Fuel trucks sale part of FBI probe at Foothills Regional Airport?

Officials continue to learn about money that's either missing or not accounted for since the June 5 FBI raid at Foothills Regional Airport.

The latest financial issue involves two fuel trucks -- one jet fuel truck and one aviation fuel truck. But the FBI has instructed officials not to talk about the trucks or what could have happened to the money from the sale.

Before the FBI asked officials to remain quiet on the matter, Foothills Regional Airport Authority Attorney Louis Vinay said the airport replaced two old fuel trucks with two new ones in 2010.

The two fuel trucks owned by the airport were sold, according to officials. But what happened to the money from the sale of the trucks is in question.

Vinay said the airport authority is looking into the matter to try to determine whether the money from the sale was ever received by the airport.

He said he was told no documentation on any sale of the fuel trucks has been found. However, that doesn't mean there isn't any documentation on the sale, Vinay pointed out.

Vinay said he thinks the decision to sell the two fuel trucks owned by the airport was not an airport authority board decision.

The airport doesn't own the new fuel trucks, Vinay said. The airport leased the trucks from Eastern Aviation Fuels Inc., which is headquartered in New Bern in October 2010 with a three-year contract. That's the same company the airport contracts with for fuel.

In 2010, Alex Nelson was the manager of Foothills Regional Airport and its fixed-based operation. A fixed-based operator is the business side of the airport, which sells fuel, rents hangar and maintains airplanes.

Vinay said because of the status of the criminal investigation, the FBI is requesting airport officials, including himself, not say anymore about the fuel trucks.

Airport authority Chairman Wayne Abele said he doesn't know anything about the sale of the trucks and referred all questions to Vinay.

The fuel trucks are the latest in a string of items that has come to light since the FBI raid. Other things include:

• An employment contract for Nelson was never approved by the board but signed by then board chairman Randy Hullette.
• Financial audits for the airport are late for 2011. The Local Government Commission sent a letter dated May 17 to airport authority board members saying the audit is late. The letter also said the 2010 audit was more than a year late. In fact, state Department of Treasurer officials say only two of the past eight years of airport audits have been on time.
• An 11-month financial report of the airport dated May 31 showed a revenue shortfall of more than $100,000 for its fixed base operation, Foothills Regional Aviation. Acting manager Brent Brinkley has slashed the airport budget for 2012-13 from the budget approved in June. A proposed revised budget nearly cuts the adopted budget for 2013 in half, going from $435,540 to $290,681. It also cuts the yearly contributions from the four local governments that support the airport -- Burke and Caldwell counties and the cities of Morganton and Lenoir.
• The cities of Lenoir and Morganton and the counties of Caldwell and Burke will have three years to pay back a $360,000 Community Development Block Grant that went to run water lines to the airport. The grant was based on attracting a company to airport property that was expected to create jobs. However, the company decided to locate in the city of Morganton.
• The airport has around $60,000 to $70,000 in uncollected payments from users for things such as fuel, hangar rentals and maintenance.

Agents for the FBI raided the airport June 5, taking computers, records and logs. No arrests have been made in the case so far.

The airport authority board, whose members are appointed by Burke and Caldwell counties and the cities of Morganton and Lenoir, soon after voted to suspend manager Nelson and employee Brad Adkins without pay. The board voted July 25 to fire Nelson and Adkins.

The federal government also put a lien on Nelson's home in Lenoir and has since returned computers to the airport and some documents needed to run the business. The lien document says there is probable cause to believe that wire fraud and conspiracy occurred and that the proceeds of the offenses are more than $100,000. It says, in part, that the property, "May be subject to forfeiture and as substitute property..." Nelson's home and property in Lenoir is valued at $182,700, according to Caldwell County land records.

Airport authority board member Randy Hullette, who is named in warrant served on the airport, has not attended any board meetings since June 6, the day after the FBI raid on the airport.

As part of the raid, the FBI took records relating to Hullette and his businesses.

Copyright 2012 - The News Herald, Morganton, N.C.