Adam Edelen and Ross, Sinclaire & Associates (RSA)
Terrell Ross and Murray Sinclaire founded Ross, Sinclaire & Associates (RSA). [Website] RSA sells bonds for government projects and has ties to several Kentucky lawmakers, mostly Democrats. RSA gets the contracts for most of Kentucky’s state and local government bond work.
Before joining the Beshear administration Edelen worked as a consultant for RSA and CMW, Inc.:
Edelen’s disclosure, filed last spring, identifies his other sources of income for 2007, including the “consulting fees” he collected from two companies heavily dependent on government contracts: bond firm Ross, Sinclaire Associates and architecture/engineering firm CMW Inc.
The firms paid Edelen a combined $3,750 a month for his help pitching their services to clients in the public and private sectors, he said Wednesday. But the payments ended before he joined the Beshear administration in late 2007, he said. Neither company gets favors from him because of those payments now that he works for the governor, he added.
Ross, Sinclaire did not return a call seeking comment. (John Cheves, “Lobbyist, official are partners - Beshear staff chief says job not affected,” Herald-Leader, January 1, 2009.)
No-Bid Courthouse Construction Benefits RSA and CMW, Inc.:
Since 1998, the state has designated more than $880 million to build 65 courthouses. Of that, more than half of the contracts—without competitive bidding—have gone to two Kentucky firms whose political connections have included a former transportation secretary, state senators and the son of former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert.
Codell Construction of Winchester has served as the construction manager on 38 of 65 projects—nearly 60 percent of all the jobs—while Ross Sinclaire & Associates has done the bond work on more than 68 percent of the projects in the past decade, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts, which oversees the program.
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The AOC, which is not subject to the state’s Open Records Law, said it did not track the exact amounts paid to Ross Sinclaire or Codell.
Under AOC rules, prices for all major contracts are set in advance. Construction management is one of the major contracts that does not require firms to bid for the work.
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The same is true for Ross Sinclaire, which gets the lion’s share of courthouse bond business. While that company’s political giving is dwarfed by Codell’s, it employs two legislators: state Sen. R.J. Palmer, D-Winchester, a vice president for financial advising and client development; and state Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, who wrote the 2000 legislation that codified the AOC’s building process.
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The other powerful company that gets the vast majority of business is Ross Sinclaire, which advises counties on their bond issues to pay for the new justice centers. In addition, Ross Sinclaire also wins most of the contracts for other bond work in the state, including schools and other municipal projects.
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The financial adviser is paid through a complicated formula that can give it about 1 percent of the bond total. So the company could make as much as $6 million on judicial projects approved since 1998. AOC officials dispute that number, but would not provide an amount. Ross Sinclaire officials did not return calls for this story.
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The AOC program shows much more diversity in the awarding of contracts for architecture, which are awarded under the same “request for qualifications” process. Of the 65 courthouses built since 1998, two firms got the most judicial center jobs -19 were awarded to CMW and nine to Brandstetter Carroll, both of Lexington. The remaining projects were divided among 14 different architecture firms. (Linda B. Blackford, “Two Well-Connected Firms Profit,” Lexington Herald-Leader, September 7, 2008.)
RSA built their underwriting firm on a business model that seems designed to create and exploit conflicts of interest with elected officials as much as the law allows.
Cultivating Political Contacts: Link
Using Political Influence:
Thunder Ridge: Julian Carroll brings RSA to Stumbo's Floyd County Fiefdom: Link
Gambling Parlor Law: “Back-Door, Thief-in-The-Night Approach” to Rigging Legislation: Link
Casino Bill: RSA Employee Chosen to Sponsor Beshear’s Gambling Bill: Link
Financial Disclosure Forms:
Greg Stumbo Financial Disclosure Forms: Link
Bob Damron Financial Disclosure Forms: Link
Julian Carroll Financial Disclosure Forms: Link
