DID YOU KNOW?


You can read timely Consumer Reports articles in the new Lifestyles section...

   Shooting for the best digital camera
   Clean up in laundry detergent savings
   Where to dine well for less

MALONE — Former Titus Mountain Ski Center manager Zachary White will pay National Grid $25,000 for stolen electrical service and the state $15,000 for environmental violations.

He could also get two months in Franklin County Jail but not state-prison time.

An agreement was reached Thursday morning, just as a two-day restitution hearing was about to begin to determine just how much free electricity Titus Mountain got when he bypassed the meter to power up snow-making and ski-lift equipment between August 2005 and March 2008.

One outage lasted 39 days.

SENTENCING DEC. 3
Acting County Court Judge Penelope Clute promised not to send White to state prison, but she still has the option to hand down local jail time and five years of probation supervision, depending on what a pre-sentencing report by the Probation Department finds.

Sentencing is set for Thursday, Dec. 3. White remains free on $15,000 cash bail.

White pleaded guilty in July to two felony charges: second-degree grand larceny and failure to obtain a sewage-discharge permit under State Department of Environmental Conservation law.

He also admitted to four counts of second-degree criminal tampering, four counts of theft of services, as well as fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, failure to register a fuel tank and disposal of waste against state regulations.

SEEN AS DETERRENT
Clinton County Assistant District Attorney Timothy Blatchley was special prosecutor due to a conflict within the Franklin County District Attorney's Office.

Blatchley declined to comment and referred questions to National Grid Attorney Karl Sleight, who said the company was very appreciative of the State Police work involved and Blatchley's "aggressive stance in this important case.

"The company feels this case will act as a deterrent for other people who are contemplating such illegal acts," he said.

Sleight would not reveal how much National Grid believes White really stole, but he said the $25,000 settlement was acceptable to the company.

He wouldn't confirm whether this theft is the largest in the company's history, as some connected to the investigation have said, but Sleight called it "the most significant case of its kind in the region.

"More important than the number is the recognition for the seriousness of this conduct," he said. "When customers steal from the company, they're cheating the other customers who pay their bills on time."

TURNED IN
White was caught when a former employee alerted National Grid that the power was turned off at different times all year long, especially when ski lifts and snow-making machines were tested and operated.

As the company and State Police investigated, it was learned that White used a special tool to open the meter box and remove the fuses so power used would not be recorded for the National Grid bill.

But the drastic fluctuations were detected by a backup system that monitors usage.

At the same time, the septic system at the lower lodge needed repair. But rather than replace the system, White ordered that the wastewater be rerouted to a ditch that gradually empties into the Salmon River.

E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com