Saturday, November 8, 2008
FINANCIAL TURMOIL
Metro Asks Treasury for Help
Metro's board of directors sent the U.S. Treasury Department a letter yesterday asking for a decision before Wednesday on numerous appeals from Metro, other transit agencies and members of Congress to intervene and prevent financial institutions from finding Metro and other transit agencies in default on financing agreements reached years ago.
The deals are in trouble because they were guaranteed by insurance giant AIG. But AIG's recent credit downgrade has prompted one Belgian bank to claim that Metro is in default on the deal, and it wants $43 million in payment. KBC Group agreed last week to give the transit agency a reprieve until Nov. 12, when both sides will appear before a federal judge to argue whether the bank should be barred from collecting the money until the case is decided.
Metro might have to pay more than $400 million to the Belgian bank and other banks that took part in similar agreements unless Treasury steps in to guarantee AIG or Congress can come up with a legislative solution, officials said. Otherwise, much-needed repairs for elevators and station platforms will be affected, as would the agency's ability to replace old rail cars and buses.
"On behalf of the 1.2 million riders who take Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess ever day, I urge you to take immediate action to protect them and Metro from becoming innocent victims of the current turmoil in the financial markets," the letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson reads.
-- Lena H. Sun
CRIME
Man Pleads Guilty in ATM Scam
A Maryland man has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $200,000 by using a device to skim bank account numbers from people using automated teller machines.
According to documents filed in federal court in Alexandria, Vitalijs Balsevics, 26, of Hyattsville, was one of two men accused in the conspiracy. Konstantin Sintsev, 24, also of Hyattsville, has been charged but has not yet entered a plea.
Investigators say the men targeted Chevy Chase Bank branches in Maryland and Virginia. They would plant a skimming device on the ATMs to read the magnetic strips of debit cards and gather account information. A second device would record the user's personal identification number.
The men took as much as $8,600 from each of more than 77 accounts.
-- Associated Press
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