Roger Lovelace and Flogas - Part III

If Florence officials were initially happy with Roger Lovelace's FloWeb, many others were not. One local businessman, hoping to start an ISP in the private sector, went as far as retaining hotshot Florence attorney Marshall Gardner to sue the city over its intrusion into the private sector. The businessman decided to drop the lawsuit, but others were still skittish about FloGas' foray into the still-new realm of the Internet.

Rising costs of running FloWeb, few private subscribers, and a missing $215,000.00 Cisco router signalled the death of Roger Lovelace's pet project, but the Florence gas manager's troubles were just beginning. After losing almost a half million dollars in the FloWeb debacle, it was learned that he failed to lock in low natural gas prices during this period. Lovelace blamed subordinates, but did admit that he had not kept track of the overall workings at FloGas while he had been absorbed with the now defunct FloWeb.

Apparently, Roger Lovelace had not kept track of other matters as well, failing to take a $128,776.83 discount on a construction project. When auditors began to delve into the financial machinations of Florence's gas utility, they soon discovered that the company benefiting from Lovelace's oversight was Golden Construction, a company owned by Ronnie Golden, Lovelace's brother-in-law and brother to Donnie Golden, a former member of the infamous Colbert County Dawson gang.

Many Florence residents were enraged by the manager's actions during a period of rising natural gas prices and complained to city officials, who began a deeper investigation into Roger Lovelace's financial dealings. Having been shocked by the initial reports of the gas manager's haphazard business dealings, they were now dumbfounded by the emerging new revelations.

To be continued...