Tony Izzo Chronology

Anthony M. "Tony" Izzo is a candidate in the 2008 Chugach Electric Association utility board election. He is the leader of the IBEW Union-backed slate of candidates touting themselves as "ethical" that is trying to take over the cooperative board of directors that now has a pro-consumer reform majority. Izzo also is the former CEO of Enstar Natural Gas Company in Anchorage. Izzo claims to have a college degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia. However, that institution has no record of his having graduated from there and the registrar confirmed that the transcript he provided is not from there. It appears instead to be from a now defunct unaccredited provider in Mandeville, Louisiana, called "LaSalle", whose owner was sent to federal prison for fraud for operating a Diploma Mill. IMPORTANT NOTE: He didn't obtain this "degree" decades earlier as a youth but he did it AFTER he was made vice president of Enstar and 15 months before he was made Enstar CEO!

Such resume enhancement has seriously misled Chugach Electric voters.

While a degree is not a requirement to sit on the Chugach Electric Board of Directors, Izzo claims to hold a degree - "B.S. Business Administration" - under the heading of education on his candidate statement.

Why does it matter??
It's dishonest. Submitting false credentials is an unethical act (in some cases it is illegal). It is a willful act of deception done to gain entry into a position where competence, honesty and trust are essential.


TONY IZZO "DIPLOMA" ISSUE CHRONOLOGY
DATE	EVENT
4/14/08	Time Bomb in the Power Grid? DegreeDiscussion.com posting by Jonathan Whatley [decayed link]
4/8/08	EDDIE BURKE DAY 4 ON CHUGACH BOARD CANDIDATE TONY IZZO "DIPLOMA" ISSUE
4/4/08	KBYR RADIO AM 700 TALK SHOW HOST EDDIE BURKE DOES THE CREDENTIAL CHECK ON IZZO THAT NO ONE ELSE IN ANCHORAGE WOULD DO! EDDIE BURKE DAY 3 ON CHUGACH BOARD CANDIDATE TONY IZZO "DIPLOMA" ISSUE Discusses results of the examination of Izzo's transcript by the LaSalle University (Philadelphia) registrar's office.
4/3/08	Questions about IBEW Union-backed Chugach board candidate Tony Izzo's resume discussed on Eddie Burke - Day 2 - Thursday -
4/2/08	Questions about IBEW Union-backed Chugach board candidate Tony Izzo's resume discussed on Eddie Burke - Day 1 - Wednesday - Last five minutes at the end where Eddie reports that Izzo faxed in the transcript purporting to show that Izzo has a "magna cum laude" degree. Izzo said on the radio on 4/2/08 that his degree was granted on 12/31/99. He faxed this "transcript" in to Eddie Burke that day: Compare it to this transcript of Renee M Hamilton Newman that is known to be from LaSalle "University" in Mandeville, Louisiana. LaSalle University in Mandeville Louisiana was a well-known diploma mill and was closed by court action. It has no connection to the legitimate La Salle University in Philadelphia. Renee M Hamilton Newman's "degree" Transcript - 5/6/1999 Diploma - 1/29/1999 www.reneenewman.net
3/28/08	Letter from Chugach Consumers to Joe Griffith and Tony Izzo requesting that slanderous ad be pulled from TV. Email from Joe Griffith refusing to pull the ad after the Reliability Group "exec committee" reviewed it.
3/28/08	Letter to Chugach Electric requesting confirmation of Izzo resume. Attachments: Izzo Election brochure statement Izzo resume to state agency DegreeVerify Certificate (degree not found).
3/24/08	Apparently, some time during this week, Chugach Electric's Manager of Public Relations, Patti Bogan telephoned Izzo and asked, "Where did you get your "B.S. Business Administration" degree. Izzo told Patti Bogan he got it at LaSalle University in Philadelphia. THAT STATEMENT WAS SHOWN TO BE UNTRUE as a result of Eddie Burke's investigation conducted 4/2-4/4.
2/5?/08	Candidate statement of Tony Izzo in the Chugach Electric election pamphlet. It would have been submitted on or about this date and Izzo would have had to approve the proof before it was published. It contains his assertion that he has a B.S. degree in Business Administration but doesn't state where it was obtained like all other candidates did.
2?/07	Izzo submits his resume to ANGDA, an Alaska State agency as part of a proposal for work with that agency. On page 3 in the education section he says nothing about having any degree. ANGDA appears to have paid him $113,063 during 2007. Izzo appears to have been brought in to ANGDA by Joe Griffith, another ANGDA contractor who has been paid $113,812 from 2006 and continuing through June 2008. Griffith is the architect of the IBEW slime campaign against the pro-consumer Chugach board and he is one of the "fired Chugach Electric CEO's" that the IBEW and their allies are publicizing in their media blitz.
9/06	Tony Izzo leaves Enstar Natural Gas CEO position. "Izzo said he hasn't lined up a new job yet but is looking at possible opportunities in the private sector as well as state government."
7/6/06	London Times - TV hypnotist McKenna sues Mirror for libel - Mr Lewis-Smith referred to publicity material put out on Mr McKenna’s behalf boasting of his PhD, but not from the "well-respected" Lasalle University of the same name in Philadelphia. The author wrote: "I discovered that his doctorate had been awarded by another Lasalle University, an obscure, degrees-by-post establishment based in Mandeville, Louisiana. "And, when I rang the university switchboard, I discovered that anyone could be fully doctored by Lasalle within months (no previous qualifications needed), just so long as they could answer the following question correctly: ‘Do you have $2,615, sir?"’
6/3/02	Jerry Tingle - Republican candidate for the Alabama state Senate, is a very smart man. He must be - he has a PhD in biomedical engineering from LaSalle University, graduating magna cum laude. But wait - that's not the respected LaSalle University in Philadelphia, no sir. This is LaSalle University in Mandeville, LA. Which isn't so much a university, per se, as a "diploma mill," according to the FBI. Yes, it turns out that Jerry's doctorate was obtained from a university which was not accredited, whose five-member faculty held one bachelor's degree between them, and whose owner, James Kirk, pleaded guilty to fraud and admitted that he swindled students for $36 million. He's a smart guy, that Jerry Tingle. So, to sum up - that's not a real school, not a real doctorate, and not the James Kirk.
6/02	LaSalle University closed. Bienville University already has incorporated in Mississippi, said Mr. [John] Bear. He said it is run by Thomas J. Kirk, who spent time in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of mail and tax fraud after a 1996 raid by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at LaSalle University, a Louisiana-based distance-learning institution that he founded. LaSalle, which became Orion College, closed in June. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

