Northwest Indiana Discussion

It very strongly appears that the Plasmatronics device is a fraud.

Russell Banusch, Head of the United States EPA Device Evaluation Program, states that they never heard of Plasmatronics.

Banusch states that he has heard of many such devices, none of which were legitimate.

He states that it is absurd to think of anyone coming up with such a device when the automotive industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars on maximizing fuel efficiency.

He states that frequently these con men try to bring congressmen and governors in to give credibility to their devices while only testing can accomplish that.

He stated that he heads the EPA Voluntary Vehicle Evaluation Program that has never heard of Plasmatronics.

Russell Banusch is
Head of the Device Evaluation Program
United States Evironmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and Principal Contact on Evaluation Applications
Compliance & Innovative Strategies Section
Environmental Protection Agency
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Telephone: 734-214-4925
Email: Banusch.russell@epa.gov

I hope you have forwarded this information to Mayor Uran as well as Mr Corbin who is President of the council as well as head of the redevelopment commission.

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Allan, you obviously have no idea how the EPA operates. No random person you'd call at the EPA would recognize any specific test participant's product or company name because they are not directly involved in any way. Each lab archives its own testing data. So saying you called a top exec at the EPA and that person has never heard of Plasmatronics is meaningless.

If I were to call the top official at the Indiana BMV and ask what your qualifications are to drive a passenger vehicle, he or she would say they'd never heard of you and had no comment. Next day in the NWI Times: "BMV denies knowledge of Allan's earning a driver license."

Russell Banuch knows Peter DiBernardi well since Peter owned and operated the EPA-certified testing lab for over 40 years that performed the published tests on our Plasma Drive Ignition. Peter has offered to vouch for the tests he supervised and analyzed to create the reports we cite.

The likelihood of Russell Banuch making a comment about a company or product he has not personally worked with to the effect "they are almost certainly a fraud" is nil. Imagine the slander/libel litigation to which such reckless statements would expose the EPA. Your attempts to manipulate facts are disingenuous at best.

Our certified testing reports were provided to the city's due diligence contractor, FSG, prior to approval of the city's loan to us. They were also provided to Marisa Kwiatkowski at the NWI Times, who was present at the CP Rotary Club meeting Wed. 3/5/08 as your guest where Lonnie Lenarduzzi discussed them. The Times has evidently seen fit to withhold these data from the public, along with refraining from correcting several material misrepresentations about our operations in prior articles.

For example, we do not manufacture product out of a single-family home in NY. We employ a full-service contract manufacturer to make product for the New York LLC business that caters to high-end European sports cars and race teams. Marissa called me specifically to ask about this contract manufacturer, and I gave her contact information. She did not report on this.

We are not "garage hobbyists" - we've been in the field of high-energy ignition systems for over 20 years, and have worked with many of the world's most respected scientists at academic, military, government and private industry laboratories. Our technology originated with Dr. Theodore Sturm and "Ferrie" Porsche when they designed the original Porsche 911 race car in the late 1960's.

After buying the business in 1989, Lonnie has created new and innovative products that have led us to today's technology. I won't take your time here - if you don't mind documented facts interfering with your enjoyment of irrational conspiracy theories, you can read about it on our website: www.PlasmatronicsLLC.com.

The Plasma Drive Ignition product slated for manufacture in Indiana which will serve fleet operators is not in the research and development phase. It has been in production for quite some time with about 1000 units currently in use experiencing benefits far beyond those we conservatively quote from the EPA-certified testing referenced on our website.

We at Plasmatronics are astonished by the smear campaign coordinated by a very few individuals against our efforts to bring a legitimate company to Crown Point to hire local employees and contribute to economic growth in your city. It has been acknowledged by past and present officials that our company has been "thrown under the bus" to serve political agendas.

The majority of the taxpayer funds allocated to our loan have been spent on locally buying raw materials and hiring local craftemen to customize our facility in Millenium Park, contributing to economic growth in CP. Every loan draw has been meticulously overseen by Rob Gardiner with invoices and proof of payment to contractors in accordance with the terms of our loan agreement with the city. Every single expenditure has been documented, so it is a mystery to us that there is any question about the administration of this loan.

We have received hundreds of job applications and met with several highly-qualified executive candidates -- although Allan's barging in to repeat his irrational suspicions and accusations interrupted one interview session. Crown Point has many really great potential employees, and we regret that political and media jockying has jeopardized this project.

We hope for a good outcome, but it is in the mayor's hands now.

