Delaware Weights & Measures inspectors protect consumers, businesses

DOVER – More than 9,200 gas pumps across Delaware were checked and inspected for accuracy during 2012 by state Weights and MeasuresPrice inspection inspectors, the first line of defense to make sure Delaware consumers get what they pay for.

Add to that 3,721 retail scales, 234 fuel oil delivery meters and 478 retail price checks, among other inspections, and Delawareans can begin to get a sense of how the Weights & Measures Section of the Delaware Department of Agriculture affects their lives and businesses.

Friday marks the start of National Weights & Measures Week, March 1-7, by the National Conference on Weights and Measures, an opportunity to educate the public about the role of these behind-the-scenes workers. The first United States weights and measures law was signed by President John Adams in 1799.

“We help guarantee that transactions are fair to consumers and businesses, protecting people on both sides of the equation,” said Steve Connors, Weights & Measures Administrator. “It doesn’t matter if you’re purchasing or selling five gallons of milk, 10 gallons of gasoline, 100 gallons of fuel oil or a ton of gravel. We help make sure that consumers get what they pay for. Businesses are protected because even a small error – a fraction of one percent, for example – can lead to losses of thousands of dollars.”

The state’s six Weights & Measures inspectors check items in the state sold by volume, measure or count. They inspect gas pumps and store scales annually, and conduct regular audits and inspections of shelf pricing and packaged product volume. Inspectors are assigned to each county. If a device – such as a gas pump, scale or price scanner – is found to be out of compliance, inspectors will take it out of order until it has been fixed and retested for accuracy.

In 2012, inspectors also checked 136 LPG vehicle tank meters, 83 grain moisture meters and 228 large-capacity vehicle scales, and performed 152 gas-pump octane tests. For net weight compliance, they inspected 1,115 package lots, comprising 19,099 packages, and audited 1,428 package lots, comprised of 6,012,195 packages. They investigated and resolved 66 complaints overall.

“Our inspectors are out in stores and at gas stations every day helping protect Delaware consumers and businesses,” said Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee. “They work quietly but efficiently to make sure the public can have confidence in getting what they pay for.”

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Contact:
Dan Shortridge
Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
302-698-4520


Biden’s Office Arrests Project Engineer, Foreman In Scheme To Defraud AstraZeneca

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that his office has arrested two men for Theft and Conspiracy in a bid to defraud AstraZeneca.  An investigation by the Attorney General’s Special Investigations Unit revealed that Mitchell Guard, age 45, a Project Engineer for AstraZeneca’s Fairfax location, and David Ragolia, age 55, a foreman for the DiSabatino Construction Company and site manager for its activities at the AstraZeneca Fairfax location, conspired in a scheme to complete extensive home improvements at Guard’s Hockessin home and to charge the work to AstraZeneca.

“Stealing is a crime with damaging consequences, whether the victim is an individual or a company, and we’re acting to ensure that everyone obeys the law,” Biden said.

The Attorney General’s Office opened its investigation after receiving a report last year from AstraZeneca of questionable financial transactions.  During the time period during which the fraud was committed, DiSabatino Construction company and AstraZeneca had entered into a Master Services Agreement under which DiSabatino was the sole source contractor for construction activities at the AstraZeneca Fairfax campus.  Under this arrangement, Guard initiated construction projects on-site through Ragolia, who assigned the work to DeSabatino employees and sub-contractors.

The investigation revealed that Ragolia, of Bear, instructed DiSabatino employees and other sub-contractors to make significant home improvements to Guard’s residence over a period of time, and that DiSabatino employees and sub-contractors were assigned to work full-time at the residence from March, 2010 through July, 2010 to complete the work.  The home improvements included a kitchen renovation, the addition of a sunroom and 3-car garage, basement finishing, installation of new siding and windows, painting, and the purchase and installation of an HVAC unit, appliances, and bath fixtures.

Upon the completion of their work to the Guard residence, investigators learned that Ragolia directed subcontractors to submit their receipts and invoices to DiSabatino Construction Company.  The investigation also revealed that Ragolia, in turn, submitted invoices for the materials and the labor that was performed at Guard’s residence to AstraZeneca.  In total, more than $400,000 in improvements performed at Guard’s residence were fraudulently billed to and ultimately paid by the pharmaceutical manufacturer before the scam was discovered.

As a result of the investigation, arrest warrants were issued charging both men with one count of Theft of more than $100,000 and Conspiracy.  Both defendants turned themselves in to Special Investigators in the Attorney General’s Office on Friday, February 22.  After being arraigned in JP Court #20, both men were released on $6,000 unsecured bond.

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Biden: More than 1,000 Delaware families have received direct financial benefits from national mortgage settlement

Delawareans have received $57 million in relief; benefits in works for more homeowners

Wilmington – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced Monday that 1,015 Delaware homeowners have received $57.4 million in financial benefits from the national mortgage foreclosure settlement that his office, other state Attorneys General, and the federal government reached last year with the country’s five largest mortgage-servicing banks.

In addition to the homeowners already receiving benefits as of December 30, 2012, another 346 homeowners are in the pipeline to receive $22.7 million in benefits – according to a report released Monday by the independent monitor overseeing the banks’ compliance with the national settlement.  These homeowners have either already been offered mortgage modifications and are deciding whether to accept the terms, or have accepted the terms and are in a trial period.

