering to finance power project, among other things.
• Grand Jury using forensic accounting firm Kessler International to go over Victorville's books
• Special task force: FBI and US District Attorney with members from previous SBC grand juries sworn-in as participants

Much of the legal brouhaha is focused on the failed Victorville 2 Power Project (the one that Al Mazeedi is ostensibly trying to wriggle himself into)...  Wael Al Mazeedi and Tibor Toth certainly know how to pick WINNERS!