Former Texaco CFO named to Aquila board

Aquila Inc. said Thursday that it had appointed Patrick Lynch, former senior vice president and chief financial officer of Texaco Inc., to fill a vacancy on the company’s board of directors.

Capping off a 40-year career at Texaco, Lynch served as that company’s CFO from 1997 to 2001, when he retired after Chevron Corp. acquired the company.

Lynch’s appointment to Aquila’s board is effective immediately and will last until shareholders elect board members next spring.

Aquila provides natural gas service to customers in Lawrence.

Aquila shares closed down 2 cents at $4.03 on Thursday in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Court

Spammer gets jail time

Howard Carmack, who sent 850 million junk e-mails through accounts he opened with stolen identities, was sentenced to up to seven years in prison on Thursday.

Atlanta-based Internet service provider Earthlink Inc. said it hoped the sentence and an earlier $16.4 million civil judgment against Carmack would deter other spammers.

“Before spammers send one more spam e-mail, we think they should remember that what happened to Howard Carmack can happen to them,” said Karen Casion, Earthlink’s assistant general counsel.

Jurors sentenced Carmack to seven years for convictions in March of forgery, identity theft and falsifying business records. He must serve a minimum of 3 1/2 years.

Utility

Judge cuts KCP&L award

A judge has significantly reduced the amount a Milwaukee parts manufacturer must pay in damages over a 1999 gas explosion that destroyed a Kansas City, Mo., Power & Light Co. plant.

Jackson County Circuit Judge J.D. Williamson ruled Wednesday that Rockwell Automation Inc.’s liability was limited to $190,867 by a 1990s contract. A jury in March had ordered Rockwell to pay KCP&L $135 million.

KCP&L plans to appeal the judge’s decision, spokesman Tom Robinson said.

The explosion at KCP&L’s Hawthorn 5 plant on Feb. 17, 1999, closed it for 838 days. The utility claimed a loss of $552 million for rebuilding the plant, lost business and other expenses.