LINCOLN, Neb. -- Did Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning try to make political hay for his U.S. Senate bid by publicly condemning a gasoline-pricing scheme weeks after a letter under his name said it was legal?
Bruning told the Associated Press this week that his office was aware of the complaints from angry drivers about bait-and-switch gasoline pricing a year ago. But it wasn't until recent media coverage of the pricing scheme that Bruninga candidate in what is expected to be a hotly contested race to replace Republican Sen. Chuck Hagelbegan publicly [image-nocss] saying he believed the practice was illegal.
Bruning acknowledged that his handling of the issue may be viewed through a political lens, but he expects it. Everything I do now that I'm in a Senate race is going to be seen as political, said Bruning, who was first elected attorney general in 2002. That's water off a duck's back. If I cured cancer tomorrow people would call it political.
Documents obtained by the AP show that in Julyabout a month before media coverage of the issue surfacedBruning's office responded to a consumer complaint by saying the gas pricing practice you describe [stations advertising ethanol-blend gasoline at $2.89 a gallon, but only at one pump island, with higher-priced unleaded regular at the other pumps] is not illegal as long as the advertised price is on at least one pump.
But after the issue attracted widespread attention last month, he called the practice unbelievable, publicly criticized station owners and said he was convinced they were illegally deceiving people (click here).
Bruning said at the time: They've given Nebraska a bad name.
Motorists said the scheme used this summer at some BP and Conoco stations in Lexington, North Platte and Ogallala deceptively lured them into stations where they ended up paying prices higher than advertised along Interstate 80.
Station owners pointed out that signs at their stations clearly specified which pumps had the low-priced gas advertised on big boards. And the practice is still being used at least one station, in North Platte, said AP.
The July letter from Bruning's office said that we strongly suggest all consumers check the price at the pump before dispensing gasoline. We realize this was a frustrating experience for you and we are sorry we cannot be of assistance to you.
Less than a month later, on August 19, a widely circulated newspaper story reported what was going on at the stations. Two days later, Bruning paid a visit to the stations, meeting with reporters along the way, and blasted the practice as highly deceptive and probably illegal. Station owners ought to be embarrassed and were giving Nebraska a bad name, he said.
Bruning partially blamed his office's inconsistent responses on an office intern. It's not a conclusive legal opinion; it was put out by an intern in the office, he said of the July letter, which was sent by his office's consumer protection division. The letters end sincerely, Jon Bruning, but are not signed by him. Bruning said he was not aware of the letters that advised those who complained the practice was not illegal.
So what? Bruning said when told his name was on the letters. What matters, Robbie's [the intern] opinion or mine? Mine. We'll find out if it's perfectly legal when we get to court, he said of the pricing scheme.
Bruning said he first heard of complaints possibly a year ago, but did not begin investigating the issue until complaints started to pile up this summer. An investigation into whether the practice breaks a state law that bars deceptive trade practices is under way, he said.
An attorney for the owner of the Conoco stations said he wouldn't question Bruning's motives for making an issue of the practice. We're confident the conclusion of the investigation will be that no law was broken, as seems to have been the conclusion earlier, said the North Platte-based attorney, Jim Paloucek.
Also, In January 2006, a gasoline pricing task force convened by Bruning issued a report that found no fuel gouging in the state. Click here to view the report.
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