There is a Formal Ruling dated December 13, 2007 by Heather Willis Neal, Indiana Public Access Counselor that the following information is to be made available to the Crown Point Development Corp.:

1) Plasmatronics' Balance Sheet and Income Statement
2) The complete due diligence report on Plasmatronics
3) Evidence that the Plasmatronics device works as represented (i.e. improves fuel efficiency by 33%)

This has not been done, and Plasmatronics has stonewalled the Public Access Counselor's ruling.

If Plasmatronics' device has already been certified by EPA as improving fuel efficiency by 33% - which seems highly unlikely - that certification and the underlyng test data should certainly be forthcoming.

Plasmatronics' lack of transparency is the heart of the problem.

There is a Formal Ruling dated December 13, 2007 by Heather Willis Neal, Indiana Public Access Counselor that the following information is to be made available to the Crown Point Development Corp.:

1) Plasmatronics' Balance Sheet and Income Statement
2) The complete due diligence report on Plasmatronics
3) Evidence that the Plasmatronics device works as represented (i.e. improves fuel efficiency by 33%)

This has not been done, and Plasmatronics has stonewalled the Public Access Counselor's ruling.

If Plasmatronics' device has already been certified by EPA as improving fuel efficiency by 33% - which seems highly unlikely - that certification and the underlyng test data should certainly be forthcoming.

Plasmatronics' lack of transparency is the heart of the problem.[/quote]

The IN Public Access Counselor has required CP entities to communicate with one another. They have not asked anything of Plasmatronics. We have already provided full disclosure. We have not stonewalled anyone. In fact, because we were not a subject of Ms. Neal's investigation, we have not even been contacted by her office.

FYI, those of you who have never started a company, here's a morning of the first day of MBA Biz 101 class: a start up corp HAS no balance sheet or income statement until they have income and disbursements to report.

This is another of Allan Katz's continual media bleatings, designed to make us look like we are withholding information. It is a false premise. There by definition cannot be a balance sheet or income statement for a start-up corporation. That's just how it is - you can't report on financial data that does not yet exist.

This does not mean FSG did not investigate our other business and our personal finances - they did, and they did a thorough job.

Our EPA certified testing results document our product benefits. The "33%" figure you cite comes from Allan Katz, not us. Some vehicles get lesser MPG improvements, some get better. Depends on several factors -- use of the vehicle, age, maintenance condition, number of cylinders. We've seen MPG inprovements ranging from 9 to 55%.

We have documented EPA-certified testing results and have provided them to the city, the mayor and newspapers. With all due respect, this is the "gold standard", making your opinion of the likelihood we can achieve these improvements irrelevant. We've done it, we've documented it, and that's a fact whether it suits your agenda or not.

Of course a start up company has a balance sheet and income statement which reflect:
1) The capital structure of the corporation (i.e. common stock and other equity),
2) Start-up assets (i.e. cash, intellectual property, equipment, etc.) and
3) Start-up liabilities (i.e. loans by share-holders or others).

The Crown Point Development Corporation and its board members are legally responsible and accountable for the loan to Plasmatronics. They have put their signature on a document authorizing the loan. Under Indiana law, corporate board members are responsible and accountable for the acts of the corporation including loans.

Is Plasmatronics willing to turn over to board members of the Crown Point Development Corporation, on Monday morning, March 10, 2008, copies of:

1) Plasmatronics' Balance Sheet and Income Statement
2) The complete due diligence report on Plasmatronics
3) Evidence that the Plasmatronics device works as represented

which documents Public Access Counselor Heather Wills Neal ruled the board members of the Crown Point Development Corporation have a right to review?

I guess ms Decker couldn't get the name "Plasmatronics" deleted off this website or posters who questioned their operation removed!

With all due respect:
1. why would Greg Gerratazz shred your documents after he reviewed them stating it was a risk to invest in your company?
2. Why wouldn't you provide those documents immediately after the CPRC requested them?
3.If Russell Banuch knows the operator of a lab, shouldn't he have results in a computer database somewhere? If you were to call the BMV & ask for someone's driving qualifications, they look it up to verify.
4. If you provided certified testing results to FSG & a Times reporter as you stated, why not provide them to the CPRC as they are the ones that had to approve the loan? And an illegal loan I might add as former Mayor Klein had an illegal vote on the board.
5. Why is Rob Gardiner the only one overseeing loan draws? Shouldn't that be public information open to scrutiny by not only members of the CPRC, but the general public?

Perhaps Ms Decker needs to review her MBA Biz 101 class!

Here is an exerpt from the previous corporation web-site that Lenarduzzi & Decker ran. It went belly up in Wylie TX after they received funding from the city.

"Needing to expand its operations, Perma-Tune moved its facilities to Wylie, Texas in 1993 after winning a grant from the Wylie, Texas Economic Development Corp. The Company was restructured as Perma-Tune Electronics, Inc., a privately held Texas corporation. This move enabled the Company to take advantage of low-cost industrial space and a large pool of skilled labor.

