Mot have Dail er - May 10, 1989 Browse this news: DQ LEQ Page Ex-oil employees say stealing from Indian wells is common WASHINGTON (AP) — Former employees of a Kansas-based ail company say they were pressured to steal oil from wells on Indian land, and their company was not alone:in the practice. Gene Poteet, a former gauger for Koch Industries of Wichita, Kan., told a Senate committee Tuesday that his nephew worked for an oil firm that told him, “If he couldn't steal his wages, they didn’t need him,” Poteet did not name the firm. Poteet and James Spaulding, another former gauger for Koch, testified before a special committee of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, which is investigat- ing theft of oil from and un- derpayment of ‘oil royalties to Indians. As gaugers, both men’ were employed to measure oil'Trom tanks at well sites inifo either a pipeline ot ‘onto trucks for sale by Koch, which does a large amount of business on Indian oil fields. ‘They Said the company expected them to “mismeasure” so that more oil would be received than paidfor.. Spaulding said that ,when he resisted, he was informed that Koch “would send one their gaugers to reteachme.” Spaulding said he worked for Koch from 1964 until 1988, when he was fired for refusing to work Sundays. Poteet, who worked for the company from 1979 to 1984, said he quit because “I didn’t agree with their practices.” Spaulding said when he went to work for another oil company, Union Texas, he caught the employee who replaced him at Koch stealing oil from Union Texas. Union Texas then canceled its contracts with Koch, hesaid. Donald L. Cordes, Koch In- dustries vice president for legal and corporate affairs, issued a state- ment Tuesday saying testimony and information during the hearing was incomplete and created a false ‘ impression, Cordes said the Senate panel didn’t reveal that the so-called overages being attributed to Koch represent a minute percentage of the total oll the company buys and resells. He said Koch crude oil purchases were measured short the first two months of 1969, and the overage for 1988 was .0023 of the total volume of crude oil handled and measured by the company. “This percentage is well within the range of overage percentages reflected in the reports of the states ‘which compile that data,”” Cordes said, Overage reports from Texas ‘and Louisiana, for example, show ‘many other companies with higher percentages, Cordessaid. A spokesman for the Senate panel sald that depositions were taken with Koch officials, though they werenotcalled totestify, Investigators told the committee” that Koch consistently took hundreds of thousands more barrels ‘of crude oll than it patd for during . the last three years. A certain amount of mismeasuring is normal in the industry, but not to the degree shown in documents sub- (poenaed from Koch, witnesses said. ‘The documents indicated that Koch ended 1986 with 803,874 moré 1s of off than-it paid for, 1967 with 671,144 more barrels and 1988 with 474,281 extra bartels. ‘The value of the excess oll was estimated at $12.2 ‘million in 1986, $11.9 million in 1987 ‘and $7.1 million in 1988. Chris Tucker, an: independent oi expert who investigated Koch, said. most companies mismeasure ac- cidentally but “try to be as ac- curateas possible. “At year’s end, they try to get to zero (difference), hesaid. ‘Tucker was hired’ to investigate the company by a brother of the owner, Charles Koch, according to a Senate panel spokesman, who indicated the brothers had’ quar- reled. Sen, ‘Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., who chairs the special committee, said findings from the investigation would be referred to the Justice Department. All of the witnesses who testified ‘Tuesday said it is easy to steal oil from. Indian land because no one supervises the purchasers when they take oil from tanks at the wells. Two Cando Indians from Gracemont, Okla., said they receive royaities from ‘three wells in Oklahoma, but have noticed their individual checks have decreased from $3,000 per month to $1,000 despite the rising price of oil. Thurmon Parton and Arnita Gonzalez said they learned from investigators for the committee that ‘a gauger from Koch Industries had been caught stealing from their wells. Neither Parton nor Gonzalez is ‘gmployed, and both say they de* Pend on their royalty checks to pay their bills. 1940 Kino, Suite 2 Medical & Surgical Care Of The Foot & Ankle Behind Sun Country Motors San Dr. Brent C. Hill Insurance Accepted 2302 Stockton Hill Rd. Kingman Ackive Ingredieny ida Have Shoes VS at yy” 2 aa adidas = ; "Bea 757-4041 Open 10-6! 10-4 Satur —S ox Great Listening and Dancing Music at the. SMOKEHOUSE LOUNGE La 2030 030 Andy Devine, Kingman Meet your friends t week for great times o enjoy Rock ‘n Roll with Mixed Company pone ‘now thru Sunday at 900P, Open 10 am rai Noon on Su 753-99 HK Monday, May 15 10a.m. to 2 p.m. 753-2888 2401 Stockton HillRd-Suite 2A