Pocono News Section

New Developments in A & B Fuel Bankruptcy Case

New Developments in A & B Fuel Bankruptcy Case - Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 12:21PM EST

Reported by: Jeff Chirico
Tuesday, Jan 22, 2008 @12:21pm EST
HONESDALE, WAYNE COUNTY- Hundreds of people say they paid for oil from a Wayne County fuel company and never received it.

The company's lawyers were in court for a hearing this morning, but there were new developments in the case against the owners of A & B Fuel Company just moments before that hearing was supposed to start.

Arthur and Beverly Baio filed for personal bankruptcy this morning, changing how the case can be handled.

Today's hearing was intended to permanently freeze the Baio's assets but just 30 minutes before the hearing, the Baio's filed Chapter 13 and that, the judge ruled, took the case out of his hands.

Last month A & B Fuel and All County Petroleum, both owned by the Baio's, closed leaving hundreds possibly thousands of prepaid customers without fuel. Some had paid up as much as
$3,200. A church lost $8,000.

This morning former employees of A & B Fuel spoke with us about what they had planned to testify to in court. Tina Fry said, "I would have said the truth. I would have said there wasn't any oil. There was no oil.”

Danielle Savio added, "Towards the end I refused deliveries and told people to call the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General."

The Senior Deputy Attorney General, J.P. McGowan, says he'll now pursue the case in Federal Bankruptcy Court in hopes of getting consumer's money back.

As of Friday 910 customers had filed complaints with the Attorney General’s office.