R&D proceeded at an accelerated rate after the Company settled into its Texas facility, resulting in systems that may be used on domestic and Japanese street cars, Coilless ignition systems which eliminate the need for an external coil, Digital Fire systems with incredible signal accuracy and the Plasma Drive system which enables unprecedented fuel economy and reduced emissions. Experimentation utilizing Perma-Tune systems has been conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, the US Navy, MIT, Bechtel Nevada, Nuvera Fuel Cells division of Arthur D. Little, Boeing Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, the US Mine Safety Commission, US MagneGas, Boatworks, Toyota Racing Development and other prestigious research facilities.

Seems like deja vu to me! Let's see, what happened to Trans Max, the company that manufactured Perma Tune? Bankruptcy!

From Trans Max to Perma Tune to Plasmatronics. If there was such a large pool of skilled workers in TX, why move to IN? Now Decker is stating there is a large pool of workers here again. Same song & dance just a different stage.

If I were to call the top official at the Indiana BMV and ask what your qualifications are to drive a passenger vehicle, he or she would say they'd never heard of you and had no comment. Next day in the NWI Times: "BMV denies knowledge of Allan's earning a driver license."

That is an awful analogy!

First, I could probably get that information if I wanted to pay the search fees and also the BMV could easily pull up that information, as could any cop. But you'd be shocked if you knew how the state makes money on information you think is confidential. I don't know if they stopped or not but they used to sale the lists to direct marketers.

Second, because of privacy I doubt BMV would be willing to give out that information from a direct request to a private individual. But believe it or not some states HAVE for a small fee.

Now you might be correct that the agency does not know Plasmatronics by that name. That could be true. But I think the more important question is whether this device is a sham and why city officials apparently took no time to verify the validity of the claims before shelling out taxpayer money. Next question is why did they not properly take this precaution? Did it matter if the device worked or not? Or is it a case of your city leaders falling for a snow job?

Princess, a large number of excellent points - especially, that it is nonsense to say a start-up corporation (that's already received $73,000 from Crown Point) has no balance sheet or income statement and the deja-vu qualities of "Perma-Tune moved its facilities to Wylie, Texas in 1993 after winning a grant from the Wylie, Texas Economic Development Corp." And your questions are highly relevant about why shredding of documents is necessary and the Plasmatronics transaction lacks transparency despite using public funds. Could it be because fraud is most readily proved using financial statements?

It should also be asked why Decker and Lenarduzzi were not required to personally guarantee the loan - which was recommended by FSG in the short Due Diligence Summary - because of the risky character of the loan.

Mirage, the BMV analogy is so far off-base as to be out of the stadium. Russell Banisch is Head of the United States EPA Device Evaluation Program and Heads the EPA Voluntary Vehicle Evaluation Program. There has never been another device that improved fuel efficiency by 33%. If there was such a device that was being tested or had been tested Banisch would know it.

Two pillars of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Indiana attorneys are "diligence" and "competence." If Corbin and Wolter did not perform diligently regarding the use of public funds, and if they refuse to comply with the ruling of the Indiana Public Access Counselor to make the needed documents available to the Crown Point Development Corp., the matter should be referred to the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission for appropriate action.

I commend Linda Decker CEO from Plasmatronics for having the guts to respond to the Crown Point sock puppets on this discussion board. After weeks of blistering attacks from the Crown Point sock puppets it is refreshing to get an alternative viewpoint.

The sock puppets try to hide behind their made up usernames but she has the courage to respond to their politically motivated attacks without hiding.

I for one think it’s great for a company to invest in Crown Point and create jobs. Linda, don’t think that the sock puppets of this board represent the majority of citizens in this community.

I think it's great for a company to invest in Crown Point and create jobs too.

Unfortunately, this company is investing none of their own money but rather money they are borrowing from the Crown Point taxpayers, and so far they haven't created any of the 220 jobs they promised.

Claims at the Crown Point Clerk-Treasurer's office only explain how two-thirds of the $380,000 they have borrowed has been spent.

Last Wednesday, Lonnie Lenarduzzi said that neither he nor Linda Decker would be moving to Crown Point. I will believe there is a viable company here when I see it.

You know, I don't live in Crown Point, and I read this topic just to stay informed. Curiously, I went to the Plasmatronics website, and I found that for such a "progressive" company with such a revolutionary product, the have a very simple website, which looks as if a high school student put it together.
It would seem to me that if a company wanted to make an impression, and court investors, they would spend some money to "WOW" everyone.

