After years of delays, May 19, 2023, John Bilda was finally sentenced for his role in stealing millions of dollars of ratepayers’ money which could have gone to reduce our utility bills. Unlike any other common thief, Bilda had all of his attorney fees paid by CMEEC. His attorney fees amount to thousands of dollars of ratepayers’ money.

Not only did John Bilda profit from these trips to the Kentucky Derby and Greenbrier Golf Club, so did his wife. His wife’s company, BMTee’s, a screen printing business, received the contract to print hundreds of the hats and T-shirts worn by the guests on these trips.

For all of this, John Bilda received a mere slap on the hands of six months in prison with no restitution. During all of these CMEEC trips, in Bilda’s hometown, people were lined up at times as far as a quarter mile hoping to receive free food from a food bank to feed their family. While he was enjoying expensive dinners at the Derby, people were lined up for dinner at the soup kitchen in his hometown. After all of this Bilda still receives his municipal pension of about $150,000.00 per year

Scott M. Harrington

Norwich