The Crane Family Jim Crane, Jared Crane, Champion Energy, Incite Energy, The Houston Astros, Cirro Energy, Dominion Resources, August Reuss Illegal Cronies: Tales of the Crane Family’s Criminal Activities HOUSTON Texas

Houston, one of America’s most successful cities, is proud of its competitive nature. Only recently have people taken a shine to the value of the city, especially its peaceful prosperity and adaptability in the face of change. Houston has become one of the fastest growing economies in the United States and has taken on the entrepreneurial mantle in many respects, promoting strong culture surrounding energy and healthcare. From restaurants to higher education to civic improvements and general work ethic of our citizenry, Houston is a place both natives and transplants have come to love. But even in the world’s greatest cities scum often exists and thrives somewhere in an office of home, planning the next step toward pillaging the city. In the case of Houston, one element of that scum is just begging to show its true colors. That element is known as the Crane Family.

The Cranes have been in the news fairly often recently, and it hasn’t always been positive. Most Houstonians have come to know their heartlessly incompetent ownership of the Houston Astros. First, Jim Crane moved the team to the American League, rubbing sand in the eyes of fans to get an eight-figure discount on his big ticket purchase. Then, he failed to get the deal done with Comcast, denying the majority the fans the chance to watch the game on television. It’s no wonder he has stuck a hideous eyes of an advertising board in left field and let the team fall apart under the guise of “rebuilding”.

The Astros’ payroll is the lowest in all of baseball, even though Crane’s take-home earnings on the value of the franchise last year was in the highest in all of professional sports. Yet baseball is simply one, rather minor arena for the Crane Family’s crimes against Houstonians. A filthy dark cloud has travelled overhead for the Cranes for a long time now, and even Houstonians who were once allies of the family have begun to distance themselves from one of the city’s most shadowy bloodlines. Most notably, Crane and Company have engaged in activities that have bilked Houston taxpayers out of hard earned dollars through illegal, fraudulent activities related to public spending and associated with rather nasty characters in ways that suggest an accomplice relationship rather than mere association. Those crimes are detailed one-by-one below, starting with some things you may know (“Past Crane Family Offenses”) before laying out the smoking gun details of the crime promised in the title of this document.

Past Offenses: Skittish Tactics in violation of Major League Baseball Negotiation Rules & Shady (embarrassing) Activity.

It’s a wonder Jim Crane was able to buy the Houston Astros at all given his previous transgressions toward former owner Drayton McLane. He backed out of his first attempt to buy the team at the 11^th hour in 2008. When he finally did buy the team, he continued negotiations beyond the agreement during the final sale. Both of these incidents were detailed in Maury Brown’s (Biz of Baseball) June 2011 article in Forbes Magazine.

The article also covered an ongoing pattern of rather suspicious and untoward business behavior. Crane’s company Eagle Global Logistics (EGL) settled out of court for millions of dollars regarding a case that claimed discrimination against African-Americans, Hispanics, and women of “child-bearing” age. EGL was sued more than ten times subsequently for the same reason. The company has also been on the hook for war profiteering, fixing prices with other logistics companies, poking shareholders in the eye with a clawed finger by self-dealing through a “kangaroo business” transactional process that stacked the deck against 3^rd parties and any potential competition in the deal.

Here’s Something You Don’t Know…

As is often the case with double-dealing cross-selling manipulator businessmen, the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. Jim Crane’s son and empire heir Jared Crane has some dirt and grime all his own, gathered with his father’s blessing but under his own direction. The younger Crane directly violated compliance and ethics rules of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), enforceable by Texas State Law. The State of Texas, it is illegal to apply and attain a PUC Aggregator License and be a principal of a Public Utility Commission of Texas licensed Retail Electric Provider (REP). With willful knowledge of this, Jared Crane’s Incite Energy illegally obtained a PUC Aggregator License in spite of close to a decade of tenure as a Director of Champion Energy (PUCT #10098).

“What’s the issue!?!? à Thuggery!!!