4/24/02	Izzo apparently requests copy of this "Transcript" on or before the closing date. It is issued by LaSalle University in Mandeville Louisiana or a successor entity that is using the same pad of forms from said defunct operation.

5/1/01	Izzo claims to have BS degree in business administration" in Pipe Line & Gas Industry journal. Anthony Izzo , ENSTAR Natural Gas , Anchorage , Alaska ENSTAR Natural Gas has successfully deployed automated meter-reading ( AMR ) technology on 90,000 gas meters in a five-month timeframe. The company made the move in recognition of rising natural gas prices , and a related need to eliminate estimated meter reads. By getting the bulk of its workforce involved , hiring temporary workers , and using an efficient installation process , the project was completed before the winter heating season , when inclement weather would tend to make customer bills higher and conventional meters harder to read. Since the change , operational efficiency has been increased by having accurate billing , reduced customer complaints and high-bill inquiries , and technicians who can now take on other tasks. ... Anthony Izzo is President and CEO of ENSTAR Natural Gas and Alaska Pipeline Co. , Anchorage , Alaska. Before joining ENSTAR , he worked for SEMCO ENERGY Gas Co. , joining the company in 1996 as the director of operations for Battle Creek Gas Co.. He was appointed City President in January 1997. Izzo joined ENSTAR in 1999 as the vice president of engineering and operations , and was appointed to his present position in March 2001. He is a member of the American Gas Association ( AGA ) and the Automated Meter Reading Association ( AMRA ). Izzo holds a BS degree in business administration.
3/01	Tony Izzo succeeds Barrett Hatches as president of Enstar Natural Gas. Will serve until his departure in 9/06.

12/31/99	Date of supposed award of Izzo's "B.S. degree in Business Administration" by LaSalle Mandeville.

12/99	Tony Izzo named vice president of Enstar Natural Gas. Before that he served as City President of the Battle Creek Michigan Division of SEMCO. His 20-year career in the industry also includes experience at New Jersey Natural Gas Company as General Manager of Distribution & Construction. NOTE: Fake degrees are illegal in New Jersey and frowned upon in Michigan. He had to come to Alaska to complete his degree.
3/98	First credits on Izzo's LaSalle University, Mandeville "Transcript". 60 hours "Accepted From Prior Learning Assessment" Note that this is only 20 months after the place was shut down and 14 months after its owner was sent to federal prison! What on earth was Izzo thinking??
12/96	Izzo starts job as Director of Operations/City President of SEMCO Energy Gas Company, Michigan. Was General Manager, Distribution & Construction, New Jersey Natural Gas Company.
1996	LaSalle "University" in Mandeville Louisiana was a well-known diploma mill and was closed by court action. Thomas James Kirk (also known as Thomas McPherson) was the operator of several fraudulent higher education organizations (diploma mills), including the University of San Gabriel Valley, Southland University, and LaSalle University (Mandeville, Louisiana). He was indicted for fraud in 1996 and, after a plea agreement, was sentenced in 1997 to five years in U.S. federal prison (see LaSalle University Chronology). What was the campus like? Apparently it was just one building located at: Lasalle University 620 Lotus Dr N Mandeville, Louisiana 70471