The U.S. Department of Justice is dropping criminal charges against former Westinghouse CEO Danny Roderick in return for becoming a witness in the criminal cases involving the failed V.C. Summer two-unit, 2,000-MW nuclear construction project. The project cratered in July 2017 after spending some $10 billion and constantly lying to state regulators about the progress and costs of the project.
Toshiba, owner of Westinghouse, fired Roderick two days before the company filed for bankruptcy in 2017, according to Reuters.
The failure, one of only two new nuclear construction projects in the US, led to the demise of SCANA Corp., the state’s major investor-owned utility. Also involved in project, and forced to eat the sunk costs, is Santee Cooper, the state-owned public power system.
Based on released court documents, the Charleston Post and Courier reported that Roderick, “a former subject of the years-long criminal investigation into the VC Summer nuclear project’s failure, has become a government witness, records show.” The newspaper reported that the government plans to use his testimony against Jeff Benjamin, another Westinghouse executive who led the management of the construction of the two Westinghouse AP-1000 reactors.
Benjamin faces 16 felony charges and could go on trial in 2022. According to the AP, Benjamin, if convicted, could face up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
Prosecutors have gone after several Westinghouse and SCANA executives. SCANA former CEO Kevin Marsh in Nov. 2020 pleaded guilty to state and federal charges of conspiracy and fraud. Marsh agreed to a two-year prison term last September. Marsh, 65, could have gotten a four-year sentence.
The Associated Press reported earlier that a Westinghouse executive, a SCANA executive, and Marsh entered guilty pleas.
According to the AP, “Roderick gave the FBI incriminating information about Benjamin in two interviews earlier this year, prosecutors said in court filings. Roderick said Benjamin lied to him about the project schedule and had created a ‘culture of fear’ with an ‘unbearable’ management style.”
–Kennedy Maize
(kenmaize@gmail.com)