Jared Crane’s company, Incite Energy, just so happens to be the “chosen” broker for all utility services for Minute Maid Park – a contract worth up to and perhaps in excess of $250,000 annually! These contracts were secured due not just to his family connections, but by flagrantly abusing the law in a “Rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul” Ponzi scheme befitting of a modern day Wall Street crook, as not just Incite Energy profited, but so did the Crane Family’s Champion Energy. The deal further lines the pockets of the Cranes with money stolen from the hands of hard-working Astros fans willing to bleed blue for the team, citizens willing to bleed for their great city, and anyone else who works hard to pay for public services in America’s fourth largest city. While the team is taking hard-earned losses on the field, the Cranes are making dishonest gains – For Shame!!!

THE SMOKING GUN

See PUC records on Incite Energy, LLC’s license AG130005 (dates of application, and licensure) as well as Texas Secretary of State Document #800541328 for the infamous overlap in Jared Crane’s ongoing involvement in Champion Energy.

There’s more: Breach of Contract, IP Theft, and Embezzlement in Incite Energy’s Top Brass

Crane’s Incite Energy’s dealings are rife with suspicious activity and its leadership is affiliated with “professionals” molded by or magnetically attracted to the Crane-Style cronyism. Incite’s Director of Commercial Sales August Reuss, previously with Cirro Energy, knowingly logged into Cirro’s accounting database of confidential information and shared countless commercial accounts for his own personal financial gain with you know who, a flagrant violation of ethics and clearly criminal behavior that places Reuss in direct violation of Federal Law. This makes Reuss guilty of breach of contract, confidentiality, and theft of intellectual property, resale of proprietary information and embezzlement. Reuss’ former protégé has been prosecuted already for similar crimes (See Cirro Group, Inc. vs. Jonathan Shushtari, Harris County 2013), sources indicate that Reuss, the main player in this criminal operation, is currently under investigation by Cirro Energy’s parent company Dominion Resources (NYSE: D).

This is not good old-fashioned American Entrepreneurship, but is egregious self-dealing in a large portfolio of Reuss’ immoral portfolio. Worse, it has the potential to have a rippling effect on Dominion Resource’s stock share value, an effect that ill hurt the average everyday shareholder (with losses in revenue close to hundreds of millions of dollars per year) and further fasten the Crane Family’s ironclad hold on its undeserved market share.

Reuss: The Immoral Saint

Reuss tends to often mix business with pleasure, sleeping with subordinate contractors and co-workers in violation of his marital vows, drinking in excess, yet frequenting various Houston religious and charity organizations for business opportunities as he hurtled away his wife and children and into the arms of younger naïve women. Reuss’ wife filed for divorce in Harris County in the fall of 2013. If this wasn’t enough, it is rumored that Reuss also defrauded the Texas State Medicaid office by unethically obtaining health benefits by withholding information that indicated excessive income for benefits claimed. This transgression came at a time of great strain on both the federal and state healthcare systems, particularly, on CHIPS funding. While others in true need struggled to find the time off from multiple jobs to gain these benefits, often on behalf of underprivileged children, Reuss made the only kind of move he knows how: he bilked the system with a bold faced lie, likely to the detriment of those most in need.

Give Houston Justice!

The people of Houston and business professionals considering doing business with the Cranes should be fore-warned against the pitfalls of bartering with mad men. The public should know about the following to better serve the public good:

1. The direct violation by Jared Crane of Incite Energy of Texas Public Utility Commission of Texas Aggregator-License/REP-affiliation conflict of interest rules and ethics.
2. The funneling of public dollars directly into the Crane Family’s pockets through questionable contract awarding in utility services.
3. The outright breach of the law by a Crane Family right-hand man in August Reuss that could result in both incarceration and widespread economic damages.
4. Reuss’ appeal to holiness in public while double-dealing and engaging in immoral activity in private.

SHARRING OF THIS INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC NOW RESTS ON YOU!!!

TEST THE FACTS. TELL THE TRUTH.