Oregon Energy Official Who Accepted $300k In Bribes Says Energy Department Is Deeply Corrupt

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A former Oregon official recently pleaded guilty to accepting $291,017 in bribes to facilitate energy tax credit sales during his time with the Oregon Department of Energy.

Joe Colello said he accepted at least 52 cashiers checks between 2012 and 2015 from energy consultant Martin Shain as bribes to speed Shain’s sales of energy tax credits, Oregon Live reported Tuesday.

Colello is charged with racketeering, receiving bribes, aggravated theft, tax evasion, and official misconduct. Shain has been indicted on forgery charges.

“I’m dirty,” Colello told OregonLive Sunday. “I made mistakes.”

Shain used the nearly $12 million he received in tax credit sales to fund solar panel arrays at the Oregon Institute of Technology and Oregon State University. At the same time, he sent checks of up to $14,130 to Colello, sometimes as many as three per month.

“We had a verbal agreement,” Colello told Oregon Live. “At some point, the money just started showing up.”

Colello managed an energy department program, allowing energy project developers to sell tax credits granted to them by the government for furthering green energy. Companies can purchase the tax credits at a government-mandated discount, allowing corporations to cover millions in income taxes with a cash transaction of far less.

Shain allegedly bribed Colello to facilitate the sale of tax credits he qualified for by working with the solar array systems at the two Oregon universities.

Shain has maintained his innocence since his 2015 indictment.

“Mr. Shain denies being part of any racketeering enterprise,” Shain’s attorney told Oregon Live. “Mr. Shain also denies bribing any government officials.”

Colello served as a whistle blower against corruption in the state’s energy department just two years before his admission, claiming he felt pressure from within the department to engage in favoritism with certain companies in tax credit sales, though he failed to mention he bent to that pressure.

Colello claimed he admitted to the crimes Tuesday out of both frustration with the rampant corruption in Oregon’s energy department and remorse for engaging in it himself, according to Oregon Live.

In return for his guilty plea, the court gave Colello a five-year prison sentence with three years of probation and $1.3 million in restitution payments to be paid to companies affected by his actions.

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