1) Plasmatronics, Inc. is a privately held Indiana corporation. Our financials and product development plans are confidential and protected by a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”). Why is an NDA necessary? Because our competitive position in the marketplace would be irrevocably damaged if product development plans and financials were made available to competitors via public disclosure. This is an extremely common business practice, and does not indicate any wrongdoing.

There are certain things individuals keep to themselves as well. When you apply for a mortgage loan, you provide all sorts of private information to the loan officer. You do not give that officer permission to publish the information in the newspaper or to tell employees with no business need to access the data. This does not imply there’s any wrongdoing on the individual’s part; in the normal course of business, the loan officer is appropriately protecting the client’s sensitive information while carrying out his or her duty to protect the bank’s assets.

The city of Crown Point has set up a structure for approving economic development loans. The RDC performs due diligence (in this case via the services of FSG, which did include background checks) and decides whether to grant the loan. After approval, it then gives a grant to the CPDC to administer the loan. It is not the CPDC’s function to restart or repeat the due diligence process.

We did not set up the city’s economic development loan approval procedures. We have no interest in personal or political differences and cannot solve the mistrust between the various entities charged with differing roles in the approval process. Since we are not politicians or members of a regulatory body, we are not qualified to comment on, nor are we responsible for, any missteps these entities may have made. The resulting conflict and twisted media coverage, although not of our making, has been extremely damaging to the viability of our project.

2) FSG had a couple of options for the handling of our documentation after their work was completed in order to comply with the NDA: returning the material to us or destroying it. Given the large amount of data they examined and analyzed, perhaps they determined it was more cost effective to destroy it rather than sending it back – but they did not consult us before deciding the method of compliance with the terms of the NDA.

3) Lonnie Lenarduzzi and I have, in fact, been personally supplying operating capital for the project since last July. The city’s loan was designated for capital expenditures, not operating costs. Operating costs include, but are not limited to, such things as rent, utilities, professional fees, administration, consumable raw materials used in manufacture, etc. Every penny loaned to our company has been accounted for and documented to show its appropriate allocation in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement.

4) Regarding Russell Banuch’s access to EPA testing data, as I said in my earlier post, it is standard procedure for each laboratory to archive its own test records. There is no central database. The fact that Mr. Banuch is familiar with the gentleman who owned and operated one of the fewer than 35 testing labs in the US for over 40 years is unsurprising. But it does not mean that Mr. Banuch has access to Mr. DiBernardi’s archived records.

The EPA has many, many testing programs. The Voluntary (note that word) Vehicle Evaluation Program is just one of them. You might find it interesting that not a single manufacturer has ever used this program in the history of its existence, so you might surmise that there are hundreds of thousands of companies and products Mr. Banuch “has never heard of” in connection with his role heading this particular program (among his many other duties at the EPA).

The reason no manufacturers have “volunteered” for the program is that each potential applicant is required to foot the bill for about $300K of pre-application testing, which simply buys them the opportunity to apply for the program. There’s no guarantee they would be accepted for the program after making this investment; if they are accepted, the program takes approx. one year to complete.

5) Perma-Tune Electronics, Inc. in Wylie, Texas did not go “belly up”. We received a grant for moving expenses from the Wylie Economic Development Corp. (less than $10K), and did business in Wylie for over ten years, employing local personnel. We were acquired by Trans Max Technologies in 2003 and moved to New York. At that point, we became their employees. We brought a case against Trans Max with the American Arbitration Association in Manhattan for breach of contract and recovery of our intellectual property (and won the case) over a full year before they filed for bankruptcy. Furthermore, we are listed as creditors in that bankruptcy case. That means they owe us money.

Our New York-based company (Plasmatronics, LLC) was formed and resumed the manufacture the Perma-Tune product line for racing and high-end European sports cars after the American Arbitration Association found in our favor in the recovery of our intellectual property.

6) We fully recognize that you very few, vocal conspiracy theorists despised former mayor Dan Klein and his former economic development director, Eric Hammond, and are bitterly disappointed that Gayle Van Sessen lost the mayoral election to Dave Uran. Perhaps there have been thwarted aspirations to positions of authority in the economic development arena as well.

We strongly believe it is the responsibility of all citizens to participate in government at all levels. But you would do well to distinguish between participating in local politics and harming an innocent party whose only “sin” was an introduction at a press conference from a person you wished to vote out of office. If you believe in creating good jobs in your community, it would seem logical to avoid making a concerted effort to run prospective employers out of town.

As a parting thought, I will leave you with this: Mayor Uran and his Chief of Staff, Keith Stevens, are thoughtful, intelligent and energetic men who sincerely want to make life in Crown Point better for all of its citizens. Since they are in office, you might consider fruitfully redirecting your considerable energy to working with them to achieve community goals in the coming months.