N.Y. Senate Fracking Backer Tied to Firm With Gas Lease
Senator Tom Libous, a champion of fracking in the New York Legislature, is blocking a bill that would delay drilling for natural gas for at least two more years. Passage of the measure would harm the prospects of a real-estate company founded by Libous’s wife and run by a business partner and campaign donor.
The donor, Luciano Piccirilli, operates Da Vinci II LLC, which owns 230 acres near Oneonta, west of Albany. Da Vinci II’s rights to underground natural gas are leased to a drilling company, property and corporate records show.
Piccirilli’s company stands to gain if the 60-year-old Binghamton Republican senator stymies opponents of fracking, in which water, sand and chemicals are injected into rock to free gas. Da Vinci II would get a share of the revenue stream from any well, and the value of the land could rise.
Owners of mineral rights typically receive royalty payments of at least 12.5 percent of gas revenue, according to a 2011 report to the state by Ecology and Environment Inc. (EEI) of Lancaster, New York. Development would “substantially increase” the value of land, according to the study.
Piccirilli and Libous share deep ties. Da Vinci II was formed by Frances Libous in 2005. Piccirilli also co-owns two Florida properties with Libous and was general contractor for the senator’s $415,000 lakeside house, according to property records and a building permit. Raymond Rolston, a subcontractor who oversaw paving at the home, said in an interview this week that the FBI asked him about his work there.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-05-09/n-dot-y-dot-senator-pushing-fracking-has-ties-to-company-with-gas-lease