The financial benefits come in several forms. Under the terms secured by Biden and other Attorneys General, the banks are required to reduce principal on mortgage loans, extinguish second lien mortgage loans, waive deficiencies in short sales, and provide refinancing to so-called “underwater” homeowners who, despite being current on their mortgages, are unable to refinance because they owe more than their homes are worth.

“The settlement has provided real relief to more than one thousand Delaware homeowners who have suffered during the housing crisis,” Biden said.  “These benefits have enabled homeowners to avoid unnecessary foreclosures that would further damage home values and our economy.”

According to the monitor’s report, the most frequent benefits to Delaware homeowners were the forgiveness of debt upon a short-sale, forgiveness of second mortgages and refinancing of underwater mortgages.

The mortgage banks bound by the settlement are Ally (formerly known as GMAC), Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The settlement resolved allegations of widespread mortgage servicing misconduct, including “robo-signing” of foreclosure documents by those banks.

In addition to the financial components of the settlement, the banks were also required to implement hundreds of improvements to their operations, especially in customer service. Biden’s office insisted that protections for military members be included in those requirements. Those provisions include:
• Protections for servicemembers who are deployed to a new base, but are unable to sell a home near their former post because they owe more on the mortgage than the home is worth. Before the settlement, banks would not consider a servicemember’s orders to move to a new base as a “hardship” that would allow them to be eligible for relief programs. The settlement now requires the banks to make such personnel eligible for alternatives to foreclosure, such as loan modifications and short sales.
• An expansion of the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), a set of legal protections for military personnel whose origins date back to the Civil War. Career military personnel will benefit from key foreclosure protections that were previously only available primarily to reservists or members of the National Guard. Now, a servicemember stationed in a hostile fire zone and facing foreclosure by one of the settling banks will receive the benefit of the SCRA’s protections regardless of whether the mortgage loan was obtained before or after the beginning of the homeowner’s active duty service.

Additional detail about the mortgage relief provided by the 5 settling banks under the terms of the national mortgage settlement and Delaware-specific relief for each of the banks is posted on the independent monitor’s website at www.mortgageoversight.com/map/.

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Governors Convene for 2013 National Governors Association Winter Meeting

WASHINGTON—Governors from across the nation gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 2013 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting. Governors will meet with President Obama, members of his Administration, business leaders and other experts for conversations about issues and challenges facing states.

Led by NGA Chair Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and NGA Vice Chair Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, business sessions at the event will include opening, special and closing sessions and meetings of the four NGA committees.

The official business portion of the meeting will begin this morning with an opening session that will focus on Gov. Markell’s Chair’s Initiative, A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities. This initiative focuses on the employment challenges that affect individuals with intellectual and other disabilities and the roles both state governments and businesses can play in advancing employment opportunities for these individuals. Gregory D. Wasson, president and CEO of Walgreens, will address the governors and then join in a discussion.

“Every governor wants to be the ‘jobs’ governor,” said Gov. Markell. “We can’t forget the people in our states with disabilities; we need to be the jobs governor for them, too. That’s why I’ve chosen to focus my initiative on ways that states and businesses can increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.”

Later today, the Economic Development and Commerce Committee will have a conversation about federal tax reform. Concurrently, the Health and Homeland Security Committee will take on the issue of cybersecurity as well as the nationwide public safety network.

On Sunday morning, governors will gather for a special session on how states can assist businesses in employing people with disabilities. Later that day, the Education and Workforce Committee will look at ways to support teachers and school leaders. Meanwhile, the Natural Resources Committee will meet to discuss extreme weather events and how best to coordinate with the Army Corps of Engineers.

“Through NGA, governors identify the priorities of our states and find common ground that unites us,” said Gov. Fallin. “The NGA Winter Meeting is a great opportunity to learn from our peers and share our own best practices. We certainly have a busy weekend ahead, and I am eager to get to work.”

On Sunday evening, governors and their spouses will join the President and Mrs. Obama at the White House. On Monday, governors will return for a meeting with the President and Vice President.

Prior to Monday’s meeting at the White House, governors will meet in a closing session to consider the NGA policy positions. They also will hear from Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the The Dr. Oz Show. Throughout the meeting, there also will be “Governors-Only” sessions to provide governors the opportunity for discussion among themselves.

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Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation’s governors and one of Washington, D.C.’s most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. NGA provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing and implementing innovative solutions to public policy challenges through the NGA Center for Best Practices. For more information, visit www.nga.org.


Governor’s Weekly Message: Making Progress: Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities

(Wilmington, DE) In his weekly message, Governor Markell shares an update on his initiative as Chair of the National Governors Association, which will be highlighted during the NGA’s Winter Meeting this weekend.

“As I join with my colleagues from across the country in Washington D.C. this weekend our Winter Meeting, we will continue to raise awareness with Governors and the private sector about the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities, with two of the nationally televised sessions focused on this topic,” said Governor Markell. “By this summer, we will develop a blueprint with concrete steps that states and businesses can take to provide opportunities that benefit both individuals with disabilities and the companies that employ them. Coming together to ensure we provide every person with the best possible chance to achieve personal and professional success will keep our country and our state moving forward.”

Transcript of the Governor’s Weekly Message:  Making Progress: Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities

Every Friday, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form.  The message is available on:

YouTube: http://youtu.be/-ZjYOD23PjM

Delaware.Gov: http://governor.delaware.gov/information/podcast_video.shtml

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