Highland Lakes Newspapers

http://highlandernews.com/news/jury-selected-in-theft-money-laundering-trial-for-ex-pec-gm/8196613/

FREDERICKSBURG – Nine women and three men will decide the fate of former Pedernales Electric Cooperative General Manager Bennie Fuelberg, 66, who was indicted in June 2009 on felony theft and money laundering charges after a five-month grand jury investigation.

District Judge Dan Mills explained that the first two charges are first-degree felonies that carry a penalty of up to 99 years in prison, while the third charge is a second-degree felony that carries up to 20 years.

Fuelberg ran PEC, the largest member-owned electric co-op in the nation, for more than 30 years, and is charged with misapplication of fiduciary duty in excess of $200,000, theft of property in excess of $200,000, and money laundering between $100,000 and $200,000.